NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX SLI vs NVIDIA GeForce 9650M GS
NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX SLI
► remove from comparisonThe Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTX SLI consists of two GeForce 9800M GTX cards in SLI mode. Each 9800M GTX is based on the G94 core with 112 shader processors. The cores themselves are produced in a 65nm fabrication process. The power consumption of the SLI combo is twice as large as a single card (2x75W). As a result, the 9800M GTX SLI is only suited for larger laptops with good cooling solutions.
The SLI version of the 9800M GTX is about 0-40% faster than a single 9800M GTX (depending on the SLI support of the game and the driver version). In some games, there may even be a slight decrease in performance. Futhermore, some games may suffer from noticeable micro stuttering in the 30 FPS range due to frame irregularities inherent to dual GPU systems. Consequently, users may need higher FPS for a fluent gameplay experience. Still, DirectX 10 games should run fluently in high detail settings and resolutions (see gaming section below).
Similar to all other cards with native DirectX 10 capabilities, the GeForce GTX 285M renders 3D images using "Unified Shaders". In other words, there are no longer any more dedicated pixel shaders or vertex shaders. Instead, new stream processors (2x112 of them in the 9800M SLI) now process most of the heavy graphics loading that would have otherwise been done by dedicated pixel and vertex shaders. In fact, the shader units are clocked higher (1250 MHz) than the core chip itself.
The GeForce 9000 series also takes advantage of the integrated PureVideo HD video processor. It is thus able to assist the CPU in decoding H.264-, VC-1-, MPEG2- and WMV9 video material.
In conjunction with the Nvidia 9100M G integrated graphics, the 9800M GTX supports Hybrid-SLI (HybridPower). HybridPower is an Nvidia power-saving technology for Windows Vista used for switching between integrated and dedicated graphics cards. In the future, Nvidia wants this switch to occur automatically with drivers (now known as Optimus). GeForceBoost is not supported with the 9800M SLI as there would be no performance gain in combining the integrated GPU with the dedicated video card.
Compared to desktop graphics cards, the 9800M GTX SLI should be a bit slower than the GeForce 8800 GT in SLI mode, partly due to the higher memory clock rate of the latter.
NVIDIA GeForce 9650M GS
► remove from comparisonThe 9650M is a higher clocked 9500M GS and the successor of the 8700M GT (same chip but other spinning). Therefore, the performance should be on par with the 8700M GT.
The graphic card offers DirectX 10 support like the predecessor. However, the performance is not sufficient to represent the effects of exigent games like Crysis or World in Conflict fluently. (because they are combined with highest detail level). Older DirectX 9 games should run fluently with high details.
A particularity of the graphic card are the "Unified Shaders" or ALUs (arithmetic logical units). There are no dedicated pixel- or vertex shaders any more but 32 so claled stream processors do the graphic work (in former days that was the job of the pixel and vertex shaders). The advantage is that theoretically there is no idle time of the ALUs. The stream processors of NVIDIA are 1-dimensional (1D) and are able to make one skalar operation with one MADD- (addition and multiplication) and MUL-operation (multiplication). Furthermore, NVIDIA cloks the shader-ALUs somewhat higher than the remaining chip.
Due to the PureVideo HD engine, the 9650M GS is able to accellerate the decoding of HD videos in H.264, VC-1, MPEG2, and WMV9.
NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX SLI | NVIDIA GeForce 9650M GS | |||||||||||||
GeForce 9000M Series |
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Codename | NB9E-GTX | NB9P-GS1 | ||||||||||||
Architecture | G9x | G8x | ||||||||||||
Pipelines | 224 - unified | 32 - unified | ||||||||||||
Core Speed | 500 MHz | 625 MHz | ||||||||||||
Shader Speed | 1250 MHz | 1250 MHz | ||||||||||||
Memory Speed | 800 MHz | 800 MHz | ||||||||||||
Memory Bus Width | 256 Bit | 128 Bit | ||||||||||||
Memory Type | GDDR3 | GDDR2?, GDDR3 | ||||||||||||
Max. Amount of Memory | 1024 MB | 512 MB | ||||||||||||
Shared Memory | no | no | ||||||||||||
API | DirectX 10, Shader 4.0 | DirectX 10, Shader 3.0 | ||||||||||||
Power Consumption | 150 Watt | 29 Watt | ||||||||||||
Transistors | 3 Billion | 289 Million | ||||||||||||
technology | 65 nm | 80 nm | ||||||||||||
Features | PureVideo HD, CUDA, PhysX-ready, SLI | MXM III Slot, 1250 MHz shader clock, OpenGL 2.1 support, dual-link DVI (if supported by the notebook). | ||||||||||||
Notebook Size | large | large | ||||||||||||
Date of Announcement | 15.07.2008 | 13.03.2008 | ||||||||||||
Information | 2xMXM 3 | |||||||||||||
Link to Manufacturer Page | www.nvidia.com | www.nvidia.com |