NVIDIA’s GeForce 700M Family: Full Details and Specs
by Jarred Walton on April 1, 2013 9:00 AM ESTPerformance Expectations
In their presentation and FAQ, NVIDIA provided estimates of performance relative to Ivy Bridge Core i5 ULV with HD 4000. Before we get to those numbers, we want to quickly set the stage for what NVIDIA is showing. Despite the similarity in name and features, as we discovered last year the ULV chips tend to run into TDP limits when you’re trying to hit both the CPU and the iGPU. The CPU cores for instance can use around 12-15W and a full load on the iGPU can create another 10-15W; stuff both into a 17W TDP and you’re going to get throttling, which is exactly what happens.
Looking at HD 4000 performance with Core i5 ULV and Core i7 quad-core, you can see that the quad-core part is anywhere from 0% to around 60% faster. On average it’s 35% faster at our 2012 “Value” settings and 26% faster at our 2012 “Mainstream” settings. As for the 700M performance relative to Core i5 ULV, NVIDIA provides the following estimates based on benchmarks at moderate detail and 1366x768 in Battlefield 3, Crysis 2, Just Cause 2, DiRT 3, and F1 2011:
Besides the above slide, NVIDIA provided some performance estimates using results from the 3DMark 11 Performance benchmark, and the results are even more heavily in favor of NVIDIA. In their FAQ, NVIDIA states that even the lowly GeForce 710M is three times faster than ULV HD 4000, while the GT 720M is 3.3x faster, GT 730M and 735M are 4.8X faster (hmmm…do we really need GT 735M?), GT 740M is 5.3X faster, GT 745M is 5.8x faster, and GT 750M is 6.3x faster. Of course, those number are from NVIDIA, going up against the much slower ULV variant of Ivy Bridge, and using 3DMark 11—which isn’t quite as important as actual gaming performance.
I suspect the GT3 and GT3e configurations of Haswell will be substantially faster than IVB’s HD 4000 and may come close to the lower end of NVIDIA’s range…at least on the standard voltage Haswell chips. For ULV, I’ve heard a performance estimates that GT3 Haswell will be 30%-50% faster than GT2 IVB, and GT3e could be roughly twice as fast, but that should still leave NVIDIA with a healthy lead. Anyway, we’d suggest taking all of these numbers with a grain of salt for now. The real comparison for most is going to be Haswell and 700M, and while we have a pretty good idea where 700M and HD 4000 performance fall (since the 700M parts are Kepler and Fermi updates), Haswell’s iGPU is likely to be a different beast.
Closing Thoughts
On the whole, Kepler has been amazingly successful for NVIDIA, particularly in the mobile world. The bar for midrange mobile dGPUs was raised significantly with the GT 640M LE and above parts typically offering anywhere from 25% to 75% better performance than the previous generation, and that was accomplished along with reducing power use. It was NVIDIA’s version of Intel’s Core 2 launch, and the vast majority of notebooks with dGPUs seem to be using NVIDIA hardware these days. Much of that can also be attributed to NVIDIA’s driver team, where Optimus support and usability still trumps AMD’s Enduro alternative. AMD is still working to improve their drivers, but they're still not at the same level as NVIDIA's mobile drivers.
Not surprisingly, it looks like every laptop with an NVIDIA dGPU these days also comes with Optimus support, and NVIDIA says they’ll be in three times as many Ultrabooks and ultraportables in 2013 compared to 2012—which isn’t too hard, since off the top of my head the only two Ultrabooks with NVIDIA dGPUs I can name are the Acer M5 and the ASUS UX32VD. NVIDIA also says they have over 30 design wins for touchscreen laptops, but again considering Windows 8 almost requires a touchscreen to really be useful that’s expected. We will likely see a limited number of laptops launching with Ivy Bridge CPUs and 700M dGPUs over the coming weeks, with ASUS specifically listed in NVIDIA’s 700M FAQ with their X450 (GT 740M) and N46 (GT 740M as well); Lenovo is also a launch day partner with several options: Y400 with GT 750M, and Z400/Z500 with GT 740M.
The real launch is likely to coincide with Intel’s Haswell update later in Q2 2013. When that comes along, we're likely to see some additional 700M updates from NVIDIA on the high end (again, echoing what happened with the 600M and 680M launches). Just don't count on seeing a mobile variant of Titan/GK110 for a while yet; I'd peg that level of performance as something we won't see in laptops until we have two more process shrinks under our belts (i.e. when TSMC is at 16nm).
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JarredWalton - Wednesday, April 3, 2013 - link
They're so low end that I hardly worry about them. Anyone buying a 710M or GT 720M ought to know what they're getting, and at least they're 28nm.Notmyusualid - Wednesday, April 3, 2013 - link
I used to shake my head when I read comments about supposed 20+ lbs laptops, noise, heat, cost, etc.They are not as noisy, nor as heavy as you think. Sure, if you run wPrime all day, you are going to hear it...if you OpenCL compute, you'll hear the GPUs too.
