What is the difference between laptop and desktop GPUs?

What does the 'M' mean in a graphics card's number?

Anyone who has shopped around for a gaming rig knows that the graphics card (GPU) is arguably the most important thing to consider. Without an appropriate graphics card for the games you want to play, you'll be stuck with sub-par graphics and an overall disappointing experience.

Buying a gaming laptop adds a bit of intricacy to the buying process. You might have heard that an NVIDIA GTX 980 is a powerful GPU — it can even run VR — and this laptop says it has a GTX 980M within. You buy the laptop, get it home, and realize you can't play a recent game on ultra settings. What gives? Let's explore the difference between laptop (M) and desktop GPUs.

The difference between laptop and desktop GPUs

Consider the amount of space in a laptop PC against the amount of space in a desktop PC — there's simply way less room in a laptop, even a bulky gaming laptop.

This lack of room has traditionally called for a different graphics card than one designed for a desktop. NVIDIA, up until their latest 10-series cards, names these graphics cards something similar and just adds an M to the number. AMD does something similar with their desktop and laptop GPUs.

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