Why it matters to you
Nvidia’s new mobile chip could lead to a new generation of portable devices that offer stronger performance and battery life.
Nvidia released some specifications and made ambitious claims about the performance of its upcoming mobile graphics chip, the MX150. It is said to offer much-improved performance efficiency over the Maxwell-based 940MX from the previous graphics generation, it also claims that the performance can be as much as four times that of integrated Intel graphics.
Although graphics cards and chips are often talked about in the same conversation as high-end gaming, they do have their uses elsewhere. For non-gamers, having a dedicated graphics chip can make a big difference to the time it takes to edit photos, or in remastering video. Those content creators are the ones Nvidia is targeting with its new release, claiming that the MX150 is a must-have for their next upgrade.
In terms of specifications, this chip sports 384 CUDA cores, according to Tech Powerup, which while the same as the 940MX, comes in a 16nm package, a full 12nm smaller than the older generation. It also partnered up exclusively with GDDR5 memory. As reported, clock speeds should also be higher, though the specifics of that will likely depend on the device the chip is used in and how strong its cooling solution is.
Nvidia
Nvidia
Nvidia
Nvidia
The architectural changes lead to big gains in performance and efficiency, according to Nvidia. The MX150 is said to have three times the performance per watt, when compared with the 940MX and enables photo editing up to 2.5 times as fast as Intel’s HD520 onboard graphics chip.
Video remastering sees a 33 percent improvement over the 940MX too, operating at four times the speed of the HD520. Overall, this is said to give the MX150 four times the performance over that same Intel chip and not far off the same of the HD620.
The added efficiency from the new chip design should give hardware manufacturers many more options when it comes to the power draw and performance they offer. If they so choose, they could utilize the added efficiency to provide stronger battery life and reduced temperature output for smaller, lighter devices, alongside the more powerful alternatives.