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NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M SLI

NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M SLI

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M SLI is a high-end DirectX 11-compatible graphics solution for laptops, consisting of two GeForce GT 650M. Each card has a 28nm GK107 core based on the Kepler architecture. With SLI, each card usually renders a single frame (AFR mode). Therefore, it may suffer from micro stuttering in low fps ranges of 30fps. This happens because of different timespans between two frames (e.g., irregular delays between sequential frames). The 650M SLI is currently used only in the Lenovo Y500 with fast GDDR5 graphics memory and clock rates of 790 to 835 MHz (GeForce Boost).

Architecture

The Kepler architecture is the successor to the Fermi architecture that first appeared in laptops with the GeForce 400M series. The GK107 Kepler core offers two shader blocks, called SMX, each with 192 shaders for a total of 384 shader cores that are clocked at the same speed as the central core. Although more shader cores are available in the Kepler architecture as compared to the Fermi design, the Kepler shaders are still expected to be up to twice as power efficient. However, due to the missing hot clock of the shader domain, two shaders of a Kepler chip are about as fast as one shader of a Fermi chip (as the latter is clocked twice as fast). PCIe 3.0 is now supported by the mobile Kepler series and an optional Turbo mode can automatically overclock the Nvidia card by a theoretical 15 percent if the laptop cooling system allows it. The implementation of this boost mode is done in the BIOS, but it is ultimately dependent upon the manufacturer of the laptop.

Performance

The gaming performance of the SLI combination ranges between a GeForce GTX 670MX (maximum, e.g. in 3DMark 11 benchmarks) down to a single GeForce GT 650M (if SLI is not supported by the game). On average the 650M SLI could therefore be placed a bit above a Geforce GTX 660M in the high-end class. Modern games of 2012 should therefore be playable with high detail settings.

Features

The improved feature set now includes support for up to 4 active displays. Furthermore, high resolution monitors of up to 3840x2160 pixels can now be connected using DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI 1.4a if available. HD-Audio codecs, such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, can be transmitted via bitstream mode through the HDMI port. However, as most laptops will feature Optimus, the integrated GPU will likely have direct control over the display ports and may limit the feature set available by the Nvidia Kepler cards.

The 5th generation PureVideo HD video processor (VP5) is also integrated in the GK107 core and offers hardware decoding of HD videos. Common codecs such as MPEG-1/2, MPEG-4 ASP, H.264 and VC1/WMV9 are fully supported up to 4K resolutions while VC1 and MPEG-4 are supported up to 1080p. Two streams can be decoded in parallel for features such as Picture-in-Picture. Another novelty is the inclusion of a dedicated video encoding engine similar to Intel QuickSync that can be accessed by the NVENC API.

The power consumption of the GeForce GT 650M SLI should double compared to a single GTX 650M. Therefore, only large laptops can handle the heat dissipation.

ManufacturerNVIDIA
GeForce GT 600M Series

GeForce GT 650M SLI 768@790-835MHz

GeForce GT 650M 384@735 - 850MHz

GeForce GT 645M 384@710MHz

GeForce GT 640M 384@625MHz

GeForce GT 640M LE 384@500MHz

GeForce GT 635M 144@675-753MHz

GeForce GT 630M 96@672MHz

GeForce GT 625M 96@625MHz

GeForce GT 620M 96@625 - 715MHz

CodenameN13E-GE
ArchitectureKepler
Pipelines768 - unified
Core Speed *790-835 MHz
Shader Speed *790-835 MHz
Memory Speed *1000 MHz
Memory Bus Width128 Bit
Memory TypeGDDR5
Max. Amount of Memory2x2048 MB
Shared Memoryno
DirectXDirectX 11, Shader 5.0
technology28 nm
FeaturesOptimus, PhysX, Verde Drivers, CUDA, 3D Vision, 3DTV Play
Notebook Sizemedium sized
Date of Announcement22.03.2012
* The specified clock rates are only guidelines for the manufacturer and can be altered by them.

