The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M is a 28 nm DirectX-11 graphics card for mid- and high-end notebooks. It was introduced in January 2015 and is based on the Maxwell GM204 (later GM206) architecture. The clock rates specified by Nvidia are 924 MHz (+ Boost) for the GPU and 1250 MHz (5000 MHz effective) for the up to 4 GB of GDDR5 memory.
Early 2015 a new version of the 965M (codename N16E-GR, formerly known as 965M Ti) based on the GM206 will be available that features higher core clocks of 935 MHz base and 1151 MHz Turbo. This resulted in a 12% faster performance in games (in our tests with a MSI GE72 pre-sample in maximum detail settings). The TDP however should remain at 50 Watt like the GTX 960M and the chip is also pin compatible. In theory the GM206 also supports HDMI 2.0, but the laptop has to implement the wiring for this correctly.
Architecture
Just like the mid-range GM107 chip (GeForce GTX 860M), the GM204 is also based on Nvidia's new Maxwell architecture, which replaces the previous Kepler generation. Among other changes, Nvidia have restructured the streaming multi processors (SMM) in order to increase workload and efficiency. Now each SMM contains only 128 shader units and 8 TMUs, which is noticeably less than an equivalent Kepler GPU. The GM204 features four GPCs, and each consists of four SMMs. But, in the GeForce GTX 965M, Nvidia have deactivated 8 of 16 SMMs. As a result, only 1024 shader ALUs and 64 TMUs are active. In addition, there are 32 ROPs in two clusters with 16 units each.
The memory interface has a bandwidth of 128-bits (2x 64 bit). Thanks to an improved compression algorithm, the connection to the GDDR5 memory should be significantly more efficient per MHz. Furthermore, the L1 (96 KB per SMM) and L2 caches (2 MB) have been significantly increased to lower the needed bandwidth.
Although the GM107 and the GM204 both belong to the Maxwell generation, the newer and larger GM204 has several additional features and changes. Aside from the improved polymorphic engine in the SSMs, it is also the first Nvidia chip to support DirectX 12 Feature Level 12_1.
Performance
Thanks to the increased efficiency, the GeForce GTX 965M performs similar to the previous Kepler-GPU GeForce GTX 870M (1344 shader, 192-bit GDDR5). The more expensive, also Maxwell-based GTX 970M (1280 shader, 192-bit GDDR5) is a further 35 to 40 percent faster. Overall, the GTX 965M is fast enough to run demanding games as of 2014/2015 with high details and FullHD resolution. In some titles, even additional quality features like anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering are possible.
Features
Most of the features are identical to the GeForce GTX 800M series. With the GTX 965M, there can be up to 4 active displays possible, but this will likely decrease due to Optimus. Displays can be connected with a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels at 60 Hz via DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI 2.0 (no HDCP @ 4K). HD audio formats like Dolby True HD and DTS HD can be sent to a compatible receiver as bitstream. As with previous models, 3D Vision is not supported with Optimus.
The updated video processor VP6 supports the usual formats like H.264 and can also decode and encode H.265 with a resolution of up to 4K via the NVENC API. Several parallel streams, such as picture-in-picture in a Blu-Ray movie, are also possible.
Further features of the GTX 900M series, which are also partly supported by older cards, include Battery Boost (longer battery life during gaming), Shadowplay (recording of gaming videos up to 4K60p and 130 Mbit/s) and Gamestream (game streaming on Shield console). More information on these features are available here.
Power Consumption
The power consumption of the 28 nm GeForce GTX 965M including its MXM board and memory should be significantly below the GTX 870M at an estimated 70 watts. Nevertheless, the graphics card can only be used in large gaming notebooks with powerful cooling systems.
Under low load, dynamic clock rates help the GTX 965M to save energy. While idle, the Optimus technology also allows for the complete deactivation of the GPU in favor of the integrated processor graphics card.
GeForce GTX 900M Series
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Codename | N16E-GS, N16E-GR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architecture | Maxwell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pipelines | 1024 - unified | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Core Speed | 924 / 935 - 950 / 1151 (Boost) MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memory Speed | 5000 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memory Bus Width | 128 Bit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Max. Amount of Memory | 4 GB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shared Memory | no | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| API | DirectX 12_1, Shader 5.0, OpenGL 4.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Power Consumption | 50 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transistor Count | 5.2 Billion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| technology | 28 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Features | Battery Boost, GameStream, ShadowPlay, GPU Boost 2.0, Optimus, PhysX, CUDA, SLI, GeForce Experience, DSR, Ansel, G-SYNC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notebook Size | large | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of Announcement | 05.01.2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Link to Manufacturer Page | www.geforce.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Average benchmark values for this graphics cardThe 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.
