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Comparative Analysis of Recent High-Performance Laptop GPUs: NVIDIA vs Intel

GOOVER DAILY REPORT August 6, 2024
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Summary
  2. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU
  3. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU
  4. Intel Arc A570M and A770M GPUs
  5. NVIDIA Quadro T500 Mobile GPU
  6. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU
  7. Conclusion

1. Summary

  • This report offers an in-depth comparative analysis of recent high-performance laptop GPUs, specifically focusing on several models from NVIDIA and Intel. The GPUs investigated include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, RTX 4050, RTX 4090, NVIDIA Quadro T500, and Intel Arc A570M. The report dives into each GPU’s architecture, design specifications, and performance metrics, providing benchmark comparisons and market positioning. Key findings show that the RTX 4080 and 4090 deliver top-tier gaming and professional performance, whereas the RTX 4050 and Intel Arc A570M cater to mid-range gaming needs. The NVIDIA Quadro T500, although lacking cutting-edge ray tracing capabilities, excels in professional applications with adequate compute performance. This analysis aims to offer comprehensive insights into the capabilities, strengths, and market segments of these GPUs, facilitating a better understanding of the current landscape in high-performance laptop graphics technology.

2. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU

  • 2-1. Architecture and Design Specifications

  • The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, codenamed GN21-X9, is a high-end notebook GPU, introduced in early 2023. It uses the AD104 chip based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, offering up to 7,680 shaders and a 192-bit memory bus. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory clocked at either 16 or 20 Gbps effective speed. The total graphics power (TGP) ranges from 60 to 150 watts, with an additional boost of approximately 15 watts from the CPU dynamic boost. The AD104 chip is manufactured through TSMC’s 5nm process (4N) and contains 35.8 billion transistors within a die size of 379 mm².

  • 2-2. Performance Metrics and Gaming Capabilities

  • Performance of the RTX 4080 varies based on TGP settings and laptop cooling solutions, with GPU boost clocks ranging from 1,350 MHz at 60 watts to 2,280 MHz at 150 watts. Benchmark tests indicate that the RTX 4080 generally outperforms the older RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU but falls short of the superior RTX 4090. Frame rates in demanding games like F1 23 with ray tracing enabled at QHD resolution are smooth, while less demanding games can achieve playable framerates at 4K resolution. The GPU includes 232 4th-generation Tensor cores for DLSS 3 support, offering frame generation, and 58 3rd-generation Ray Tracing cores.

  • 2-3. Comparison with Other High-End NVIDIA Models

  • The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU is positioned below the RTX 4090 Laptop GPU and above the RTX 3080 Laptop GPU in terms of performance. While the RTX 4090 utilizes the AD103 chip with 10,752 shaders and a wider 256-bit memory bus, the RTX 4080 uses a moderately less powerful AD104 chip. Both GPUs offer advanced features such as DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, OpenCL 3.0, and Vulkan 1.3 support. However, their power efficiency and total graphics power requirements differ, with the RTX 4080 designed for a much lower TGP, making it suitable for a wider range of laptop designs.

3. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU

  • 3-1. Architecture and Design Specifications

  • The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, codenamed GN21-X2, was introduced in early 2023. This mid-range notebook graphics card is based on the AD107 chip, leveraging the Ada Lovelace architecture. The GPU features a 96-bit memory bus with 6 GB of GDDR6 graphics memory, clocked at an effective rate of 16 Gbps. The total graphics power (TGP) ranges from 35 to 115 watts, plus an additional 10-25 watts from the Dynamic Boost provided by the CPU. The boost clock frequency varies from 1605 MHz at 35 watts to 2370 MHz at 115 watts, making the GPU's performance highly dependent on the thermal design power (TDP). The AD107 chip is manufactured using TSMC's 5nm process (4N).

  • 3-2. Performance Metrics in Mid-Range Gaming

  • The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 positions itself between the RTX 3050 Ti and the RTX 3060 laptop GPUs in performance. According to benchmarks conducted with several notebooks, the RTX 4050 is most suitable for gaming at 1920x1080 resolution with high to maximum detail settings, depending on the game. It offers 80 Tensor Cores for DLSS 3, including Frame Generation, which significantly boosts the speeds of supported games with minimal quality loss. However, with only 20 Ray Tracing Cores, the GPU's ray tracing capabilities are somewhat limited and often not practically utilized.

  • 3-3. Market Position and Target Audience

  • The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU targets the mid-range segment of the market. It is well-suited for gamers who prioritize high frame rates and good performance at 1080p resolution. The balance between performance and power consumption makes it a compelling choice for mainstream gaming laptops, offering sufficient power for modern titles without the excess heat and power demand of higher-tier models.

