Last week, NVIDIA unveiled the next generation GeForce RTX 3060, GeForce RTX 3070 and GeForce RTX 3080 for laptops. We are already testing the first samples (including ASUS TUF Gaming Dash F 15, but not only a few days we will be able to share the detailed performance results against laptops with the previous generation GPU. In the meantime, information on the final naming of the new Ampere cards for notebooks appeared on the network. It seems the manufacturer will eventually abandon the Max-Q Design line. The Max-Q itself will not disappear, because the technology will become part of a larger ecosystem that laptop manufacturers will be able to use without any problems, regardless of what GPU (and specifically – with what TGP energy limit) will be in the device. However, this turn of events may prove disastrous … for consumers.

According to information published by Notebookcheck, NVIDIA will not split GeForce cards into Max- versions in the next generation of Ampere. Q Design and Max-P (highest performance).

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, RTX 3070 and RTX 3060 – Specifications and technical aspects of the new Ampere cards for laptops

The source of this information is the Notebookcheck portal. They show that NVIDIA will eventually abandon the name “Max-Q Design”, previously reserved for energy-efficient graphics cards with a significantly reduced TGP factor. It was first introduced with the Pascal generation (2017 year), continuing the trend with the Turing generation (2019 – 2020 year). In a few days, the first laptops based on next-generation graphics cards and the Ampere architecture will be available for sale. Everything indicates, however, that the coming generation will bring huge confusion among consumers, precisely in the context of naming.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, RTX 3070 and RTX 3060 – presentation new generation Ampere graphics cards for gaming laptops

Instead of names such as GeForce RTX 3060 or GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q, the manufacturer decides to unify the name: GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU. The same is true of the other Ampere cards for laptops. This way, each GeForce RTX chip 3000 will have the same name, no matter what GPU will actually be in the notebook. The card may have a final TGP of 80 W, but it may well be and 125 or even 150 W. No specific division into the so-called With “Max-Q” and “Max-P”, consumers will have an even greater problem with choosing the really best card from which they will be able to get the most out of it. What will happen to Max-Q? The third generation of this technology opens up a kind of ecosystem that manufacturers will be able to use in all laptops, regardless of the final TGP of the graphics system. Thus, even top graphics with TGP 150 W will be able to use technologies such as Dynamic Boost 2.0 or WhisperMode 2.0.

Source: Notebookcheck