NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M SLI

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M SLI

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M SLI is a high-end graphics solution for laptops based on two GTX 480M graphics cards in SLI mode. Each card usually renders a single frame in an alternating manner. 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 GeForce GTX480M SLI supports the same features as a single GTX 480M card. A single card is based on the Fermi architecture. Therefore, it supports DirectX 11 and is produced in 40nm at TSMC. Featuring 352 cores, the GTX480M is similar to the desktop GTX 465 but features a lower clock rate. The GeForce GTX 480M is combined with 2 GB of fast GDDR5 graphics memory (dedicated) and the overall performance should be superior to the Mobility Radeon HD 5870.

The GF100 aka. Fermi chip was redesigned from scratch and features 3 billion transistors (with all 512 shaders). Compared to the desktop Radeon HD 5870 with 2.13 billion transistors or the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 (RV870) with 1.04 billion transistors, the GTX480M chipset is quite large.

The mobile Fermi chip is stripped down to 352 shader cores (1-dimensional) with 32 ROPs and 44 Texture Units. The memory bus is 256 bit wide, but due to the fast GDDR5 memory, this should not be a bottleneck. The power consumption is specified with 100 Watt TDP including the MXM board and the 2 GB GDDR5. AMD usually specifies the TDP of the chip alone, therefore this value is not directly comparable. Still, the GTX 480M is only suited for very large DTR laptops with a good cooling system. Originally, only Clevo sold 17" (D901F) and 18" (X8100) barebone systems.

The fast performance of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 480M SLI is marginally better than two ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 in Crossfire Mode (CF), partly because of the superior driver support from Nvidia.  This means the GTX 480M SLI was the fastest graphics solution for laptops at the time of arrival (2010-06). It allows the user to play all current games in high resolutions and detail settings with Antialiasing activated. Only Metro 2033 and Crysis have to run at lower settings (see below).

Still, in some games the performance gain from SLI may be very small or sometimes a single card may be even a bit faster (due to no SLI support and overhead). You can still disable SLI through the drivers in this case. In our gaming tests, a single 480M was about 16% (Starcraft 2) to 48% (Far Cry 2) slower than the SLI combination. Otherwise, most modern games run about 40% slower on the single card compared to the SLI setup. (see expandable gaming charts below). Due to the fast tessellation unit, upcoming DirectX 11 games may have an advantage over the AMD 5000 series.

Similar to the GeForce 300M series, the GeForce GTX 480M supports PureVideo HD with VideoProcessor 4 (VP4 with Feature Set C). As a result, the GPU is able to fully decode HD videos in H.254, VC-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 ASP. By using Flash 10.1 or later, the graphics card can also accelerate Flash videos, thus taking workload off of the CPU.

The rendering cores of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 480M can be used for general calculations by means of CUDA or DirectCompute. E.g., the encoding for HD videos can be done significantly faster by using the shader cores of the GPUs rather than using most modern CPUs. PhysX is also supported by the mobile Fermi to calculate physics effects in supported games. Furthermore, a single GTX480M can be used to calculate PhysX while the other card renders the game.

Compared to desktop GPUs, the Geforce GTX 480M is comparable to an underclocked Nvidia GeForce GTX 465 SLI combination (607/1200 clock speed).

ManufacturerNVIDIA
GeForce GTX 400M Series

GeForce GTX 580M SLI 768@620MHz

GeForce GTX 485M SLI 768@575MHz

GeForce GTX 470M SLI 576@535MHz

GeForce GTX 480M SLI 704@425MHz

GeForce GTX 460M SLI 384@675MHz

GeForce GTX 485M 384@575MHz

GeForce GTX 470M 288@535MHz

GeForce GTX 480M 352@425MHz

GeForce GTX 460M 192@675MHz

CodenameFermi
Pipelines704 - unified
Core Speed *425 MHz
Shader Speed *850 MHz
Memory Speed *1200 MHz
Memory Bus Width256 Bit
Memory TypeGDDR5
Max. Amount of Memory4096 MB
Shared Memoryno
DirectXDirectX 11, Shader 5.0
Current Consumption100 Watt
Transistors6000 Million
technology40 nm
Notebook Sizelarge
Date of Announcement25.05.2010
Link to Manufacturer Pagehttp://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_gtx...
* The specified clock rates are only guidelines for the manufacturer and can be altered by them.

