From looking at published specs of the RTX 30-series laptops so far, you can basically assume any laptop that’s 18mm or thinner and weighs less than 4.5 pounds to be the lower-power “Max-Q” variant in either 3070 or 3080 models. Simple physics says you can’t get as much performance out of a 4.5-pound laptop than you can out of one that weighs 6.5 pounds. We’ve come up with a few ways that, while not entirely foolproof, should help you tell the difference.
How can you tell if you’re getting a higher-power version or a lower-power version? It’s going to take a little detective work.
NvidiaĮach of the RTX 30-series mobile GPUs has a power range, and their Max-Q versions should dwell near the lower end, while their Max-P versions should fly at the higher end. A 3.5-pound very thin laptop with a 60-watt GPU is expected to be slower.
The RTX 3060 has very wide swings in power at 60 watts to 115 watts, but we suspect these will be more situational.
