NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop) vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 is a graphics card for desktops and high end laptops (upcoming, see our article for the mobile GTX 1060 for benchmarks and specs). It is based on the Pascal architecture and manufactured in 16 nm FinFET at TSMC. The GPU is be based on the smaller GP106 chip. In laptops it has the codename N17E-G1 and will be the successor to the old GTX 970M (predecessor). The laptop version should be launched in August 2016. The desktop version is already out.

The performance of the 6 GB version is on par with an older GeForce GTX 980 (desktop and laptop). Therefore, 1080p gaming at highest detail is currently the best use case for the card. A comprehensive review of the desktop GeForce GTX 1060 Founders Edition with 6 GB GDDR5 can be found here. Beware, the upcoming 3 GB desktop variant should feature 128 shader less but clocked slightly higher. Still the performance should be definately slower than the 6 GB version.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q

The Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q design is a power efficient mainstream GPU for laptops based on the Pascal architecture and was announced in January 2017. Contrary to the faster models, the GTX 1050 uses the GP107 chip, which is manufactured in a 14 nm process at Samsung.

The clock is not the only difference compared to the regular GTX 1050 Ti though. The drivers for the Max-Q version were optimized for efficiency (and not performance; only for Max-Q models), there are optimized voltage converters for 1V operation, high-end cooling methods, and a 40 dB limit for the fan noise (with clock adjustments to ensure this at all times).

Features

The GP107 chip is manufactured in a 14 nm FinFET process at Samsung and offers a number of new features, including support for DisplayPort 1.4 (ready), HDMI 2.0b, HDR, Simultaneous Multi-Projection (SMP) as well as improved H.265 video de- and encoding (PlayReady 3.0). A full list of improvements and the new Pascal desktop GPUs is available in our dedicated Pascal architecture article.

Performance

The performance of the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti can vary quite a lot depending on the cooling performance of the laptop. Nvidia states that the Max-Q variant should be about 10 to 15% slower than a regular GTX 1050 Ti for laptops. Therefore, the GPU is most suited for Full HD and high quality settings for games of 2016.

Power Consumption

The power consumption of the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q design is rated at 40 to 46 Watt and therefore a lot lower than a regular GTX 1050 Ti for laptops (53 Watt). This means that the Max-Q GTX 1050 Ti is also suited for thin and light laptops.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 for laptops (formerly known as GTX 1080M) is the mobile counterpart of the desktop GeForce GTX 1080. It uses the same GP104 chip and was officially announced at 16. August. The performance should be around +-10% of a non overclocked desktop GTX 1080. The amount of shaders and other technical specifications should be identical.

The mobile GTX1080 is the successor to the GeForce GTX 980 for Laptops and offers a significantly higher performance at the same TDP.

For thin and light laptops Nvidia offer a Max-Q called version of the GTX 1080 with lower TDP and also significantly lower performance. Sadly this variant im sold with the same GTX 1080 name, making it hard to judge the performance.

The performance depends on the used thermal headroom, processor and game. In our benchmarks the mobile GTX 1080 was between 0 to 10 percent slower than the desktop GTX 1080. Therefore, the card also allows gaming in 4k for modern and demanding games of 2017. However, the performance depends on the cooling and TDP settings in each laptop. E.g. the MSI GT73VR (200 W TDP) is much faster than the 1080 in the Razer Blade Pro (<=150 W).

The GP104 chip is manufactured in 16nm FinFET process at TSMC and offers a range of new features. DisplayPort 1.4 (ready), HDMI 2.0b, HDR, Simultaneous Multi-Projection (SMP), improved H.265 video en- and decoders (for PlayReady 3.0) are only some of the improvements. See our detailed Pascal architecture article for more details.

Due to the high TDP, the mobile GTX 1080 is only suited for large laptops with high performance cooling solutions. The power consumption is ranging from 150 to 200 Watt (according to Nvidia, up to 220 W in the Asus G701VIK, G800, GX800). A low power version (Max-Q) is available beginning summer 2017 with a reduced TGP of 90 - 110 Watt (at a reduced performance).