Friday, March 23rd 2018
NVIDIA Sneaks Less Powerful GeForce MX150 Variant Into Ultrabooks
NVIDIA quietly launched the GeForce MX150 mobile GPU in May of last year. The team at Notebookcheck discovered that there are actually two variants of the GeForce MX150 in the wild - the standard 1D10 variant and the much slower 1D12 variant. Normally, this wouldn't raise any alarms. However, neither NVIDIA or the manufacturer distinguish the two variants from each other. Buyers who purchase an ultrabook or notebook with a GeForce MX150 are basically playing the lottery. They have no idea which variant is inside the product until they run an utility like GPU-Z to find out. But just how significant is the performance difference between the two variants? Let's look at Notebookcheck's findings.
Starting with the GeForce MX150's specifications, the standard 1D10 variant has a 1469 MHz core clock, 1532 MHz boost clock, and 1502 MHz memory clock. Notebookcheck first saw this variant in the MSI PL62 and Asus Zenbook UX430UN. They later discovered the underclocked 1D12 variant in the Lenovo IdeaPad 320S, ZenBook 13 UX331UN, Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13.3, HP Envy 13, and ZenBook UX331UA notebooks. The 1D12 variant has a 937 MHz core clock, 1038 MHz boost clock, and 1253 MHZ memory clock. Right off the bat, that's a 36 percent reduction in the core clock alone. According to the 3DMark and 3DMark 11 tests, consumers can expect anywhere from a 20 to 25 percent performance hit with the less powerful variant. The charts don't lie. Of the 13 notebooks tested by Notebookcheck, the five models equipped with the 1D12 variant of the GeForce MX150 are at the bottom of the list. Nvidia's move to sneak the 1D12 variant into thin and light notebooks was probably to meet the 10W TDP envelope as opposed to the original variant's 25W. Luckily, the 1D12 variant has only appeared in 13-inch notebooks.
Source:
Notebookcheck
Starting with the GeForce MX150's specifications, the standard 1D10 variant has a 1469 MHz core clock, 1532 MHz boost clock, and 1502 MHz memory clock. Notebookcheck first saw this variant in the MSI PL62 and Asus Zenbook UX430UN. They later discovered the underclocked 1D12 variant in the Lenovo IdeaPad 320S, ZenBook 13 UX331UN, Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13.3, HP Envy 13, and ZenBook UX331UA notebooks. The 1D12 variant has a 937 MHz core clock, 1038 MHz boost clock, and 1253 MHZ memory clock. Right off the bat, that's a 36 percent reduction in the core clock alone. According to the 3DMark and 3DMark 11 tests, consumers can expect anywhere from a 20 to 25 percent performance hit with the less powerful variant. The charts don't lie. Of the 13 notebooks tested by Notebookcheck, the five models equipped with the 1D12 variant of the GeForce MX150 are at the bottom of the list. Nvidia's move to sneak the 1D12 variant into thin and light notebooks was probably to meet the 10W TDP envelope as opposed to the original variant's 25W. Luckily, the 1D12 variant has only appeared in 13-inch notebooks.
95 Comments on NVIDIA Sneaks Less Powerful GeForce MX150 Variant Into Ultrabooks
We've ordered an MSI PL62 for work just 2 days ago (the i7-7700QM + MX150 variant). As soon as it gets here I'll check the GPUID.
You are free not to buy their GPUs, since we've got AMD. AMD is not competitive at the very top but again, no one forces you to buy NVIDIA GPUs. Wait a year or two and you'll get the performance of Titan V from AMD.
Speaking of this particular news piece. Let's check some facts, e.g. visit the GeForce MX-150 web page. OMG, there are no specs there. Nothing at all. NVIDIA doesn't promise anything at all. It's not like AMD who recently completely silently downgraded some of its GPUs (RX-550?).
So, what's going on and what's all the fuss about? Or NVIDIA slandering news titles work as a click bait?
Here we are, with you defending a company that runs a SINGLE PRODUCT NAME for products with wildly varying performance. No mention of a TDP limited or downclocked variant, not even a single digit difference in the model number, heck it doesn't even say OEM. As far as Nvidia's product info goes, this is an all-time, new low.
Their product page has no stats... ah I see, so its anyone's guess whether you get something that can run Minesweeper or something that can run Crysis? What are you really saying - if anything, the lack of product specs makes this news article all the more interesting. Because not only do they lack specs, they are just putting whatever they like under that MX150 moniker.
We're talking about a product with one name that has a 50% downclock on one version of it. I'm honestly questioning your sanity right now. If this is clickbait, then you might be better off going offline altogether. 'Let's check some facts' he says, as if he's being smart. Holy mackrel
I think it's great consumers can read about this, I don't see why this would be a problem ...
Note: The below specifications represent the GPU features available. Actual implementation may vary by OEM model. Please refer to OEM website for actual shipping specifications.
You see, this is one stinky rabbit hole, one of a similar quality to the 970 'marketing team mistake', just on the opposite end of the spectrum. Now there's just not wrong info, its simply not there.That's what it looks like, but how can you be sure? Just clock speed adaptations in laptops is rather normal to meet TDP criteria but here, it is anyone's guess. And its not like we're talking 10% gaps or even 15%. This is 25-30...
Or if they are going to have two variants, with one clocked lower to fit a lower power envelope, then do it like Intel does and list that there is a low power mode that the OEM can choose to use and list the specs in that low power mode.
I wonder too if the lower clocked version can just be overclocked to match the original?
This OEM Nvidia GPU is a low level, basic chip. It's designed to fill different roles. If you think a cheaper laptop should perform the same as a more expensive, or with better CPU you are smoking some weird crack.
Gosh - didn't see that coming. They're very different speced systems. C'mon people - open your eyes.
And just like in this case, the blame is on OEMs.
There's always something someone would like to criticize about everything , that's not likely to change.
and released for almost a year
i want my Vega M not really Vega story out. lol
also this ID isn't all low power
www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/b5461/xiaomi-geforce-mx150
Except that there is a rough promised speed.
Supposed to be 4x UHD 620 , and the 930mx was 3x ... now with the clock changes the 930mx might actually be faster.
It's the Ultrabook seller's responsibility to accurately report their product's performance capabilities. If Intel has a system builder and wants to use an underclocked CPU to meet thermal and power limitations, isn't it still the same CPU ? If it's an OEM product, not available to the general public, I don't see how or why anyone should expect nVidia to do anything. It's the Ultrabook vendor's responsibility to make this distinction known to customers.
And I'd add, it's the responsibility or sites like this and users to point out and jump on any vendor who does not do so.