Computex 2017: Nvidia's Max-Q technology will make gaming laptops faster, lighter and thinner

If you though gaming is meant for desktop PCs or consoles, think again. Recent updates from Nvidia and Intel have brought desktop-grade performance to these portable devices. Nvidia’s latest announcement at Computex 2017 further reinforces this trend.

The graphics card maker has  announced Max-Q , which is a new design approach from the GPU maker that will help in making gaming laptops thinner, quieter, and faster. The announcement was made by CEO Jen-Hsun Huangat at the ongoing Computex annual trade show in Taiwan.

Max-Q is a completely new approach to designing gaming laptops. Nvidia is working with OEMs and system builders to make high-end gaming laptops thinner, faster and quieter. The whole design is precision-engineered, which includes the whole laptop, the graphics processing unit, the drivers, the thermal and electrical components, etc., so that peak efficiency is achieved.

Nvidia compares the Max-Q concept to NASA’s mission to launch man into space. Max-Q is actually defined as the point at which the aerodynamic stress on a rocket in atmospheric flight is maximized. The design of the rocket is precision-engineered around Max-Q. Nvidia claims to be applying the same philosophy, but to design gaming laptops. This will allow OEMs to make laptops that are three times thinner with up to three times more performance of previous generation products, says Nvidia.

Thanks to Max-Q technology, high-performance gaming laptops would be as thin as a MacBook Air with up to 70 percent more gaming performance than what is currently available.

The first phase of laptops designed with Max-Q will feature GTX 10-series GPUs manufactured on the FinFET 16-nanometer process and will use GDDR5X and GDDR5 memory. The drivers will also be fine-tuned to deliver optimal system efficiency paired with a great gaming experience. Max-Q designed laptops will support the entire GeForce gaming platform, which includes Game Ready drivers, Nvidia G-Sync display technology, VR, 4K gaming and so on.

Max-Q based gaming laptops equipped with GeForce GTX 1080, 1070 and 1060 GPUs will be available starting 27 June from leading laptop OEMs and system builders.