NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 Max-Q vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q

The Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000 with Max-Q Design is a professional high-end graphics card for powerful laptops and mobile workstations. The Max-Q variants are lower clocked versions that are running more efficient and can be used in smaller chassis than the regular versions. It is based on the same TU104 chip as the consumer GeForce RTX 2080 (mobile) but offers fewer shaders (2,560) and is therefore positioned between the GeForce RTX 2080 (2,944) and 2070 (2,304). Currently we know of three different Max-Q variants with a power consumption (TGP) of 90, 85 and 80 Watt and different clock speeds.

The Quadro GPUs offer certified drivers, which are optimized for stability and performance in professional applications (CAD, DCC, medical, prospection, and visualizing applications). The performance in these areas is therefore much better compared to corresponding consumer GPUs.

Features

NVIDIA manufacturers the TU104 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 support it). The Quadro RTX 5000 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

For professional applications, the Quadro RTX 4000 Max-Q should be only slightly above the mobile Quadro RTX 3000 (depending on the version). Compared to consumer cards, the mobile RTX 2070 will offer a similar performance (or slightly lower).

The still relatively high power consumption of the RTX4000 Max-Q makes the card most suited for big laptops although we should see thinner designs with the Max-Q variants.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super with Max-Q design is the power saving variant of the mobile GeForce RTX 2070 Super with reduced clock speeds, performance and of course power consumption. It is intended for thin gaming laptops. It is based on the same TU104-725-A1 chip with 2,560 shaders, 8 GB GDDR6 memory and a 256 Bit memory bus. Currently we know of three variants with a TGP of 80, 85 and 90 Watt, base clock speeds of 930, 1005, and 1080 MHz, and turbo clock speeds of 1155, 1230 and 1290 MHz. The mobile variant for comparison is rated at 115 W and 1140 - 1380 MHz.

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).

Features

NVIDIA manufacturers the TU104 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 Super Max-Q 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

Due to the lower clock rates, the Max-Q variant is clearly slower than the mobile RTX 2070 Super. The difference depends on the used variant, where the 90 W version is only slightly slower. Therefore, the performance should be sufficient for maximum detail settings at a QHD resolution. With raytracing enabled, you may have to reduce settings or resolution. Less demanding games can be easily played in 4k.

The power consumption of the card is between 80 - 90 Watt TGP and therefore clearly lower than the RTX 2070 Super Mobile (115 Watt).