Benchmarks

3DMark 03 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 75704     avg: 75704 (71%)     max: 75704 Points
3DMark 05 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 28423     avg: 28423 (88%)     max: 28423 Points
...
Radeon HD 5770 -5%
Radeon HD 6790 -3%
GeForce GTS 450 -2%
GeForce GTX 480M SLI
GeForce GTX 580 4%
Radeon HD 6870 6%
GeForce GTX 470 8%
Radeon HD 6970 11%
GeForce GTX 480 13%
...
GeForce GTX 570 14%
0%
100%
3DMark 06
0% 100%
min: 20144     avg: 20968 (81%)     max: 21792 Points
PCMark Vantage - Gaming Score 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 8000     avg: 8000 (36%)     max: 8000 Points
Cinebench R10 - Shading 32Bit
0% 100%
min: 5178     avg: 5178 (48%)     max: 5178 Points
3DMark Vantage - P Result no PhysX 1280x1024
0% 100%
min: 15839     avg: 16499.5 (54%)     max: 17160 Points
3DMark Vantage - P GPU no PhysX 1280x1024
0% 100%
min: 14890     avg: 14890 (44%)     max: 14890 Points
...
Radeon HD 6790 -20%
GeForce GTX 460 768MB -19%
Radeon HD 5850 -6%
GeForce GTX 480M SLI
GeForce GTX 470 3%
Radeon HD 6870 10%
GeForce GTX 560 Ti 19%
GeForce GTX 570 38%
GeForce GTX 580 63%
...
GeForce GTX 590 112%
0%
100%
Windows 7 Experience Index - Graphics
0% 100%
min: 7.8     avg: 7.8 (99%)     max: 7.8 points
Windows 7 Experience Index - Gaming graphics
0% 100%
min: 7.8     avg: 7.8 (99%)     max: 7.8 points
Cinebench R11.5 - OpenGL 64Bit
0% 100%
min: 37.74     avg: 37.7 (50%)     max: 37.74 Points
Unigine Heaven 2.1 - high, Tesselation (normal), DirectX11 1280x1024
0% 100%
min: 58.8     avg: 58.8 (43%)     max: 58.8 fps
...
GeForce GTX 460 768MB -22%
Radeon HD 6790 -22%
GeForce GTX 560 Ti -14%
GeForce GTX 480M SLI
GeForce GTX 470 6%
Radeon HD 6870 18%
GeForce GTX 480 33%
GeForce GTX 570 38%
GeForce GTX 580 70%
...
GeForce GTX 590 131%
0%
100%
SPECviewperf 11 - Catia 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 3.95     avg: 4 (9%)     max: 3.95 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Ensight 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 8.74     avg: 8.7 (22%)     max: 8.74 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Lightwave 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 9.91     avg: 9.9 (18%)     max: 9.91 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Maya 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 4.84     avg: 4.8 (5%)     max: 4.84 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Pro/ENGINEER 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 1.11     avg: 1.1 (8%)     max: 1.11 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - SolidWorks 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 5.06     avg: 5.1 (9%)     max: 5.06 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Tcvis 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 0.56     avg: 0.6 (1%)     max: 0.56 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Siemens NX 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 0.94     avg: 0.9 (2%)     max: 0.94 fps
3DMark 11 - Performance 1280x720
0% 100%
min: 4383     avg: 4383 (50%)     max: 4383 points
3DMark 11 - Performance GPU 1280x720
0% 100%
min: 4229     avg: 4229 (46%)     max: 4229 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.