4. Intel Arc A570M and A770M GPUs

  • 4-1. Specifications and Architectural Design

  • The Intel Arc A570M is a mid-range dedicated graphics card for notebooks, based on the ACM-G12 chip. It features 16 Xe cores (256 ALUs), 16 ray-tracing units, and 8 MB of L2 cache. The cores are clocked from 300 MHz to 2050+ MHz (Turbo). The memory interface is 128 bits wide, supporting 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a speed of 14 Gbps. The TGP ranges between 75 and 95 watts depending on the model. The chip is manufactured by TSMC in a 6nm process and uses a BGA2660 package. Additionally, it integrates two media engines for VP9, AVC, HEVC, and AV1 8k60 12-bit HDR decoding and 8k 10-bit HDR encoding. Furthermore, the integrated 4 display pipes support 4x 4k120 HDR, HDMI 2.0b, DP 2.0 10G, and Adaptive Sync. On the other hand, the Intel Arc A770M is a higher mid-range graphics card for notebooks using the ACM-G10 chip. It comes with 32 Xe cores (512 ALUs), 32 ray-tracing units, 6 MB of L1 cache, and 16 MB of L2 cache. The A770M’s clock speeds range from 300 MHz to 2050 MHz (Turbo), with a memory interface that’s 256 bits wide, supporting 16 GB of GDDR6 memory at 16 Gbps. The TGP ranges between 120 and 150 watts. The ACM-G10 chip is also manufactured by TSMC in a 6nm process, featuring 21.7 billion transistors and a size of 406 mm². It integrates similar media and display pipe capabilities as the A570M.

  • 4-2. Performance in Gaming and Professional Usage

  • The Intel Arc A570M’s performance is positioned in the lower mid-range category for dedicated notebook graphics cards. It is expected to perform between the Radeon RX 6500M and 6600M, making it suitable for gaming at medium to high detail levels. Compared to the A550M, the A570M offers higher clock speeds and TDP values. On the other hand, the Intel Arc A770M is considered in the upper mid-range of notebook GPUs, comparable to NVIDIA’s RTX 3070 but slightly lower in performance due to power consumption in the same range. Specific benchmark data remains unclear, but it still supports advanced gaming and professional tasks effectively. Both the A570M and A770M show competence in handling multimedia content decodings, such as VP9, AVC, HEVC, and AV1 with high-efficiency encoding capabilities.

  • 4-3. Comparison with NVIDIA RTX Series

  • Comparing the Intel Arc A570M and A770M with the NVIDIA RTX series GPUs shows notable differences. The A570M’s performance is close to the lower-mid NVIDIA GPUs like the RTX 3050 Ti and RTX 3060. It lags behind NVIDIA’s high-end offerings due to limited power and clock speeds. Meanwhile, the A770M competes with the RTX 3070 but falls short compared to the high-end RTX 4080 and 4090 GPUs from NVIDIA, both of which offer advanced ray tracing capabilities, higher memory interface bandwidth, and more robust processing cores. The NVIDIA RTX 4080, for instance, includes 7,680 shaders and a 192-bit memory bus supporting 12 GB of GDDR6. It also features significantly higher tensor and ray-tracing cores, leading to better performance in demanding gaming scenarios and professional applications. The RTX 4090 further extends these capabilities with 10,752 shaders and a 256-bit memory interface, dedicated to handling the most sophisticated tasks with higher TGP values ranging from 80 to 150 watts.

5. NVIDIA Quadro T500 Mobile GPU

  • 5-1. Architecture and Specifications

  • The NVIDIA Quadro T500 Mobile GPU, also known as the T500, is based on the Turing architecture with the TU117 chip. It shares its foundation with the consumer GeForce MX450, exhibiting the same 896 cores and a 64-bit memory bus. The T500 is available in configurations of 2 or 4 GB of GDDR5 or GDDR6 RAM. The TDP (Thermal Design Power) varies between 18 to 25 watts, depending on the version. This GPU supports PCIe 4.0 and is manufactured using the 12nm FinFET process at TSMC. The Turing generation brought architectural optimizations, including concurrent execution of floating point and integer operations and a new unified memory architecture doubling the cache compared to its predecessor, Pascal. These enhancements lead to up to 50% more instructions per clock and a 40% increase in power efficiency over Pascal. Unlike the more advanced Quadro RTX cards, the T500 does not feature ray tracing or tensor cores.

  • 5-2. Professional Applications and Performance Benchmarks

  • The T500 is designed to cater to professional workloads, providing substantial performance in compute-heavy tasks. Benchmarks such as 3DMark 11 and SPECviewperf 13 and 2020 highlight its capabilities. It effectively handles applications in fields like design and engineering, evidenced by scores in SPECviewperf's CATIA, Siemens NX, and SolidWorks benchmarks. Additional benchmarks such as Cinebench R11.5 and R15, GFXBench, and LuxMark (v2.0 64Bit) also affirm its utility in professional settings. While it lacks the advanced ray tracing features, its optimized architecture ensures competitive performance in typical professional workflows, making it a reliable choice for many professional users.

