Apple M3 10-Core GPU vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q design is the power saving variant of the mobile GeForce RTX 2060. Therefore it is a high end gaming graphics card for thin laptops. It is based on the same chip as the RTX 2060 but with reduced clock speeds and a lower power consumption. It was released in 2020 with the Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop.

With the refresh, Nvidia also reworked the Max-Q technologies for more efficiency. Low Voltage GDDR6 (lower clocked but more headroom for the GPU) and improved regulator efficiency should improve the performance per Watt. Two new optional features can also be implemented by the OEM. Max-Q Dynamic Boost is able to shift power from the CPU to the GPU on a per frame basis to increase overall performance. Furthermore, the laptop manufacturer can also implement Advanced Optimus with a dynamic display switch (hardware) to enable Optimus, G-SYNC and high refresh rate displays (up to 4K 120 Hz).

The clock is not the only difference compared to the regular GTX 2060 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).

The performance should be only slightly below the normal RTX 2060 due to the decreased clock rates. It should be most suited for 1080p gaming at maximum detail level. Raytracing features however may reduce framerates a lot, so using raytracing will be limited to some games.

The chip is specified at a TGP of around 65 Watt and therefore clearly lower than the 80 - 90 Watt of the regular RTX 2060 Mobile.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 for laptops is the second fastest mobile graphics card for notebooks in early 2019. It is based on the desktop RTX 2070 but with reduced core speeds (-11% Boost, -14% Base). The memory appears to be similar clocked and sized. Therefore, the RTX2070 offers 2,304 shaders and 8 GB GDDR6 memory connected by a 256 bit interface (14 GHz, 448 GB/s).

A more power efficient "Max-Q" version is also available with further reduced clock rates.

In April 2020 Nvidia refreshed the RTX 2070 with new "Super" cards. In addition to the RTX 2070 Super Mobile with 2560 shaders, Nvidia also introduced a slightly higher clocked RTX 2070 for laptops (N18E-G1R-A1, TU106-735-A1 chip) with a 1,305 base and 1,485 MHz boost clock.

Features

NVIDIA manufacturers the TU106 chip on a 12 nm FinFET process and includes features like Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and Real-Time Ray Tracing (RTRT), which should combine to create more realistic lighting effects than older GPUs based on the company's Pascal architecture (if the games supports it). The RTX 2070 is also DisplayPort 1.4 ready, while there is also support for HDMI 2.0b, HDR, Simultaneous Multi-Projection (SMP) and H.265 video en/decoding (PlayReady 3.0).

Performance

The mobile RTX 2070 should perform a bit slower than the desktop RTX 2070 and therefore on par the old GTX 1080 for laptops. Therefore, it should be able to run all demanding games in 4k with high details. Raytracing features however may reduce framerates a lot.