Mafia 2
Mafia 2 (2010)
low:
124.7  fps      Compare
med.:
113.2  fps      Compare
high:
105.8  fps      Compare
ultra:
75.8  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
StarCraft 2
StarCraft 2 (2010)
low:
279.6  fps      Compare
med.:
74.9  fps      Compare
high:
64.6  fps      Compare
ultra:
42.5  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Just Cause 2 (2010): Playable with a weaker graphics card in detail settings ultra. - more...
Metro 2033
Metro 2033 (2010)
low:
134.4  fps      Compare
med.:
106.8  fps      Compare
high:
61.1  fps      Compare
ultra:
23.1  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising (2010): Playable with a weaker graphics card in detail settings ultra. - more...
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (2010)
low:
151.6  fps      Compare
med.:
134.4  fps      Compare
high:
110.6  fps      Compare
ultra:
64.7  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Stalker: Call of Pripyat (2010): Playable with a weaker graphics card in detail settings ultra. - more...
CoD Modern Warfare 2
CoD Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
low:
277.5  fps      Compare
med.:
148  fps      Compare
high:
129.1  fps      Compare
ultra:
90.3  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Risen
Risen (2009)
low:
148.9  fps      Compare
med.:
125.7  fps      Compare
high:
104.6  fps      Compare
ultra:
70.9  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5 (2009)
low:
157.8  fps      Compare
high:
98.7  fps      Compare
ultra:
97.5  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Need for Speed Shift
Need for Speed Shift (2009)
med.:
113.8  fps      Compare
high:
115.9  fps      Compare
ultra:
93  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Colin McRae: DIRT 2
Colin McRae: DIRT 2 (2009)
low:
188.2  fps      Compare
med.:
157.5  fps      Compare
high:
130.7  fps      Compare
ultra:
81.3  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Anno 1404
Anno 1404 (2009)
low:
173  fps      Compare
ultra:
103.9  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
ArmA 2 (2009): Playable with a weaker graphics card in detail settings ultra. - more...
F.E.A.R. 2
F.E.A.R. 2 (2009)
low:
238.3  fps      Compare
med.:
160.2  fps      Compare
high:
154.7  fps      Compare
ultra:
108.7  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
GTA IV - Grand Theft Auto (2008): Playable with a weaker graphics card in detail settings high. - more...
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead (2008)
low:
244.2  fps      Compare
high:
191.1  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Far Cry 2
Far Cry 2 (2008)
low:
199.7  fps      Compare
high:
134  fps      Compare
ultra:
88.1  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Crysis Warhead (2008): Playable with a weaker graphics card in detail settings ultra. - more...
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare (2007)
low:
357.4  fps      Compare
med.:
244  fps      Compare
high:
172.1  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Supreme Commander - FA Bench (2007): Playable with a weaker graphics card in detail settings ultra. - more...
Crysis - GPU Benchmark
Crysis - GPU Benchmark (2007)
low:
132.1  fps      Compare
med.:
83.4  fps      Compare
high:
68.8  fps      Compare
ultra:
30.9  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Crysis - CPU Benchmark
Crysis - CPU Benchmark (2007)
low:
170.3  fps      Compare
med.:
89.5  fps      Compare
high:
72.8  fps      Compare
ultra:
30.1  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
World in Conflict - Benchmark (2007): Playable with a weaker graphics card in detail settings ultra. - more...
Call of Juarez Benchmark
Call of Juarez Benchmark (2006)
high:
152.2  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Half Life 2 - Lost Coast Benchmark
Half Life 2 - Lost Coast Benchmark (2005)
high:
244.9  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
F.E.A.R. (2005): Playable with a weaker graphics card in detail settings high. - more...

For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List

Notebook reviews with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M SLI graphics card

Deviltech HellMachine DTX (Intel Core i7 (Desktop) 960, 17.3")
» Review Deviltech HellMachine DTX (Clevo X7200) Notebook - Review
» Deviltech HellMachine DTX - External Review

MALIBAL Nine X7200 (Intel Core i7 (Desktop) 980X EE, 17.3")
» MALIBAL Nine X7200 - External Review

» Comparison of GPUs
Detailled list of all laptop GPUs with a short description. Classified and sorted by performance.

» Benchmark List
Sortable and restrainable list of all GPUs with benchmarks (e.g. 3DMarks).

» Notebook Gaming List
Which game can be played with my graphics card.

Class 1
GeForce GTX 590
GeForce GTX 580
Radeon HD 6970
GeForce GTX 570
GeForce GTX 480
GeForce GTX 560 Ti
Radeon HD 6870
GeForce GTX 470
Radeon HD 5850
GeForce GTX 460 768MB
Radeon HD 6790
Radeon HD 5770
GeForce GTX 550 Ti
GeForce GTS 450
Radeon HD 4850
Radeon HD 5670
Class 2
GeForce GT 240
GeForce GT 430
Radeon HD 7590M *
Radeon HD 5570
Radeon HD 7650M
Radeon HD 6550D *
GeForce GT 220
Radeon HD 6450 GDDR5
Class 3
Radeon HD 4350
GeForce G 107M *
Chrome9HD *
Class 4
Class 5
Class 6
SGX543MP2 *
Mali-400 MP *
PowerVR SGX540 *
PowerVR SGX535
unknown *

* Approximate position of the graphics adapter

> Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News > FAQ / Tips / Technics > Comparison of Laptop Graphics Cards > NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M SLI
Author: Klaus Hinum (Update: 2012-01-25)