Benchmarks

3DMark 11 - Performance 1280x720
0% 100%
min: 3341     avg: 3546 (34%)     max: 3676 points
3DMark 11 - Performance GPU 1280x720
0% 100%
min: 3533     avg: 3580.7 (32%)     max: 3612 points
...
Radeon HD 6790 -19%
Radeon HD 7770 -13%
Radeon HD 5850 -5%
GeForce GT 650M SLI
GeForce GTX 560 Ti 12%
Radeon HD 6870 18%
...
0%
100%
3DMark Vantage - P Result no PhysX 1280x1024
0% 100%
min: 11472     avg: 12811.5 (35%)     max: 14151 Points
3DMark Vantage - P GPU no PhysX 1280x1024
0% 100%
min: 12410     avg: 12605.5 (34%)     max: 12801 Points
3DMark 06
0% 100%
min: 14614     avg: 16841.5 (57%)     max: 19069 Points
3DMark 05 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 24750     avg: 24750 (67%)     max: 24750 Points
3DMark 03 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 57023     avg: 57023 (38%)     max: 57023 Points
Unigine Heaven 2.1 - high, Tesselation (normal), DirectX11 1280x1024
0% 100%
min: 47.6     avg: 47.6 (31%)     max: 47.6 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Catia 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 4.67     avg: 4.7 (7%)     max: 4.67 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Ensight 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 9.47     avg: 9.5 (16%)     max: 9.47 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Lightwave 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 11.6     avg: 11.6 (14%)     max: 11.6 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Maya 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 8.54     avg: 8.5 (8%)     max: 8.54 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Pro/ENGINEER 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 0.98     avg: 1 (6%)     max: 0.98 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - SolidWorks 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 6.53     avg: 6.5 (10%)     max: 6.53 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Tcvis 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 0.82     avg: 0.8 (1%)     max: 0.82 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Siemens NX 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 1.68     avg: 1.7 (3%)     max: 1.68 fps
Cinebench R11.5 - OpenGL 64Bit
0% 100%
min: 37.35     avg: 40.4 (46%)     max: 43.53 Points
Cinebench R10 - Shading 32Bit
0% 100%
min: 5647     avg: 5647 (52%)     max: 5647 Points
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailled information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3 (2012)
low:
105.7  fps      Compare
med.:
88.8  fps      Compare
high:
42.6  fps      Compare
ultra:
15.6  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Assassin´s Creed III
med.:
63  fps      Compare
high:
59.9  fps      Compare
ultra:
22.2  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Hitman: Absolution
low:
68.4  fps      Compare
med.:
59.7  fps      Compare
high:
35.8  fps      Compare
ultra:
19.1  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
low:
147.7  fps      Compare
med.:
121.3  fps      Compare
high:
81.8  fps      Compare
ultra:
55.3  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
low:
59.9  fps      Compare
med.:
49.6  fps      Compare
high:
29.9  fps      Compare
ultra:
17.4  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Medal of Honor: Warfighter
low:
118.9  fps      Compare
med.:
86.6  fps      Compare
high:
71.3  fps      Compare
ultra:
31.2  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Dishonored
Dishonored (2012)
low:
128.5  fps      Compare
med.:
128  fps      Compare
high:
123.3  fps      Compare
ultra:
95.8  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
World of Tanks v8 (2012): Playable with a weaker graphics card in detail settings high. - more...
Fifa 13
Fifa 13 (2012)
low:
274.2  fps      Compare
med.:
225.1  fps      Compare
high:
208.4  fps      Compare
ultra:
194.4  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
F1 2012
F1 2012 (2012)
low:
140  fps      Compare
med.:
114  fps      Compare
high:
109  fps      Compare
ultra:
53  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Borderlands 2
low:
89.9  fps      Compare
med.:
79.6  fps      Compare
high:
78.2  fps      Compare