  • 5-3. Comparison with Previous Models and Market Position

  • In comparison with previous models, the Quadro T500 shows marked improvements in power efficiency and performance due to its Turing architecture. It offers a 50% increase in instructions per clock and 40% better power efficiency compared to Pascal-based GPUs. However, it lacks the ray tracing and tensor cores available in more advanced RTX series GPUs, positioning it unique within NVIDIA's lineup. The T500 is aimed at users who need dependable compute performance without the additional cost and power requirements of RTX-level features. Its market position is further solidified by its compatibility with a wide range of professional applications and affordable power requirements, making it a balanced choice for many professionals.

6. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU

  • 6-1. High-End Performance Specifications

  • The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, codenamed GN21-X11, is a high-end notebook graphics card introduced in early 2023. It is based on the same AD103 chip (Ada Lovelace architecture) as the Desktop RTX 4080. The GPU offers a maximum of 10,752 shaders (or 9,728 like the desktop version) and features a 256-bit memory bus with 16 GB of GDDR6 graphics memory clocking at an effective 20 Gbps. The Total Graphics Power (TGP) ranges from 80 to 150 watts, with an additional 15 watts for Dynamic Boost from the CPU.

  • 6-2. Gaming Capabilities and Performance Benchmarks

  • The performance of the RTX 4090 Laptop GPU in synthetic benchmarks places it at the top, significantly outperforming the RTX 4080M and the older RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU. Depending on the TGP and GPU clock settings, the RTX 4090 can provide varying performance levels. At 80 watts, the GPU runs at 1455 MHz, whereas at 150 watts, it can boost up to 2040 MHz. The exceptionally high performance allows the RTX 4090 to render demanding games at 4K smoothly. However, incorporating ray tracing effects in games like F1 23 may require the use of DLSS or a resolution reduction for optimal performance.

  • 6-3. Efficiency and Comparative Analysis with RTX 4080

  • In terms of efficiency, the RTX 4090 with a TGP of 150 watts is notably more power-efficient than its desktop counterpart, which consumes 320 watts. This high efficiency does not significantly diminish its performance when compared to the RTX 4080 Laptop GPU with a TGP ranging from 60 to 150 watts. GPUs configured with lower power limits, like 125 watts, can experience up to a 20% performance reduction. Notebooks using the RTX 4090 configured for a 150-watt TGP consistently outperform those using the RTX 4080, particularly in synthetic and gaming benchmarks, where the RTX 4090 provides notable gains even over the highly capable RTX 4080.

7. Conclusion

  • This detailed analysis underscores the technological progress and distinct differences among the latest high-performance laptop GPUs from NVIDIA and Intel. The findings affirm that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 are best suited for high-end gaming and professional tasks, thanks to their advanced architecture and features like DLSS and ray tracing. Meanwhile, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 and Intel Arc A570M offer balanced performance for mid-range gaming enthusiasts, with the RTX 4050 showing robust 1080p capabilities and the A570M positioned competitively against similar AMD offerings. The Quadro T500 shines in professional settings, providing reliable compute performance for demanding applications without the added costs of advanced gaming features. However, limitations were noted regarding the variability in benchmarks due to differing system configurations. Future research should investigate the long-term performance and broader real-world application impacts of these GPUs. For practical applicability, users and manufacturers could leverage these findings to make informed decisions on laptop GPU selection based on specific needs, be it high-end gaming or professional productivity.

8. Glossary

  • 8-1. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 [Product]

  • A high-performance laptop GPU based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, featuring 7,680 shaders, a 192-bit memory bus, and 12GB of GDDR6 memory. It offers advanced ray tracing support and is positioned just below the desktop RTX 4070 Ti in performance, making it ideal for demanding gaming and high-resolution scenarios.

  • 8-2. Intel Arc A570M [Product]

  • A mid-range laptop GPU with 16 Xe cores and 8GB of GDDR6 memory. It provides performance positioning between AMD Radeon RX 6500M and 6600M, targeting mid-range gaming with ray tracing support.

  • 8-3. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 [Product]

  • A mid-range laptop GPU based on the AD107 chip, featuring a 96-bit memory bus and 6GB of GDDR6 memory, designed to cater to mid-range gaming performance requirements.

  • 8-4. NVIDIA Quadro T500 [Product]

  • A professional mobile GPU based on the Turing architecture, with 896 cores and options for 2 or 4 GB GDDR5/GDDR6. It offers improved compute performance but lacks advanced features like ray tracing and Tensor cores, suited for professional and modern gaming applications.

  • 8-5. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 [Product]

  • A high-end laptop GPU with 10,752 shaders and 16GB of GDDR6 memory, designed for extreme gaming performance. It is based on TSMC’s 5nm process and supports advanced ray tracing and DLSS, offering unparalleled gaming experiences.

9. Source Documents