NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30-Series Laptops Put To the Test

MojoKid writes: This morning, NVIDIA lifted its embargo on the performance and experiences of new GeForce RTX 30 Series-powered gaming laptops. Thinner, higher-performance form factors aren't the only features NVIDIA is touting with this launch. A number of new laptops will also sport 1440p, high refresh rate IPS displays like the MSI GS66 Stealth with a GeForce RTX 3080 mobile GPU tested at HotHardware. This machine features a 15.6-inch IPS, 1440p panel with a 240Hz refresh rate and G-Sync support. However, the biggest difference between these new laptop GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs and their desktop counterparts, are their core counts. Desktop GeForce RTX 3080, 3070, and 3060 series GPUs have 8,704, 5,888, and 3,584 CUDA cores, respectively, whereas these new laptop offerings have 6,144, 5,120, and 3,840 -- it is only the RTX 3060 laptop GPU that has more cores than its similar-branded desktop counterpart.

In the benchmarks, with a retail-ready Alienware m15 R4 gaming laptop powered by a GeForce RTX 3070 mobile GPU, the new platform offered sizable performance gains of 15-25% over the previous generation RTX 20 series mobile offering, and an even stronger performance lift with ray tracing enabled, sometimes in excess of 40%. NVIDIA GeForce 30 Series laptops are in production now and available in the next few weeks from major OEMs like Alienware, ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte and others.

I can play Tetris

[ozduo]

Real fast

Concensus on Nvidia

[Tough Love]

Fuck Nvidia

No Availability

[Ritz_Just_Ritz]

Awesome....yet another shiny new Nvidia product that will not be available for actual purchase anytime soon. The RTX3080 was "launched" back in September. Try finding one for sale other than a few examples being "scalped" at well over MSRP.

Until then, I'll stick with my trusty 4 year old 1080Ti.

Re:

[timeOday]

Maybe they prioritize OEMs over aftermarket sales? In which case these might be shipping in laptops before you can find an RTX3080 for your desktop on newegg.

Re:

[minorproblem]

This is true, you can order a desktop with a 3080 or 3090 from dell right now and it ships in 4 weeks so they are available there is just a high demand.

Re:

[sabbede]

Aren't Asus, EVGA, Gigabyte, and so forth OEMs of video cards? When you see a desktop for sale with an RTX30 series GPU, the card is usually from one of those manufacturers, it's just been dropped into a pretty case with all the other needed hardware by some dude and sold as a single package.

What really burns me is that they devoted manufacturing to supply for products that don't exist yet instead of satisfying demand for products that have been on backorder for months! Feels like a kick in the balls.

Re:

[thegarbz]

Actually judging by posts on r/gamingpc and r/watercooling there are literally many thousands in the hands of gamers right now. That you can't find one because they are sold out doesn't mean the product isn't available for purchase anytime soon.

My local PC shop got a shipment in, and they went out the door. At RRP, pickup only.

Re:

[sabbede]

According to Nvidia and Asus, they don't expect to be able to fulfill existing orders until at least April. They could have, but decided to make laptop and 3060 chips instead. There are tens of thousands of people who have been waiting months and will have to wait even more, and in the middle of this supply shortage Nvidia announces they're going to make something else for a while instead.

Though it could always be that one of China's attacks on TSMC screwed them up enough so that a bunch of bad chips c

Re:

[thegarbz]

They could have, but decided to make laptop and 3060 chips instead.

I mean sure when you speak out of your arse and have no concept of chip manufacturing you now doubt would reach the conclusion that NVIDIA is actively shelving higher margin silicon in favour of delivering something with lower margins despite high demand.

While you're speaking out of your arse I'm sure you also reaslise that fulfilling existing orders has nothing at all to do with customers getting cards in their hands and has everything to do with SIs wanting to put silicon on PCBs to stack them in shelves

Re:

[sabbede]

I see the laptops for sale. What I don't see are any desktop 3070's, which is the one I'm angrily waiting on.

Don't claim to supply more products when you can't fulfill demand for your existing products, you jerks!

I'm curious...

[CaptainLugnuts]

Is battery live measured in minutes or seconds when gaming?

Re:

[tlhIngan]

Is battery live measured in minutes or seconds when gaming?

It's not a battery, it's a UPS. It'll last long enough to tide you between power outlets while mobile and long enough to get your gas genny started during a blackout.

question about those specs meaning for work

[iggymanz]

A lot of complicated info there. So if I'm on 17" laptop how big can my fixed width fonts be for 80x25 command line window, and can I can them in white on dark grey background?

Why bother with notebooks?

[kriston]

Why bother with notebooks? The thermal limitations make these seem like an inside joke that none of the rest of us get.

Re:

[JaredOfEuropa]

It's not that bad. Looking at the performance comparisons, IIRC the highest spec mobile variant is about on par with the lowest desktop variant of the same family, or with the same desktop variant of the previous generation (e.g. 3080 MaxQ = 2080 or 3060).

Why? Because some of us like to game on the go, not lug around a desktop case to LAN parties, or just sit on the couch in the living room for some light gaming. I have an MSI GS75 Stealth with a 2080 MaxQ for that. This is a very thin laptop, but th

Re:

[tlhIngan]

Why not a laptop?

Some people do more than just game on their computers - it can be quite useful as a general purpose machine which can also play games.

And some jobs require high powered GPUs - it's not all for gaming. It's easier to carry a laptop with a powerful GPU between working from home and working at the office than it is to schlep a desktop PC back and forth.

Yes, dedicated games will probably have a dedicated gaming desktop and carry around an everyday mobile laptop. Not everyone is so dedicated and

Re:

[thegarbz]

Because not everyone drags their desktop around gaming while on the move, or feels the need to stop playing games just because someone ignorant on Slashdot thinks thermal limitations makes fully functioning gaming laptops a joke.

Do they perform as well as desktop counterparts? Nope. Do they exist for a reason? Absolutely, even if you can't fathom it.

Re:

[kriston]

just because someone ignorant on Slashdot

Why is this comment necessary? This isn't Reddit, you know.

Re:

[thegarbz]

Huh? What does reddit have to do with it?

Ignorant: Lacking knowledge or general awareness. You posed a question with a very obvious answer while commenting about the existence of some devices being a joke. What other word could I possibly have used to describe your post? I didn't mean it in an offensive way (I precede those with the swear word du jour), just pointing out a very real fact: These exist despite the ignorance of those who don't understand.

Maybe fill your massive backlog?

[Baconsmoke]

You know, before you try to push new products. How about fixing your current manufacturing crisis instead? You haven't put out any significant numbers of your 30XX line out for a few months now. Maybe concentrate on that. Maybe concentrate on communicating better with your customer base on what's going on, when and why. I can't recall a more spectacular fail than your recent product release. Love your video cards, but detest your current business model.

Re:

[thegarbz]

You haven't put out any significant numbers of your 30XX line out for a few months now.

Yes they have, they are just highly in demand. Also not all devices use the same manufacturing lines or same manufacturing capacity/capability. It's quite clear that these are not the same chips as the hard to get 3080.