The performance of RTX 2080 Max-Q laptops may vary substantially depending on TDP

Performance depends on the version

If you plan on purchasing an RTX 2080 Max-Q laptop, you should pay special attention to the TDP version. The reason: According to our benchmarks, the performance gap can be quite substantial.

Florian Glaser (translated by Marius S.), Published 02/26/2019

As it turns out, there are not only two versions of the GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q (detailed here), but there are also two versions of the GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, which vary primarily in TDP and clock rates. While the 80-watt edition is rated for 735 to 1095 MHz (for example in the Acer Predator Triton 500), the 90-watt edition clocks at 990 to 1230 MHz (for example in the Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701GX). In the following extended series of tests, we evaluate the performance impact of these differences.

Synthetic benchmarks

3DMark | 3DMark 11

3DMark
2560x1440 Port Royal Graphics
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	4655 Points
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	4268 Points
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	8512 Points
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	7733 Points
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	21515 Points
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	20703 Points

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	29453 Points
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	27863 Points

Gaming benchmarks

Shadow of the Tomb Raider
1920x1080 Highest Preset AA:T
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	78 (42^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	71 (39^min) fps
2560x1440 Highest Preset AA:T
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	61 (41^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	57 (37^min) fps
3840x2160 Highest Preset AA:T
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	37 (19^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	33 (17^min) fps

Battlefield V
1920x1080 Ultra Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	122 (87^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	116 (88^min) fps
2560x1440 Ultra Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	98.2 (77^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	91.6 (72^min) fps
3840x2160 Ultra Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	57.8 (46^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	52.5 (42^min) fps
1920x1080 Ultra Preset DXR
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	62.4 (47^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	59.5 (45^min) fps

FIFA 19
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:4x MS
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	248 (232^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	219 (192^min) fps
2560x1440 Ultra Preset AA:4x MS
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	237 (213^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	211 (187^min) fps
3840x2160 Ultra Preset AA:4x MS
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	188 (157^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	161 (135^min) fps

Star Wars Battlefront 2
1920x1080 Ultra Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	117 (105^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	110 (103^min) fps
2560x1440 Ultra Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	80.9 (75^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	76.5 (70^min) fps
3840x2160 Ultra Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	42.7 (39^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	39.3 (36^min) fps

Need for Speed Payback
1920x1080 Ultra Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	115 (73^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	104 (79^min) fps
2560x1440 Ultra Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	95.6 (72^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	88.2 (66^min) fps
3840x2160 Ultra Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	54.3 (40^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	47.2 (34^min) fps

Fortnite
1920x1080 Epic Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	136 (95^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	121 (90^min) fps
2560x1440 Epic Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	105 (94^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	97.7 (64^min) fps
3840x2160 Epic Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	50.4 (48^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	46.7 (42^min) fps

Call of Duty Black Ops 4
1920x1080 Very High / On
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	131 (104^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	128 (94^min) fps
2560x1440 Very High / On
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	91.4 (67^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	83.8 (62^min) fps
3840x2160 Very High / On
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	41.6 (27^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	40.4 (30^min) fps

Assassin´s Creed Odyssey
1920x1080 Ultra High Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	59 fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	53 (27^min) fps
2560x1440 Ultra High Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	48 fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	46 (19^min) fps
3840x2160 Ultra High Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	32 fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	30 (15^min) fps

Far Cry 5
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	100 (80^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	93 (73^min) fps
2560x1440 Ultra Preset AA:T
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	79 (64^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	72 (58^min) fps
3840x2160 Ultra Preset AA:T
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	44 (39^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	40 (35^min) fps

Middle-earth: Shadow of War
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	99 (34^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	93 (30^min) fps
2560x1440 Ultra Preset AA:T
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	72 (31^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	66 (28^min) fps
3840x2160 Ultra Preset AA:T
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	44 (23^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	40 (22^min) fps

F1 2018
1920x1080 Ultra High Preset AA:T AF:16x
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	102 (82^min) fps
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	102 (83^min) fps
2560x1440 Ultra High Preset AA:T AF:16x
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	87 (76^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	86 (60^min) fps
3840x2160 Ultra High Preset AA:T AF:16x
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	56 (50^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	51 (47^min) fps

Darksiders III
1920x1080 Epic
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	112 (79^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	103 (74^min) fps
2560x1440 Epic
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	82.6 (71^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	75.2 (64^min) fps
3840x2160 Epic
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	42.7 (37^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	37.8 (32^min) fps

ELEX
1920x1080 Ultra / On AA:SM AF:16x
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	99 (90^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	92.7 (86^min) fps
2560x1440 Ultra / On AA:SM AF:16x
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	68.1 (64^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	63.2 (59^min) fps
3840x2160 Ultra / On AA:SM AF:16x
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	35.7 (34^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	33 (31^min) fps

Just Cause 4
1920x1080 Very High / On AA:SM AF:16x
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	101 (93^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	98.1 (89^min) fps
2560x1440 Very High / On AA:SM AF:16x
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	69.9 (64^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	67.6 (62^min) fps
3840x2160 Very High / On AA:SM AF:16x
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	39.9 (37^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	39.5 (36^min) fps

