so probably a stupid question

windcsalm

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Oct 24, 2014
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I was looking at a laptop and wanted to ask if have 2 gpu be any better or worthwhile than 1, or would it even increase performance?
The one I'm looking at is
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M 6GB PCIe (Maxwell) + Intel® Iris™ Pro 5200 (NVIDIA GeForce® Optimus™ Technology)

What i'm asking is that does it have any significant improvements or at all over a single GTX 970 6gb?
 

giantbucket

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Nov 17, 2013
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99.7% of the time in a laptop you'll have some sort of graphics coming straight from the cpu/processor (in this case, the intel iris). it's rare i think to find a laptop that would have a gtx970M but NOT have a cpu with onboard graphics.

80% of the time that laptop would probably use the iris for displaying stuff and keep the gtx powered down to save on battery, and only switch over to the gtx when needed like during games.
 
Im not a desktop gamer but I am sure that the gtx 970 would beat the gtx 970m by a large margin. But remember that the gpu isn't the restricting factor in laptops, it is heat. The performance of the laptop will depend on how good the cooling is. But as desktops are larger, they should always outperform a laptop.
 

giantbucket

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Nov 17, 2013
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i think he (the OP) meant to ask does the 970M+Iris have any performance gain over just the 970M (not 970 desktop). and the answer would be no since when the 970M is being used, the Iris is turned off. and when the Iris is running, the 970M is off to save on battery power. it's like a 2-speed transmission.
 
There are no stupid questions.... only stupid people. :D :D :D

Intel graphics cores do not combine with other GPUs for enhanced performance. They operate separately from each other. Generally speaking when you are not playing a game the laptop will default to the Intel graphics core, and when you play a game it will use the GTX 970m. However, sometimes a game will still use the Intel graphics core when you launch the a game. If that happens then you need to use the nVidia Control Panel and manually set the game to use the GTX 970m.

You can only get better performance if the laptop allows you to install another GTX 970m for SLI. If it allows you to replace the GTX 970m with a more powerful GPU. That's assuming the GTX 970m is not soldered into the motherboard.