How to choose between GTX 980M and GTX 1060M when the prices are similar?

How to choose between GTX 980M and GTX 1060M when the prices are similar?
It's the most troublesome season of the year again. As a digital enthusiast, the most troublesome thing is not the start of a new semester, but the problem of whether to spend less money to buy old products or spend more money to buy new products when the core components of digital products are updated. No, this school season coincides with the release of NVIDIA GTX 10 series mobile independent graphics cards, and many gaming laptops equipped with GTX 10 series independent graphics cards are on sale. After a preliminary understanding of the performance, it seems that the performance of GTX 980M and GTX 1060 is close. How to choose between them? Today, the author will bring you the answer. Why GTX 980M and GTX 1060? First of all, we have to talk about NVIDIA GTX 10 series independent graphics cards. Compared with the previous generation of independent graphics cards, NVIDIA GTX 10 series independent graphics cards have been updated in both core architecture and process technology. The dual update makes the performance of this generation of independent graphics cards very obvious, which is also what everyone pays most attention to. At the same time, NVIDIA also cancelled the previous "M" ending in the name of the GTX 10 series mobile discrete graphics card, and directly adopted the same name as the desktop, without any suffix, that is, the new generation of discrete graphics cards in notebooks are also called GTX 1060. The reason for this naming is that the performance of NVIDIA GTX 10 series mobile discrete graphics cards is very close to that of the same model of discrete graphics cards on the desktop, but the frequency is slightly lower.
Left: GTX 980M, right: GTX 1060 mobile version. The data screenshot of GPU-Z shows that although GTX 980M leads in the number of CUDA units, memory width/capacity, etc., GTX 1060 is better in frequency. Therefore, the rumor that the desktop GTX 1060 can catch up with the GTX 980 independent graphics card has also been extended to the mobile side. So how big is the performance gap between the mobile version of GTX 1060 and GTX 980M? Today we will explain it to you through multiple tests. 3DMark running test At this stage, the most representative test software for quantitative data of graphics cards is 3DMark, so we first test them separately through several test modes of 3DMark software and look at their performance through specific values. In order to show the comparison chart more easily, the author summarizes all the test results in a table. This time, we tested three modes: Time Spy, Fire Strike Extreme, and Fire Strike. The figure also lists the comprehensive score and graphics card options for each test. Among them, the Time Sky mode test is for DX 12, while Fire Strike Extreme is mainly for multi-GPU systems, and Fire Strike is a common high-performance independent graphics card running test. The three scenarios are highly representative. From the test results, it is not difficult to see that the running data of all the GTX 1060 mobile versions tested are higher than that of GTX 980M. The comprehensive score of Fire Strike mode differs by about 5.58%, and the graphics card score differs by 10.19%. From this, it can be seen that GTX 1060 is indeed higher than GTX 980M in terms of running data. Judging from the running data, the mobile version of GTX 1060 is indeed better. Game test After looking at the running data, I believe everyone has a better understanding of the two independent graphics cards. Then let's see if their game performance and running data are consistent? Below, the author selected the Benchmark tests of the two games "Tomb Raider 10" and "Metro 2033", and also took the currently popular "Overwatch" for more extensive testing. GTX 980M tested "Tomb Raider 10" with high picture quality, 1080P, and average frame rate: 71.87 GTX 1060 tested "Tomb Raider 10" with high picture quality, 1080P, and average frame rate: 77.32 GTX 980M tested "Metro 2033" with high picture quality, 1080P, and average frame rate: 49.65 GTX 1060 tested "Metro 2033" with high picture quality, 1080P, and average frame rate: 62.73 Through the tests of the two games "Metro 2033" and "Tomb Raider 10", it can be seen that the operation effect of the GTX 1060 mobile version of the discrete graphics card is indeed better than that of the GTX 980M. The average frame rate difference of "Tomb Raider 10" is about 7.58%, which is not very large; and the average frame rate difference of "Metro 2033", which has more stringent performance requirements, is as high as 26.34%, and the performance gap is relatively large. Finally, the author tested the game "Overwatch" in high quality, ultra high quality, and ultra high quality. The tests were all conducted at 1080P resolution, with vertical synchronization turned off, frame rate limit, and rendering multiple of 100%. The frame rate was recorded by Fraps software, and the above table was calculated based on the final average frame rate. According to the test results, the average frame rate difference between GTX 980M and GTX 1060 in high quality is about 6.25%; the average frame rate difference in ultra high quality is about 39.30%, which is a more obvious difference; and the average frame rate difference in ultra high quality is 20.14%. It is not difficult to draw the following conclusions: 1. The average frame rate of the GTX 1060 mobile version under the three image qualities is higher than that of the GTX 980M; 2. The difference between the test data of the two under the ultra-high image quality is more obvious, and the difference between the GTX 1060 under the ultra-high image quality and high image quality is not large; 3. The difference between the average frame rate of the GTX 1060 and the GTX 980M under the high image quality is the smallest. In other words, although the difference between the two under the high image quality is not obvious, there is a certain gap under the ultra-high image quality and ultra-high image quality. And if you buy such a high-end graphics card, you will definitely not linger on the high image quality, and you will definitely give priority to the ultra-high image quality or ultra-high image quality. Of course, although the test game scenes are random and the intensity varies, the overall game performance of the GTX 1060 mobile version is indeed slightly higher than that of the GTX 980M. Let's talk about which one is more worthwhile in terms of product price. Since the performance of GTX 10 has been greatly improved this year, the price has increased compared to the previous generation. However, referring to the top sales of GTX 980M and GTX 1060 gaming laptops on Tmall, the average price difference between the two is not big, which means that GTX 1060 gaming laptops are still the first choice. In addition, for VR products such as HTC Vive, NVIDIA GTX 1060 can drive them perfectly, while GTX 980M is not in the NVIDIA VR Ready category. Therefore, for those who want to experience VR devices, you must choose GTX 1060 discrete graphics card.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.

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