NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 SLI (Desktop) vs NVIDIA GeForce MX130 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 SLI (Desktop)

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 SLI for desktops is a combination of two GTX 1070 graphics cards in SLI mode. Each card renders one frame at a time (AFR mode) but depends for most games on a good profile in the driver. Therefore, the performance can range from no gains over a single GTX 1070 to up to 90% faster performance. In most games with SLI support, the GTX 1070 SLI is therefore faster than a single GTX 1080. However, sometimes the combination also suffers from micro-stuttering.

The technical details of the card are identical to a single GTX 1070 (see for more information) and the power consumption is doubled (2x 150 = 300 Watt).

NVIDIA GeForce MX130

The Nvidia GeForce MX130 is a mid-range laptop graphics card with DirectX 12 support (FL 11_0) based on the older Maxwell architecture. It is a renamed GeForce 940MX and was announced in late 2017. It can be equipped with fast GDDR5 or slower DDR3 graphics memory.

The performance should be identical to the corresponding 940MX version (see our extensive benchmarks) and therefore positioned below the GeForce MX150. Demanding games like Ark Survival Evolved or PUBG may not run fluently even in the lowest detail settings. Less demanding games like Fifa 18 (with a powerful CPU) or Overwatch are also playable in medium settings.

The TDP of the card should be rated at about 15 to 30 Watt (depending on the version, clock speeds and memory). Therefore, the GPU is best suited for laptops from 13-inch and up.

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.