Mobile PCI Express Module

A Mobile PCI Express Module (MXM) is an interconnect standard for GPUs (MXM Graphics Modules) in laptops using PCI Express created by MXM-SIG. The goal was to create a non-proprietary, industry standard socket, so one could easily upgrade the graphics processor in a laptop, without having to buy a whole new system or relying on proprietary vendor upgrades.

VIA QSM-8Q90 Qseven computer-on-module using a MXM-2 connector
Congatec SMARC computer-on-module using MXM-3 connector
A GTX 780M GPU with MXM socket
MXM slot
Mobile PCI Express Module
Reference design of a first generation MXM-II card for 35 mm GPU
No. of devices1
StyleSerial
External interfaceno

1st generation configurations

Smaller graphics modules can be inserted into larger slots, but type I and II heatsinks will not fit type III and above or vice versa. The Alienware m5700 platform uses a heatsink that will fit Type I, II, & III cards without modification.

MXM TypeWidthLengthPinsModule CompatibilityThermal CompatibilityMax. PowerMax. GPU size [1]
MXM-I70mm68mm230II18W35×35 mm
MXM-II73mm78mm230I, IIII35W35×35 mm
MXM-III (HE)82mm100mm230(232)I, II, IIII, II, III75W40×40 mm
MXM-IV (Deprecated)82mm117mm230I, II, III, IVI, II, III, IV

2nd generation configurations (MXM 3)

Smaller graphics modules can be inserted into larger slots. Heatsink mounting remains the same for type A and B modules.

MXM TypeWidthLengthModule CompatibilityThermal CompatibilityMax. PowerGPU memory bus
MXM-A82mm70mmAA55W64-bit or 128-bit
MXM-B82mm105mmA, BA, B200W256-bit

MXM 3.1 was released in March 2012 and added PCIe 3.0 support.[2][3]

Module compatibility

First generation modules are not compatible with second generation modules and vice versa. First generation modules are fully backwards compatible.

Standard availability

MXM is no longer freely supplied by Nvidia but it is controlled by the MXM-SIG controlled by Nvidia. Only corporate clients are granted access to the standard. The MXM 2.1 specification is widely available. The initial 3.0 technical brief (not the actual spec) can be found here. The 3.0 Electromechanical specification can be found here

Compliance

A common misconception about MXM is that certain models of graphics cards (e.g. Nvidia GTX 980M) "is MXM 2.1", and therefore any notebook with a GTX 980M fully implements MXM 2.1. However, this is incorrect. While Nvidia defines a lot of MXM specifications, they do not manufacture or design MXM cards themselves, which mostly consist of a PCB with vRAM and an Nvidia or AMD GPU core. Therefore, any model of GPU can be manufactured in MXM, but a laptop released with any particular graphics card model may or may not implement MXM regardless. This is because it is the decision of the ODM whether or not to implement MXM, not Nvidia's or AMD's.

