difference between GTX 860M 4GB and 2GB

[Nagby]

hi, so from what i found, GTX 860M is maxwell based, so pretty good at performance/watt and should have updates for a long time

but i also found that there is 2 version, a 2GB and a 4GB

and the 2GB look like 45W of TDP while the 4GB is 75W, so i guess there is a pretty big difference in performance between the two

is the 2GB possible to put at 4GB clocks/voltages so also at 75W of TDP?

and here : http://www.clevo.fr/shop/clevo-sur-mesure-p150sm-sur-mesure.html#

i can go with 860M 4GB at 700€

or 860M 2GB but with better power supply, screen, and cooling + 2nd mSata port + backlite keyboard (P150SM instead of P151SM) for 740€ (which is said to be a reduced price)

while when the 870M is choosed, the difference between P151 and P150 is only of 10€ with the P150 with a reduced price too...

 

so does the 40€ more are too much for a maybe way less powerfull GPU (which is said to be in sales) ?

[CatCloud]

No, one is 4gb and one is 2gb, both are maxwell. thats it.
aside from the Vram the performance  is the same.
4gb will obviously cost more. its 2gb more vram after all. 

And thats all i can help with.

[Nagby]

it's only the 2GB more that adds 50W?

[flibberdipper]

No, one is 4gb and one is 2gb, both are maxwell. thats it.

aside from the Vram the performance  is the same.

4gb will obviously cost more. its 2gb more vram after all. 

And thats all i can help with.

Pretty much this... I think the TDPs on those must be wrong, or you're looking at something like an 860M and a higher tier card.

[Nagby]

ah ok i found why

the 4GB is kepler and the 2GB is maxwell, that explain the TDP and price difference

i think i prefer going for the 2GB one to have a cooler laptop/battery life then ^^

 

source : http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-860M-Maxwell-vs-Kepler.114908.0.html (graph, scroll a bit)

 

ah but 2GB have less CUDA cores and i might need those

[Sauron]

it's only the 2GB more that adds 50W?

 

75-45=30.

 

Don't base your performance predictions on tdp, it's a bad metre. Other wise this happens:

 

 

the 4GB is kepler and the 2GB is maxwell

 

and you wasted your time.

 

 

ah but 2GB have less CUDA cores and i might need those

 

It doesn't matter. Fewer cores with a newer architecture are often better than more cores with an older archuitecture. The number of cores means nothing, look at some benchmarks.

[Zeke]

ah ok i found why

the 4GB is kepler and the 2GB is maxwell, that explain the TDP and price difference

i think i prefer going for the 2GB one to have a cooler laptop/battery life then ^^

 

source : http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-860M-Maxwell-vs-Kepler.114908.0.html (graph, scroll a bit)

 

ah but 2GB have less CUDA cores and i might need those

I thought the laptops switch to onboard GPU if you're not using the dedicated one.

[Nagby]

yes but i meant load temperature and battery life

 

and i need CUDA cores for after effect and bunkspeed, are you sure cuda cores can be "better" even if lesser with newer generations?

[Nagby]

Don't base your performance predictions on tdp, it's a bad metre. Other wise this happens:

i didn't based performances predictions on TDP, just wondered why there was that much of a difference for the same card name

i i didn't noticed that i might have gone for the 4GB without knowing it was a kepler GPU ^^

[Sauron]

yes but i meant load temperature and battery life

 

and i need CUDA cores for after effect and bunkspeed, are you sure cuda cores can be "better" even if lesser with newer generations?

 

Pretty sure. I mean, MAYBE the kepler version is faster, but to know that you need to look at benchmarks, not core count. It's a bit like comparing amd and nvidia gpus to a lesser extent. amd has many more stream processors in comparison but performs about the same. Same goes with new architectures, it might be better with less cores or with more, until you see benchmarks you can't know for sure.

[Scionyde]

You've already figured it out for yourself, but yes - 4GB is Kepler, and 2GB is Maxwell. I've heard rumors that there's a 4GB Maxwell out there, but I haven't seen any laptops that use it, and I'd assume that the 860M would be unable to make use of all 4GB anyway.

 

I haven't seen too many benchmarks of Maxwell vs. Kepler, but that notebookcheck link you posted is pretty much the only one I've seen. They conclude the Maxwell 860M is ~10% faster than the Kepler, so keep that in mind when you're looking at laptop prices and such.

[gilm0re3]

You've already figured it out for yourself, but yes - 4GB is Kepler, and 2GB is Maxwell. I've heard rumors that there's a 4GB Maxwell out there, but I haven't seen any laptops that use it, and I'd assume that the 860M would be unable to make use of all 4GB anyway.

 

I haven't seen too many benchmarks of Maxwell vs. Kepler, but that notebookcheck link you posted is pretty much the only one I've seen. They conclude the Maxwell 860M is ~10% faster than the Kepler, so keep that in mind when you're looking at laptop prices and such.

I saw a review of a Lenovo Y50 that claims to be one with a 4gb Maxwell card, but don't quote me on it. The software could have been mistaken on the specs list.

[Nagby]

one last thing, i remember some graphs saying that the kepler one was on MXM card and maxwell one onboard

but it would be weird that only 1 GPU of the clevo P150SM is onboard while every other are on MXM, they would have to change the motherboard

[Scionyde]

one last thing, i remember some graphs saying that the kepler one was on MXM card and maxwell one onboard

but it would be weird that only 1 GPU of the clevo P150SM is onboard while every other are on MXM, they would have to change the motherboard

 

I'm pretty sure that the Sager NP8268(Clevo P150SM) isn't available with a Maxwell 860M, it's all Kepler. I remember specifically looking for a dual-fan laptop with Maxwell, but being disappointed that the Asus G750JM was the only option (The G750 series seems pretty awesome, but also seems a little too expensive for my taste... )

[Nagby]

but GTX 860M with 2GB only exist in maxwell right?

+ that explain the price increase

[Nagby]

i asked, and they answered that yes, it is Maxwell ^^

[BudgetEngineer]

I would probably call Clevo and try to confirm the Maxwell 860m, I've heard of Maxwell and Kepler 2gb and 4gb versions.  I know as of right now the 870m is only Kepler.  In any case it seems normal to get less than an hour gaming on battery life, even with battery boost and I imagine maxwell wouldn't give THAT much of a battery life increase.

[Scionyde]

i asked, and they answered that yes, it is Maxwell ^^

 

Which question are you asking about? Because yes, the 860M 2GB is Maxwell, but the only Sager/Clevo laptop you can find it in is the Sager NP7358(Clevo W350SS) / NP7338(Clevo W230SS) / NP7378 (Clevo W370SS) which is their 15", 13", and 17" single fan laptop, respectively.

[Nagby]

i asked using the widget on bottom left of the website

and they answered me by mail that it is an MXM GTX 860M 2GB Maxwell ^^