Nvidia has made some ambitious claims about the performance of its upcoming mobile graphics chip, the MX150 and shown off specifications to back them up. It is said to offer much-improved performance efficiency over the Maxwell-based 940MX from the previous graphics generation and claims that the performance can be as much as four times that of integrated Intel graphics.
Although graphics cards and chips are often talked about in the same conversation as high-end gaming, they do have their uses elsewhere. For non-gamers, having a dedicated graphics chip can make a big difference in the time it takes to edit photos, or in remastering video. Those content creators are the ones Nvidia is targeting with its new release, claiming that the MX150 is a must-have for their next upgrade.
In terms of specifications, this chip sports 384 CUDA cores, according to Tech Powerup, which while the same as the 940MX, come in a 16nm package. That’s a full 12nm smaller than the older, 900-series generation. It has also partnered up exclusively with GDDR5 memory, whereas its predecessor often shipped out with slower GDDR3 instead.
As reported, clock speeds should be higher too, though the specifics of that will likely depend on the device the chip is used in and how strong its cooling solution is.
Those architectural changes should lead to big gains in performance and efficiency. While it’s always important to take manufacturer claims of real-world performance with a pinch of salt, the MX150 is said to have three times the performance per watt, when compared with the 940MX. Photo editing is also said to be up to 2.5 times as fast as Intel’s HD520 onboard graphics chip.
Video remastering sees a 33-percent improvement over the 940MX, too, with operation at four times the speed of the HD520. Overall, this is said to give the MX150 four times the performance of that same Intel chip, and provide comparable improvements over the HD620.
The added efficiency from the new chip design should give hardware manufacturers many more options when it comes to the power draw and performance they offer. If they so choose, they could utilize the added efficiency to provide stronger battery life and reduced temperature output for smaller, lighter devices, alongside the more powerful alternatives.
Laptops from the likes of Acer, Asus, Clevo, HP, and MSI fitted with the MX150 chip, should start shipping out in June.
Updated 05/29/2017 by Jon Martindale – Improved image gallery.
