Nvidia Will Require Laptop Vendors to Provide RTX 30-series Specs

[harlan4096]

It's more transparent, but still more complicated than it used to be.

Nvidia will now require that companies selling laptops with the latest RTX 30-series graphics cards list total graphics power and clock speeds, the GPU maker told The Verge.

Previously, the company had told Tom's Hardware that "We strongly encourage OEMs" to list this data. Most companies, including Dell, Asus, MSI and more had not included them. 

The change should make it easier for people to know what type of performance to expect from a gaming laptop before buying or waiting on third-party reviews to confirm which version of the GPU is being used.

Gigabyte and Asus have begun adding the information. XMG and Schenker, sibling companies that sell primarily in Europe have been more specific since launch, including Max-Q status.

Max-Q  has been a tricky question since the RTX 30-series laptop launch. The branding hasn't gone away, but Nvidia has told Tom's Hardware that it "is a holistic set of platform technologies and design approach to building powerful and thin laptops," rather than an indicator of performance.  It is, however, still listed in the Nvidia Control Panel.

Maximum TGP has been previously listed in  Nvidia Control Panel, but mysteriously disappeared in Game Ready Driver 461.40 Nvidia tells Tom's Hardware this is a bug, and there is now a hot fix available, 461.51. It will be rolled into the next Game Ready and Studio drivers, as well.

Nvidia, as of this writing, doesn't list a complete list of GPU configuration, but rather has a series of ranges listed on its website. 

Updated Feb. 5 at 12:08 p.m. ET to address the availability of the Game Ready Driver hot fix, 461.51, which shows max TGP.
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