NVIDIA launched the new Maxwell graphics architecture during GAME24, and is now bringing it to gaming notebooks wiut the release of the GeForce GTX 970M and GeForce GTX 980M notebook GPUs. Maxwell, the company?s 10th-generation GPU architecture, solves some of the most complex lighting and graphics challenges in visual computing. And it does so with twice the energy efficiency of the previous generation.

NVIDIA?s 8th-generation GPU architecture, Fermi, delivered about 40% of the desktop equivalent in 2010. Kepler, Nvidia's 9th generation GPU, launched in 2010, closed the gap to 60%, giving gamers 1080p resolution and "ultra" settings for the first time in a notebook.

According to Nvidia, with Maxwell, that gap shrinks to 80% of the desktop equivalent and pushes the resolution well beyond 1080p - a great achievement when you compare the thermal and power differences in a desktop tower and a notebook chassis.

Maxwell doubles performance compared with the first Kepler notebook GPUs on "video card killers," like Battlefield 4 and Metro: Last Light. Nvidia is pushing playable resolution to 2500?1400+ at ultra settings. But most notebooks don?t have a native resolution that high, and this is where NVIDIA gives you more than just killer frame rates.

Maxwell?s Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) technology can render games at 4K or other high-end resolutions. Then they?re scaled down to the native resolution on the notebook?s display. The results are an image that is much higher quality than one rendering directly to 1080p.

Nvidia is also addressing the batery life issues if the gaming notebooks with the next evolution of NVIDIA BatteryBoost. Instead of your notebook pushing every component to its max, BatteryBoost sets a maximum frame rate from 30 to 60 FPS. The driver-level governor takes over from there, running all your system components including CPU, GPU and memory at peak efficiency. All while maintaining a playable experience.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 900M Specifications

	GTX 980M	GTX 970M
Stream processors (CUDA Cores)	1536	1280
Base GPU Clock (MHz)	1038 + Boost	924 + Boost
GPU Clock (boost)	1038 + Boost	924 + Boost
GPU Clock (boost)	1038 + Boost	924 + Boost
GDDR5 Clock	5GHz	5GHz
Memory Interface	256-bit	192-bit
Memory Configuration	Up to 4GB GDDR5	Up to 3GB
Memory bandwidth (GB/s)	160	120
eDP 1.2	Up to 3840x2160
LVDS	Up to 1920x1200
VGA	Up to 2048x1536
DisplayPort Multimode	Up to 3840x2160

Nvidia has also also made improvements to BatteryBoost in the six months since its launch. The first thing you?ll notice is many more systems achieving playable frame rates on battery. This was the result of collaboration with OEMs to enhance on-battery performance.

Another big update is an improved governor to enhance battery savings. Nvidia also added features to GeForce Experience, allowing gamers to set specific game settings for use while on battery, along with a one-click optimize-for-battery button.

GeForce GTX 980M and 970M GPUs also get all the same technology that their desktop counterparts get. That means 30% more AA performance at the same quality with NVIDIA Multi-Frame Anti-Aliasing (MFAA).

They also support Voxel Global Illumination (VXGI) technology, which better depicts indirect lighting ? including diffuse lighting, specular lighting and reflections. This enables gaming GPUs to deliver real-time dynamic global illumination for the first time.

Over a dozen SKUs are now available with GeForce GTX 980M and 970M. MSI has the GT72, GS70 and GS60 models. Asus is offering the G751. Gigabyte has the Auros X7 and P35 models. Boutique venders like AVADirect. MainGear and OriginPC are also selling gaming powerhouses with these new GPUs.

Here is what you may expect from the new GPUs, according to data provided by Nvidia:

Upcoming GeForce GTX 980M/970M Notebooks
Manufacturer	Model	GPU	Size
ASUS	G751	GeForce GTX 980M GeForce GTX 970M	17"
MSI	GT72	GeForce GTX 980M GeForce GTX 970M	17"
MSI	GS60	GeForce GTX 970M	15"
MSI	GS70	GeForce GTX 970M	17"
Gigabyte	P35	GeForce GTX 970M	17"
Gigabyte	Aorus X7	2x GeForce GTX 970M (SLI)	17"
Clevo	P150	GeForce GTX 980M GeForce GTX 970M	15"
Clevo	P650	GeForce GTX 980M GeForce GTX 970M	15"