Nvidia are unhappy with Wu Haijun, the CEO of Chinese computer manufacturer Hasee, according to website NoteBookCheck. He is apparently in 'hot water' due to a conference presentation in which he revealed the existence / details of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 990M mobile GPU. This powerful new mobile GPU and laptops featuring it are expected to be launched in Q4 this year.
As well as the forum post, from someone who watched the Chinese conference presentation, NoteBookCheck has additional independent industry insider info on the GPU. According to the site, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 990M is going by the codename 'N16E-GXX'. It will be based upon the Maxwell GM204 architecture, like the current desktop GTX 980. This new mobile part will have a configurable TDP from 100 to 185 watts and beyond. The laptop manufacturer can choose a TDP depending upon the cooling solution chosen and so on. The GTX 990M is not available as an MXM solution, say sources, so it will be soldered on to the laptop motherboard.
There was reportedly talk at the conference that the Hasee CEO pegged the performance of the GeForce GTX 990M as being similar to two GTX 980M GPUs in SLI. In tests such an SLI system scores about 25 per cent better in 3DMark 13 Firestrike than a desktop GeForce GTX 980.
As usual, bleeding edge performance (particularly in mobile computing) will come at a premium. NoteBookCheck reckons that the Nvidia GeForce GTX 990M mobile GPU could cost as much as twice as much as the 980M. With regard to the launch time, it is thought that the 990M will emerge at the start of Q4 (late Sept/early Oct) rather than the end of the quarter.