For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List
SCHENKER XMG A516: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 15.60", 2.5 kg
Review » Schenker XMG A516 (Clevo N150RF) Notebook Review
MIFcom EG7: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 17.30", 3.1 kg
Review » MIFcom EG7 (Clevo N170RF) Notebook Review
MSI GE72 965M Ti: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 17.30"
Review » Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M 2016 Refresh (N16E-GR) Review
SCHENKER XMG C405: Intel Core i7-4720HQ, 14.00", 1.8 kg
Review » Schenker XMG C405 Notebook Review
MSI GE62-2QEUi716H21BW: Intel Core i7-4720HQ, 15.60", 2.4 kg
Review » MSI GE62 Notebook Review
SCHENKER XMG P705: Intel Core i7-4720HQ, 17.30", 3.3 kg
Review » Schenker XMG P705 (Clevo P670SA) Notebook Review
Microsoft Surface Book with Performance Base: Intel Core i7-6600U, 13.50", 1.7 kg
External Review » Microsoft Surface Book with Performance Base
HP Omen 17-w005ur: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 17.30", 2.8 kg
External Review » HP Omen 17-w005ur
HP Omen 17-w010nd: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 17.30", 2.9 kg
External Review » HP Omen 17-w010nd
Microsoft Surface Book 2016, Core i7: Intel Core i7-6600U, 13.50", 1.7 kg
External Review » Microsoft Surface Book 2016, Core i7
HP Omen 17-w010ng: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 17.30", 2.8 kg
External Review » HP Omen 17-w010ng
Gigabyte Aero 14-K-ES-CF1: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 14.00", 1.9 kg
External Review » Gigabyte Aero 14-K-ES-CF1
HP Omen 15-ax025nd: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 11.60", 2.2 kg
External Review » HP Omen 15-ax025nd
HP Omen 15-ax009no: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 15.60", 2.1 kg
External Review » HP Omen 15-ax009no
HP Omen 15-ax011na: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 15.60", 2.2 kg
External Review » HP Omen 15-ax011na
HP Omen 17-w009ng: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 17.30", 2.8 kg
External Review » HP Omen 17-w009ng
Asus G752VL-GC085T: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 17.30", 4.5 kg
External Review » Asus G752VL-GC085T
HP Omen 15-ax003ng: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 15.60", 2.2 kg
External Review » HP Omen 15-ax003ng
HP OMEN 15-ax006ur: Intel Core i5-6300HQ, 15.60", 2.2 kg
External Review » HP OMEN 15-ax006ur
Alienware 13 OLED: Intel Core i7-6500U, 13.30", 2.1 kg
External Review » Alienware 13 OLED
HP Omen 15-ax002nc: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 15.60", 2.3 kg
External Review » HP Omen 15-ax002nc
HP Omen 17-w012ng: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 17.30", 2.8 kg
External Review » HP Omen 17-w012ng
HP Omen 15-ax008ng: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 15.60", 2.2 kg
External Review » HP Omen 15-ax008ng
Sager NP7258: Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 15.60", 2.5 kg
External Review » Sager NP7258
Gigabyte P55K v4-W2: Intel Core i7-5700HQ, 15.60", 2.5 kg
External Review » Gigabyte P55K v4-W2
Alienware 15 R2: Intel Core i5-6300HQ, 15.60", 3.2 kg
External Review » Alienware 15 R2
Cyberpower Fangbook III HX6-200: Intel Core i7-5700HQ, 15.60", 2.4 kg
External Review » Cyberpower Fangbook III HX6-200
Alienware 15-4068: Intel Core i5-4210H, 15.60", 3.2 kg
External Review » Alienware 15-4068
Asus G751JL-T7028: Intel Core i7-4720HQ, 17.30", 4.3 kg
External Review » Asus G751JL-T7028
MSI GS60 2QD-470UK: Intel Core i7-4720HQ, 15.60", 2 kg
External Review » MSI GS60 2QD-470UK
MSI GE62-2QEWi78H11: Intel Core i7-4720HQ, 15.60", 2.4 kg
External Review » MSI GE62-2QEWi78H11
MSI GE72-2QEi716H21BW: Intel Core i7-4720HQ, 17.30", 2.7 kg
External Review » MSI GE72-2QEi716H21BW
SCHENKER XMG C405: Intel Core i7-4720HQ, 14.00", 1.8 kg
External Review » Schenker XMG C405
Origin PC EON17-X: unknown, 17.30", 3.9 kg
External Review » Origin PC EON17-X
Gigabyte P35K v3: Intel Core i7-4720HQ, 15.60", 2.3 kg
External Review » Gigabyte P35K v3
MSI GE62-2QEWi781: Intel Core i7-4720HQ, 15.60", 2.4 kg
External Review » MSI GE62-2QEWi781
SCHENKER XMG P705: Intel Core i7-4720HQ, 17.30", 3.3 kg
External Review » Schenker XMG P705
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