Monster Hunter World
1920x1080 Highest Preset (Image Quality High)
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	90.9 (72^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	84.8 (68^min) fps
2560x1440 Highest Preset (Image Quality High)
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	58.4 (49^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	52.5 (45^min) fps
3840x2160 Highest Preset (Image Quality High)
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	29.7 (25^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	27.1 (23^min) fps

Kingdom Come: Deliverance
1920x1080 Ultra High Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	68.4 (50^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	64.9 (42^min) fps
2560x1440 Ultra High Preset
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	52.2 (41^min) fps
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	50.2 (37^min) fps
3840x2160 Ultra High Preset
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	27.5 (23^min) fps
Acer Triton 500 GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H	26.7 (23^min) fps

GPU-Z screenshots

RTX 2080 Max-Q 80 Watt TDP (Acer Triton 500)

RTX 2080 Max-Q 90 Watt TDP (Asus GX701GX)

The GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q is only 10 percent faster than the GTX 1080 Max-Q when running DX11 games 06/07/2019

World War Z was chosen to test numerous graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD. (Source: AMD)

AMD's Radeon VII and RX Vega 64 LC crush Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2080 and 2080 Ti in World War Z GPU benchmark 04/21/2019

Max-Q GPUs use less power and create less heat. (Source: Nvidia)

Nvidia might release a Max-Q version of the mobile GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU 03/25/2019

Free games are available for purchases of qualifying Nvidia GeForce RTX 20-series cards. (Source: Nvidia)

Nvidia's Triple Threat Bundle offers Battlefield V, Anthem, and/or Metro Exodus with qualifying RTX 20-series purchase 03/07/2019

The fastest RTX 2070 Max-Q laptop is just 7 percent behind the slowest RTX 2080 Max-Q laptop

The fastest GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q laptop is just 7 percent behind the slowest RTX 2080 Max-Q laptop 03/07/2019

A mobile version of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti would likely be popular with gamers. (Source: Nvidia)

Dell clears up RTX 2050 typo, leaks mobile GTX 1660 Ti instead 03/06/2019

The single-fan EVGA GTX 1060 6GB. (Source: Topachat)

The GTX 1060 is being cleared off to make room for the 1660 series – or is it? 03/04/2019

Future Dell G5 15 gaming laptops could come with either a GTX 2050 or RTX 2050 GPU inside. (Source: Dell)

Dell might have just accidentally leaked either an Nvidia GeForce GTX 2050 or even an RTX 2050 GPU 03/04/2019

Lenovo Legion Y740 is somehow $500 cheaper than the next cheapest GeForce RTX 2080 laptop 02/27/2019

There are decent savings to be had on RTX 2080 cards from EVGA, Asus, and others. (Source: Walmart)

Walmart discounts EVGA, MSI, and Asus GeForce RTX 2080 GPUs; Nvidia offers Founders Edition game bundle 02/27/2019

The top-end Alienware Area-51m laptop costs over US$5000. (Source: Dell)

Alienware Area-51m laptops configured with an RTX 2080 will receive power-boosting BIOS in April 02/24/2019

The Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 Ti ArcticStorm GPU offers 4K gaming potential. (Source: Zotac)

Zotac announces Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 Ti ArcticStorm graphics card with fitted waterblock 02/18/2019

Despite almost halved gaming GPU sales, Nvidia's revenues for 2018 turned out to be on the plus side. (Source: PCMag)

Nvidia explains disappointing RTX 2080 / 2070 sales, year-over-year gaming GPU sales down 45% 02/15/2019

Sapphire AMD Radeon VII video card (Source: VideoCardz)

NVIDIA should worry: The AMD Radeon VII is faster than the GeForce RTX 2080 according to leaked 3DMark results 01/31/2019

We benchmark the mobile RTX 2060, 2070, and 2080 Max-Q and compare them to the desktop RTX 2080 and GTX 1080 01/31/2019

GeForce RTX 2080 mobile is a desktop RTX 2080 but 50 percent underclocked (Image source: Nvidia)

GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q is a desktop RTX 2080 but up to 50 percent underclocked 01/28/2019

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Marius Schell - Tech Writer - 398 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2020

Even in my youth I was already very enthusiastic about technology, and as a result I started building PCs, optimizing them, and writing programs while I was still in school. When dealing with the inevitable hardware and software problems associated with computers, I was always relentless in my search for the necessary solutions. The compact forms of laptops and smartphones introduced further challenges in this regard. In my reviews for Notebookcheck I try to communicate as objectively as possible how well a device copes with these hurdles.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2019 02 > The performance of RTX 2080 Max-Q laptops may vary substantially depending on TDP

Florian Glaser, 2019-02-26 (Update: 2019-02-28)

Synthetic benchmarks

Gaming benchmarks

GPU-Z screenshots

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