But nobody is forcing you to buy it, and there is clearly a market out there.
Now I smile at the ignorant comments. Like another posted said, making these big laptops is not hurting you, so why hate?
My M18x R2 gets 5+hrs on discrete graphics (nice for typing reports in airports, when you've no lounge access, and unsure of the batteries current capacity).
On it's dual graphic cards I push 3DMark06 33,500, 3DMark11 11,250+, under Linux, Pyrit crunches 130,000PMK/s - all with NO GPU OVERCLOCKING.
Can YOUR desktop do that? I know of many that can't.
What are valid opinions here, is the confusing GPU-naming-game, that both AMD & Nvidia play.
Forcing many uninformed / incorrect purchases, the world over.
If the average consumer knew what they'd get with GDDR3, and 128bit bus width, they might run a mile. Let alone what architecture might reside beneath... I'd welcome a more consistent naming approach, like BMW, for example. (You can be sure your 550i is gonna smoke a 316i). And I'm not saying that is a perfect system either.
Anyway, like they say on Youtube, "Haters are gonna hate".
Rishi. - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link
ummmmm........yes , its the confusing naming schemes they follow , coupled by somewhat more confusing spec. sheet.!nerd1 - Saturday, April 13, 2013 - link
Samsung released chronos 7 with 8870m, which lasts 10+ hrs, 20mm thick and more powerful than 670M and weighs slightly more than rmbp 15.Mobile gaming really gets awesome.
Rishi. - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link
Yeah , it certainally does.!!!I just wished I had a portable beast with GTX675 ,or around that.!!!
Desktop users gonna hate , though.!!!
karbom - Sunday, April 14, 2013 - link
Hi Jarred. I have a confirmation that acer laptop v3 571g has 730m with 128 bit memory bus bandwidth interface. What do you think about other OEMs like Dell, will they implement the same 128 bit interface or 64 bit interface as specifications tend to differ among OEMs also Notebookcheck.net indicates interface as 128/64 bit.Mr. Bub - Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - link
And here begins the obsolescence of my 6 month old laptop with a GT640m.Rishi. - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link
THe only thing I am pissed off about from Nvidia is that their technical specifications about their mobile dGPUs. I have a hard time finding out the difference b/w some of their cards by looking at the spec. sheet. They all apper to be almost same (unless you consider the clock variations.)!!Overclocking is safe , but only as long as you don't mess with the voltages and step up the clock speed slowly. And its not at all a good idea to push the dGPU around the upper limits.
I don't know much about the newer 700m series , but I used to have two models of Kepler600m series. I overclocked the GT640m to touch the values around a DDR3 GT650m , using a modded vBIOS. The temperature for GPU never exceeded 76C with the help of a powerful cooler at 99% load for several minutes.
Performance was on par with GT650 DDR3.!!! :)
However , for me the major issues was the blazing hot cores of 3610QM.Under 60-75% load for 30mins , it reaches 90C , just like that.!!!! Its probably either a poor thermal paste.
And to those who think the laptops with dGPU are poor performing and are overpriced , " are you new to this world , baby!!!! ?? ". Cause here on Earth , I have never heard of a Notebook which performs better than a Desktop at same price point. You have to pay the price for mobility.!!!
"Haters gonna Hate.!"
sdubyas - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
you see for many consumers, like myself, we appreciate your efforts to interpret what is going on with the the specs of tgese chips. however even with this information i am weary of trying decipher what and when I should actually purchase a machine that is not just a rebrand or fail chip. I got burned on a Toshiba satellite with sli of their 8600M and it was a piece, one that failed in just over two years. anyway, that was 2007 and I said I'd never buy another "gaming laptop" but it's time to try again. would anyone of you recommend a laptop that is already available or will soon be. I am really looking at a 680m as it shold be relevant for a couple of years. however, I really don't have more than 1.5k to burn especially on another fail laptop. I also looked at the macbook but they are running only 650m and I'm not sure when their next gen is forthcoming.here is something I am also considering: http://www.villageinstruments.com/tiki-index.php?p... has anyone looked into the vidock?
Menetlaus - Monday, May 6, 2013 - link
I realize this likely won't be read or replied to, but it would be GREATLY appreciated to have a few laptops reviewed with the 7 hundred series nVidia GPU's prior to the Haswell launch.In my case it would be much easier to compare a Ivy Bridge/660M to IB/750M and finally the to a Haswell/750M in a midrange gaming system rather than skipping the IB/750M step and wondering how much of the change is CPUvsGPU based.
Lenovo had/has some IB/750M gaming laptops for sale (replacing an IB/660M offering) and will likely have a Haswell/750M available shortly after the Haswell launch. MSI also has lines with IB/660M and is likely to be at the haswell mobile launch party.