Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Nvidia stuffs desktop GTX 1080, 1070, 1060 into laptops, drops the “M”

arstechnica.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 83 posts

Re: Nvidia stuffs desktop GTX 1080, 1070, 1060 into laptops, drops the “M”

#11

Post by jon-wood »

pjc50 wrote: post #5

So what about that great big "?" in the table: TDP? How hot is it going to run? How well is the laptop going to handle it - does it now require an all-metal body? How well is the essential issue of fan and heatsink maintenance considered in the design of the laptop? I ask this because I have two GPU laptops both of which gradually degraded in usability over time entirely because of thermal issues.

Did you try removing the heatsink/fans and cleaning them out. I was close to replacing my laptop because it was constantly overheating and it turned out the problem was a copper heatsink grid thing which was densely packed with dust, insulating the entire computer. Since cleaning that out my laptop is good as new.

Re: Nvidia stuffs desktop GTX 1080, 1070, 1060 into laptops, drops the “M”

#12

Post by douche »

mrmondo wrote: post #3

Amazing advances in GPU technologies over the past few years. I love this comment: "...Oh, and don't forget the power adaptor, which—as I saw with some models in performance demos—is literally the size of a brick."

As long as it's not a wall-wart... Whoever seriously considers it a good idea to block off 2-3 outlets in a powerstrip to run one DC inverter ought to be bludgeoned with that inverter until they see reason.

Re: Nvidia stuffs desktop GTX 1080, 1070, 1060 into laptops, drops the “M”

#13

Post by tednoob »

aedron wrote: post #10

The most exciting thing to me in portable PCs is the 'VR backpack' form factor. As cool as the HTC Vive is, moving around with a fat cable sticking out the back of your head is a big detriment. Putting the PC in a backpack will be so perfect for VR - bigger batteries, more efficient (without the LCD), no cables. These GPUs will make VR backpacks even more viable, with reduced power consumption, better performance and…

If simply discussing current generations so yay for the Vive wireless lighthouse base stations and controllers but nay for its 12V 1.5A requirement. As for the oculus, yay for its 5V over USB but nay for its cable connected tracking.

Re: Nvidia stuffs desktop GTX 1080, 1070, 1060 into laptops, drops the “M”

#14

Post by GrumpyYoungMan »

douche wrote: post #12
mrmondo wrote: post #3

Amazing advances in GPU technologies over the past few years. I love this comment: "...Oh, and don't forget the power adaptor, which—as I saw with some models in performance demos—is literally the size of a brick."

As long as it's not a wall-wart... Whoever seriously considers it a good idea to block off 2-3 outlets in a powerstrip to run one DC inverter ought to be bludgeoned with that inverter until they see reason.

Absurd as it may sound, one can find extremely short 3-prong extension cords designed specifically to take care of the wall-wart problem. Search Amazon for "1 foot extension cord" for examples.

Re: Nvidia stuffs desktop GTX 1080, 1070, 1060 into laptops, drops the “M”

#16

Post by imtringued »

aedron wrote: post #10

The most exciting thing to me in portable PCs is the 'VR backpack' form factor. As cool as the HTC Vive is, moving around with a fat cable sticking out the back of your head is a big detriment. Putting the PC in a backpack will be so perfect for VR - bigger batteries, more efficient (without the LCD), no cables. These GPUs will make VR backpacks even more viable, with reduced power consumption, better performance and…

The portable PC could double as a counter weight for the headset.

Re: Nvidia stuffs desktop GTX 1080, 1070, 1060 into laptops, drops the “M”

#17

Post by overcast »

pluma wrote: post #2

Well, it makes sense. If you're going with a dedicated graphics card in your laptop, battery life is already out of the window, so you might as well get as much processing power as the thing can handle. As a proud owner of a laptop that could double as a self-defense weapon to cause massive blunt trauma (and a charger that falls squarely into the same category) I welcome this decision. I am however considering gettin…

The issue isn't so much battery life, as it is heat dissipation. How does that thing handle cranking out that much? Granted the new 1000 series is pretty damn efficient at what it does(my 1070 is amazing for the price), it's still a lot for a laptop.

Re: Nvidia stuffs desktop GTX 1080, 1070, 1060 into laptops, drops the “M”

#18

Post by xlayn »

Another good reason for dropping the M is in my opinion all related to how good another company got at creating gpus... that's Intel.

Intel first eliminated the whole aftermarket entry level gpu industry and will probably eliminate the middle tier also.

As Pluma states

"If you're going with a dedicated graphics card in your laptop, battery life is already out of the window, so you might as well get as much processing power as the thing can handle"

Re: Nvidia stuffs desktop GTX 1080, 1070, 1060 into laptops, drops the “M”

#19

Post by pjc50 »

jon-wood wrote: post #11
pjc50 wrote: post #5

So what about that great big "?" in the table: TDP? How hot is it going to run? How well is the laptop going to handle it - does it now require an all-metal body? How well is the essential issue of fan and heatsink maintenance considered in the design of the laptop? I ask this because I have two GPU laptops both of which gradually degraded in usability over time entirely because of thermal issues.

Did you try removing the heatsink/fans and cleaning them out. I was close to replacing my laptop because it was constantly overheating and it turned out the problem was a copper heatsink grid thing which was densely packed with dust, insulating the entire computer. Since cleaning that out my laptop is good as new.

Yes, that was my first thought on experiencing the problem. It's often quite hard to do (that's why I mentioned "How well is the essential issue of fan and heatsink maintenance considered in the design of the laptop?" above). One of my laptops requires taking the whole thing apart from the keyboard side in order to get at the heatsinks below, so I gave up.

And of course there are laptops on sale which are glued shut.

Air duster works reasonably well but can force dust further into cracks.

Re: Nvidia stuffs desktop GTX 1080, 1070, 1060 into laptops, drops the “M”

#20

Post by STRML »

tednoob wrote: post #13
aedron wrote: post #10

The most exciting thing to me in portable PCs is the 'VR backpack' form factor. As cool as the HTC Vive is, moving around with a fat cable sticking out the back of your head is a big detriment. Putting the PC in a backpack will be so perfect for VR - bigger batteries, more efficient (without the LCD), no cables. These GPUs will make VR backpacks even more viable, with reduced power consumption, better performance and…

If simply discussing current generations so yay for the Vive wireless lighthouse base stations and controllers but nay for its 12V 1.5A requirement. As for the oculus, yay for its 5V over USB but nay for its cable connected tracking.

You could, of course, pack another battery that does 12V output. Inconvenient, but not a deal-breaker.
Post reply on HN