List of MXM cards

MXM 3.x cards
Vendor Name Released MXM Type GPU Architecture Core config* TFLOPS (FP32) TDP Dimensions
AMD FirePro M5950 Jan 2011 Type-A Whistler XT Terascale 2 80 x 70 mm
FirePro M4000[4] Jun 2012 Type-A Chelsea XT GL GCN1 512:32:16 0.69 33W 80 x 70 mm
FirePro M5100 Oct 2013 Type-A Venus XT GCN1 640:40:16 80 x 70 mm
FirePro M6100 Type-B Saturn XT GL GCN2 768:48:16 82 x 105 mm
FirePro W5130M Aug 2014 Type-A Tropo LE GCN1 512:32:16 80 x 70 mm
FirePro W5170M Tropo XT 640:40:16
FirePro S4000X Venus XT 640:40:16 1.0 45W
Radeon Embedded E6465 Oct 2015 Type-A Caicos Terascale2 128 20W 80 x 70 mm
Radeon Embedded E8860 Type-A Cape Verde XT GCN1 640:40:16 0.8 37W 80 x 70 mm
Radeon Embedded E8870[5] Type-B Bonaire Pro GCN2 768:48:16 1.4 75W 82 x 105 mm
Radeon Embedded E8950 Type-B Tonga XT GCN3 2048:128:32 3.0 95W 82 x 105 mm
FirePro W6150M Nov 2015 Type-B Saturn XT GL GCN2 768:48:16 82 x 105 mm
FirePro S7100X May 2016 Type-B Amethyst XT GCN3 2048:128:32 3.0 100W 82 x 105 mm
Radeon Embedded E9260[6] Sep 2016 Type-A Baffin PRO GCN4 896:56:16 2.2 50W 82 x 70 mm
Radeon Embedded E9550[7] Type-B Ellesmere XT GCN4 2304:144:32 5.8 95W 82 x 105 mm
Radeon Pro WX 4130 Mobile Mar 2017 Type-A Baffin LE GCN4 640:40:16 1.4 50W 82 x 70 mm
Radeon Pro WX 4150 Mobile Type-A Baffin PRO GCN4 896:56:16 1.9 50W 82 x 70 mm
Radeon Embedded E9172[8] Oct 2017 Type-A Polaris 12 (Lexa) GCN4 512:32:16 35W 82 x 70 mm
Radeon Embedded E9174 Type-A Polaris 12 (Lexa) GCN4 512:32:16 50W 82 x 70 mm
Nvidia Tesla M6 Sep 2015 Type-B GM204 Maxwell (2nd gen) 1536 / 96 / 48 3.0 100W 82 x 105 mm
Quadro M520 Mobile[9] Jan 2017 Type-A GM108 Maxwell (1st gen) 384 / 16 / 8 0.8 25W 80 x 70 mm
Quadro M620 Mobile[10] GM107 512 / 32 / 16 1.0 30W
Quadro M1200 Mobile[11] 640 / 40 / 32 1.4 45W
Quadro M2200 Mobile[12] GM206 Maxwell (2nd gen) 1024 / 64 / 32 2.1 55W
Quadro P3000 Mobile[13] Type-B GP104 Pascal 1280 / 80 / 32 3.1 75W 82 x 105 mm
Quadro P4000 Mobile[14] 1792 / 112 / 64 4.4 100W
Quadro P5000 Mobile[15] 2048 / 128 / 64 6.2 100W
Quadro K1100 Mobile Jul 2013 Type-A GK107 Kepler 0.5 55W 80 x 70 mm
Quadro K3100 Mobile Type-B GK104 1.1 100W 82 x 105 mm
Quadro K5100 Mobile Type-B 2.4 100W
GeForce GTX 965M Oct 2014 Type-B GM204 Maxwell 2.4 75W 82 x 105 mm
GeForce GTX 970M Type-B 2.7 75W
GeForce GTX 980M Type-B 3.2 100W
GeForce GTX 980 Sep 2015 Type-B 4.4 180W 83 x 115 mm
GeForce GTX 980 Type-B 200W 102.6 x 115 mm
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile (Clevo) May 2017 Type-B GP106 Pascal 4.4 100W 100 x 124 mm
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile (MSI) May 2017 Type-B 4.3 78W 82 x 105 mm
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile (Clevo) May 2017 Type-B GP104 6.7 150W 100 x 124 mm
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile (MSI) May 2017 Type-B 115W 94 x 105 mm
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile (Clevo) May 2017 Type-B 9.1 190W 100 x 124 mm
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile "Type 1" (MSI GT73VR) May 2017 Type-B 200W Unknown
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile "Type 2" (MSI GT83) May 2017 Type-B 150W 94 x 105 mm
GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile (Clevo) Jan 2019 Type-B TU106 Turing 4.6 80W 100 x 124 mm
GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile (Clevo) Jan 2019 Type-B 6.6 115W
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (Clevo) Jan 2019 Type-B TU104 9.4 150W

*Unified Shaders : Texture Mapping Units : Render Output Units

  • MXM-SIG
  • [MXM Upgrade] - Site about MXM, with a table of some MXM laptops, detailed upgrade procedures and MXM cards for sale, no longer updated.
  • - Nearly complete list of Acer laptops implementing MXM.
  1. Klaus Hinum (2012-05-26). "Notebook Video Card Upgrade / Replacement". Notebook Check. Archived from the original on 2017-12-10. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  2. "MXM Standard 3.1 is the new one (Up from 3.0)". NotebookReview. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  3. "MXM Graphics Module". www.mxm-sig.org. Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  4. "AMD FirePro M4000". TechPowerUp. Retrieved 2018-07-22.
  5. https://www.amd.com/en/products/embedded-graphics-high-performance
  6. "AMD E9260" (PDF).
  7. "AMD E9950" (PDF).
  8. https://www.amd.com/en/products/embedded-graphics-power-efficient
  9. "TechPowerUp". TechPowerUp. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  10. "TechPowerUp". TechPowerUp. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  11. "TechPowerUp". TechPowerUp. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  12. "TechPowerUp". TechPowerUp. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  13. "TechPowerUp". TechPowerUp. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
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  15. "TechPowerUp". TechPowerUp. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
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