GeForce GTX 880M, 870M, And 860M: Mobile GPUs, Tested

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Nvidia is in the process of rolling out its GeForce GTX 800M-series graphics modules. Despite the new name, we're still looking at GK104-based GPUs. One thing is for sure, though: the processor is running faster than ever. We benchmark three models.

Power And Heat

So far, the GeForce GTX 770M looks to be slightly faster than the 860M. And yet, it also uses less power. Other modules follow the power curves we'd expect, given their performance. I wouldn't be surprised to see the next generation of gaming notebooks including larger and heavier coolers to contend with the additional heat. 

Thermals aren't an issue for Origin PC’s full-sized Eon17-S, though. I didn’t need to adjust its fan speed at any point during our experimentation. Rather, the system sets its fans to roughly 50% under load, regardless of the graphics module you have installed. If, at some point in the future, you find your Eon17-S to be noisy, it’s probably time to blow the dust out.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
35 Comments Comment from the forums
  • CaptainTom
    Eh these generations are all the same cards. Show us a 980M with full maxwell. Then we'll talk...
    Reply
  • dscudella
    Looks like maybe two more generations before we see single gpu 4K mobile gaming.
    Reply
  • Puiucs
    we need them to finish working on 20nm fast. TSMC just can't do it anymore. global foundries has 14nm only on paper too....
    Reply
  • guvnaguy
    I'm actually fairly impressed. Their website says a max of 6 hours battery on "UMA" mode. Would you be able to test this, Tom?

    Previously I wouldn't consider getting a gaming laptop due to their short battery life, even when not gaming. But if a laptop with this kind of hardware can manage 5 - 6 hours, I'd consider it...
    Reply
  • ubercake
    Page one gives the impression you might include desktop cards so we could get a frame of reference with regard to desktop v laptop GPU performance. Then I looked immediately at the BF4 page and found no desktop GPUs in the performance charts?
    Reply
  • Ninjawithagun
    Highly disappointed overall by the 800M series performance. I can feel assured that my GTX780Ms in my Alienware 18 will serve me well for at least another year. So, whatever happened to multi-core GPUs?? The concept works well for desktop CPUs, yet we have not seen it in desktop or mobile GPUs as of yet? ATI's Hawaii GPU comes close in certain aspects regarding behavior like a multi-core GPU by handing off processes to other chips within the die. One step closer to a next-gen GPU, yet still so far...
    Reply
  • jrharbort
    A shame this didn't include the Maxwell-based 860M. It performs much more in line with what we'd expect from a true next-gen mobile chip (I'm currently using said chip, and still exercising its capabilities). I can say it's roughly 30% faster than the previous gen 765M, and benchmarks by others have shown it to be twice as fast as the GTX 660M while staying at a max of 50W TDP. I've yet to do any real benchmarking myself, so if anyone cares to see any, leave me some suggestions of what to use (preferably free software).
    Reply
  • hannibal
    Is there any way of knowing if you get kepler 860 or maxwell 860 when you buy a laptop?
    I hate these kind of naming tricks... Even 860a and 860b or anything that gives out what you will get.
    Reply
  • jrharbort
    Is there any way of knowing if you get kepler 860 or maxwell 860 when you buy a laptop?
    I hate these kind of naming tricks... Even 860a and 860b or anything that gives out what you will get.
    It is difficult to know unless you get more specific information from the manufacturer before purchase (or find benchmarks of the computer model you're looking at beforehand). The MSi GE60 Apache Pro was the first notebook to feature the Maxwell-based 860M.
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    So, whatever happened to multi-core GPUs?? The concept works well for desktop CPUs, yet we have not seen it in desktop or mobile GPUs as of yet?

    GPUs have been multi-core for ages now. Well beyond desktop cores, even. The GTX880M in particular is a 1,536-core GPU. Similar numbers have been around for a long time.
    http://www.geforce.com/hardware/notebook-gpus/geforce-gtx-880m/specifications
    Reply