The GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q series is Nvidia's answer to Kaby Lake-G

[Redaktion]

The Lenovo Ideapad 720S will be one of the first notebooks shipping with the GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-GeForce-GTX-1050-Max-Q-series-is-Nvidia-s-answer-to-Kaby-Lake-G.277750.0.html

[Izzat]

But what is the point?... I read the article and I still don't really get it.

There's already 1060 max-Q, 1050, 1050ti and MX150. Doesn't it seem redundant to make weaker versions of already relatively weak cards?

[Anoq]

Then AMD will answer with RR+ Vega-R. 65W with dual gpu

[Paul542]

It may seem redundant but in general differentiation leads to more profit for them. These lower class GPUs will be a substitute for last generation 950m card or rather what was supposed to be a laptop GT 1040.

[Thesis]

There is no reason for a 1050 Max-Q and 1050 TI Max-Q as both cards are not the most power consuming cards. This is a confusing move.

[Anon]

Will the 14 inch get the 1050 or will it be only the 15.6?

Thanks.

[doggg]

They worked some real magic with this card!  I just got the Lenovo IdeaPad 720S 15" with the 1050 Ti Max-Q GPU... it scored 7220 on Firestrike (Graphics), which is roughly 8% worse than the non Max-Q average.  However, they really improved on the power usage, because the laptop only comes with a 90W power supply.  I don't have Kill-A-Watt, so I can't tell the exact power usage, but I'd guess 75-80W on a heavy gaming load, only higher for synthetic benchmarks.  For comparison, the Aero 14 scores 7608 (5% better) but uses 95W during Witcher 3 (19% more power).

The main benefit of Max-Q is reduced heat load, which in turn allows for a cooler / quieter / thinner laptop.  The Aero 14 apparently gets up to 50C on the bottom, but the IdeaPad is more like 40C.  It also is much quieter, closer to 40 dB instead of 46 dB.