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NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M

NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M is a mid-range, DirectX 11.1 compatible graphics card that was announced in the first quarter of 2012 for laptops. It is a Kepler-based GPU built on the GK107 architecture and is manufactured in 28nm at TSMC. The graphics card uses a 128-Bit wide memory interface with either the more common but slower DDR3 for VRAM or the more expensive and faster GDDR5. Due to a higher core clock of up to 850 MHz the GT 650M is noticably faster than the 640M.

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 GeForce GT 650M equipped with DDR3 graphics memory is somewhere in the former 2011 high-end category between the GeForce GTX 460M and GTX 560M. The performance is exceptionally good in shader-heavy DirectX 11 games and benchmarks. However, the 128-Bit memory interface can be a bottleneck if DDR3 graphics memory is employed. Despite the slower core clock of only 735 MHz, the GDDR5-version of the card should be similar fast. Demanding games of 2011 like Battlefield 3 will be playable in 1366x768 and medium or high settings. Less demanding games, such as Modern Warfare 3, are easily playable with maxed out settings and 1080p resolution.

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 should be best suited for medium-sized notebooks 15-inches or greater.

GeForce GT 600M Series

GeForce GT 650M SLI compare 768 @ 0.79 - 0.84 GHz2x 128 Bit @ 4000 MHz
GeForce GT 650M 384 @ 0.74 - 0.9 GHz128 Bit @ 1800 - 4000 MHz
GeForce GT 645M compare 384 @ 0.71 GHz128 Bit @ 1800 MHz
GeForce GT 640M compare 384 @ 0.63 - 0.65 GHz128 Bit @ 1800 - 4000 MHz
GeForce GT 640M LE compare 384 @ 0.5 GHz128 Bit @ 1800 - 4000 MHz
GeForce GT 635M compare 144 @ 0.66 - 0.75 GHz128/192 Bit @ 1800 MHz
GeForce GT 630M compare 96 @ 0.67 GHz128 Bit @ 1800 MHz
GeForce GT 625M compare 96 @ 0.63 GHz64 Bit @ 1800 MHz
GeForce GT 620M compare 96 @ 0.63 - 0.72 GHz64 / 128 Bit @ 1800 MHz
CodenameN13E-GE
ArchitectureKepler
Pipelines384 - unified
Core Speed735 - 900 (Boost) MHz
Memory Speed1800 - 4000 MHz
Memory Bus Width128 Bit
Memory TypeDDR3, GDDR5
Max. Amount of Memory2048 MB
Shared Memoryno
APIDirectX 11, Shader 5.0
technology28 nm
FeaturesOptimus, PhysX, Verde Drivers, CUDA, 3D Vision, 3DTV Play
Notebook Sizemedium sized
Date of Announcement22.03.2012

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - 3DMark 11 + Fire Strike + Time Spy
5.3 pt (5%)
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Score
min: 6612     avg: 7487     median: 6874 (7%)     max: 8685 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
min: 9967     avg: 10564     median: 10647 (3%)     max: 10995 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Score
min: 1212     avg: 1330     median: 1241 (0%)     max: 1496 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
min: 1231     avg: 1422     median: 1420 (2%)     max: 1616 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Graphics
min: 44818     avg: 76826     median: 84841.5 (11%)     max: 92803 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Score
min: 1982     avg: 2306     median: 2320 (3%)     max: 2453 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance GPU
min: 1874     avg: 2104     median: 2111.5 (2%)     max: 2304 Points
3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. total
min: 7712     avg: 9469     median: 9682 (3%)     max: 10648 Points
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX
min: 6935     avg: 8081     median: 8338 (5%)     max: 9146 Points
3DMark 03 - 3DMark 03 - Standard
min: 30536     avg: 34777     median: 36565 (19%)     max: 38010 Points
3DMark 05 - 3DMark 05 - Standard
min: 17901     avg: 21266     median: 22638.5 (25%)     max: 23836 Points
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Score Unknown Settings +
3DMark 06
min: 10661     avg: 12341     median: 12357 (17%)     max: 14004 points
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +
3DMark 06
min: 10661     avg: 13600     median: 13514 (19%)     max: 14990 Points
Unigine Heaven 2.1 - Heaven 2.1 high
min: 21.8     avg: 28.3     median: 28.6 (5%)     max: 36.6 fps
SPECviewperf 11
specvp11 snx-01 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 snx-01
min: 1.8     avg: 2.8     median: 3.1 (2%)     max: 3.32 fps
specvp11 tcvis-02 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 tcvis-02
min: 0.93     avg: 1     median: 1 (2%)     max: 1 fps
specvp11 sw-02 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 sw-02
min: 6.58     avg: 7.7     median: 7.8 (9%)     max: 8.77 fps
specvp11 proe-05 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 proe-05
min: 1.15     avg: 1.2     median: 1.2 (5%)     max: 1.23 fps
specvp11 maya-03 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 maya-03
min: 7.98     avg: 10.8     median: 11.5 (9%)     max: 12.08 fps
specvp11 lightwave-01 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 lightwave-01
min: 11.55     avg: 13.9     median: 14.5 (16%)     max: 14.98 fps
specvp11 ensight-04 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 ensight-04
min: 8.3     avg: 18.9     median: 22.2 (11%)     max: 23.03 fps
specvp11 catia-03 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 catia-03
min: 6.77     avg: 7.6     median: 7.7 (9%)     max: 8.42 fps
SPECviewperf 12
specvp12 sw-03 +
specvp12 snx-02 +
specvp12 showcase-01 +
specvp12 mediacal-01 +
specvp12 maya-04 +
specvp12 energy-01 +
specvp12 creo-01 +
specvp12 catia-04 +
Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Gaming graphics
min: 6.5     avg: 7     median: 7.1 (90%)     max: 7.2 Points
Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Graphics
min: 4.7     avg: 6.8     median: 7.1 (90%)     max: 7.2 Points
Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) +
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit)
min: 4544     avg: 6092     median: 6483.5 (5%)     max: 8268 points
Cinebench R11.5 Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit +
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit
min: 24.77     avg: 40.1     median: 42.2 (15%)     max: 47.51 fps
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

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 detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

low 1024x768
25.9  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
20.7  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
13.3  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
4.8  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
GRID 2

GRID 2

2013
low 1024x768
113.8  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
82.1  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
59.7  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
18.9  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
low 1024x768
41 44.4 ~ 43 fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
37 37.4 ~ 37 fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
19 22.4 ~ 21 fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
12  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
low 1280x720
96.7 98.6 ~ 98 fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
54.2 57.7 ~ 56 fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
44.9 51.1 ~ 48 fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
16.1 18.8 ~ 17 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
low 1024x768
207.3  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
88.7  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
65.2  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
25  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
SimCity

SimCity

2013
low 1024x768
40.9  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
25  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
20.6  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
11.8  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
low 1024x768
104.4 113.9 120 ~ 113 fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
61.7 62.7