Shifting the focus to Nvidia's performance GTX series, four new GPUs have been added - the GTX 850M, 860M, 870M and 880M. During idle periods, Nvidia's matured Optimus technology allows the notebook to switch over to Intel's HD graphics which are better equipped for handling basic graphical tasks with lower power consumption. The underlying message here is that Nvidia's newest discrete 800M graphics are both faster and more efficient than Intel's integrated graphics when gaming or performing other intensive 3D workloads. Better still is the fact that configuration uses considerably less power than Intel's Core i7-4750HQ with Iris Pro Graphics while still delivering notably better performance. To prove it isn't playing any tricks with performance at the expense of power consumption Nvidia demonstrates that a notebook equipped with an Intel Core i5-4200U and a GeForce 840M uses a similar amount of power during gaming as a notebook running a Core i5-4200U with Intel HD 4400 graphics alone. More importantly for prospective notebook buyers is the fact the GeForce 840M is up to 4x faster than the HD 4400 graphics found in Intel's Core i5-4200U processor.

While specifics haven't been revealed at the time of writing, these mobile GPUs are up to 35 per cent faster than previous-generation equivalents.

Moving up to the GeForce 830M brings in the first glimpse of mobile Maxwell technology. Nvidia's 'new' 820M recycles the ageing Fermi architecture and is only short of being a total rebrand due to the slightly faster memory that is deployed. Intended for ultra-thin notebooks all the way through to desktop-replacement machines, these new GPUs replace older 700M-class parts that shipped throughout 2013.Īt the bottom of the pile nothing much has changed. During March 2014, Nvidia revitalised its mobile GeForce product stack by introducing seven new 800M-series GPUs.

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