NVIDIA 30 Series Ampere Laptops

Ampere goes mobile

Having set new standards in desktop graphics performance with its trailblazing Ampere architecture, NVIDIA is kicking off 2021 by bringing that goodness to a wide range of laptops in the form of three new GeForce GPUs designed specifically for high-performance portable PCs.

Dubbed RTX 3080 Laptop, RTX 3070 Laptop and RTX 3060 Laptop, the cutting-edge trio marks the first outing of mobile Ampere touting a second-generation RTX featureset that bolsters each chip's credentials with regards to ray tracing, AI acceleration and Max-Q enhancements.

Perusing the new parts in table form makes for interesting viewing as NVIDIA has broken from tradition by choosing not to segment each GPU into sub-categories. This time around, lower-power RTX 30 Series parts will not be marketed specifically as Max-Q variants, though that isn't to say the choice no longer exists.

On the contrary, every 8nm RTX 30 Series GPU is being offered to laptop integrators in a growing choice of flavours, allowing the manufacturer to cherry-pick a graphics solution that best suits the laptop in question. The headline RTX 3080 Laptop part, for example, is available with a TDP of between 80 and 150+ watts, resulting in boost clock range of 1,245MHz to 1,710MHz. Such scope does, however, leave room for uncertainty among consumers, as one RTX 3080 laptop can offer considerably higher performance than another, and it is up to OEMs to make clear exactly how an RTX 30 Series GPU is configured.

What is for certain is that every variant of RTX 30 Series mobile includes best-in-class features that raise the bar for what is possible in a thin-and-light form factor. In addition to the framerate and performance boost unearthed by latest-generation RT and Tensor cores, there's the promise of multiple mobile optimisations that NVIDIA markets as third-generation Max-Q technologies.

These include DLSS, which uses the aforementioned Tensor cores to enhance performance by enabling the GPU to render fewer pixels that are then enhanced via AI to complete higher-resolution scenes, and Dynamic Boost 2.0, which calls upon AI to automatically balance the power requirements of CPU, GPU cores and GPU memory. The goal is to eke out every last ounce of mobile performance, and to that end, Resizeable Bar support gives the CPU quick PCIe access to the entire graphics frame buffer, while WhisperMode 2.0 is at hand to deliver the optimal balance of fan speed and temperature.

Setting New Standards

Benchmarks from leading review sites confirm the inevitable; RTX 30 Series GPUs have the potential to offer a new level of gaming ambition for high-performance laptops. As is the case on desktop, Ampere mobile delivers results that no competitor can match.

And of course, there's more to the Ampere architecture than mere gaming alone. Through the dedicated NVIDIA Studio program, many RTX 30 Series laptops will be tailored for content creation and prosumer workloads. A key strength of the RTX 30 Series GPU, as evidenced by a dramatic performance increase in rendering workloads.

Summary

Anybody looking to purchase a high-performance laptop in 2021 ought to have an NVIDIA RTX 30 Series Laptop GPU on their list of minimum requirements. Initially available in three models, each covering a wide range of TDPs and frequencies, RTX 3060, 3070 and 3080 Laptop bring the best of the award-winning Ampere architecture to a new generation of laptops that help empower the gamers and creators of tomorrow.

A wide range of GeForce RTX 30 Series laptops are available to purchase right here at Scan Computers.