Processors with integrated graphics: AMD Fusion vs. Intel Core i3 and Intel Pentium. Built-in and integrated graphics in the processor Which Intel processors have a graphics core

The integrated graphics processor plays an important role for both gamers and undemanding users.

The quality of games, movies, watching videos on the Internet and images depends on it.

Principle of operation

The graphics processor is integrated into the computer's motherboard - this is what integrated graphics looks like.

As a rule, they use it to remove the need to install a graphics adapter -.

This technology helps reduce the cost of the finished product. In addition, due to the compactness and low power consumption of such processors, they are often installed in laptops and low-power desktop computers.

Thus, integrated graphics processors have filled this niche so much that 90% of laptops on US store shelves have such a processor.

Instead of a regular video card, integrated graphics often use the computer's RAM itself as an auxiliary tool.

True, this solution somewhat limits the performance of the device. Still, the computer itself and the graphics processor use the same memory bus.

So this “neighborhood” affects the performance of tasks, especially when working with complex graphics and during gameplay.

Kinds

Integrated graphics have three groups:

1. Shared memory graphics is a device based on shared memory management with the main processor. This significantly reduces cost, improves energy saving system, but degrades performance. Accordingly, for those who work with complex programs, integrated graphics processors of this type are most likely not suitable.
2. Discrete graphics - a video chip and one or two video memory modules are soldered onto the motherboard. Thanks to this technology, image quality is significantly improved, and it also becomes possible to work with 3D graphics with the best results. True, you will have to pay a lot for this, and if you are looking for a high-power processor in all respects, the cost can be incredibly high. In addition, your electricity bill will increase slightly - the power consumption of discrete GPUs is higher than usual.
3. Hybrid discrete graphics is a combination of the two previous types, which ensured the creation of the PCI Express bus. Thus, access to memory is carried out both through the soldered video memory and through the RAM. With this solution, manufacturers wanted to create a compromise solution, but it still does not eliminate the shortcomings.

Manufacturers

As a rule, large companies - , and - are engaged in the manufacture and development of integrated graphics processors, but many small enterprises are also involved in this area.

This is not difficult to do. Look for Primary Display or Init Display First. If you don’t see something like that, look for Onboard, PCI, AGP or PCI-E (it all depends on the buses installed on the motherboard).

By choosing PCI-E, for example, you enable the PCI-Express video card and disable the built-in integrated one.

Thus, to enable the integrated video card, you need to find the appropriate parameters in the BIOS. Often the activation process is automatic.

Disable

It is better to disable it in the BIOS. This is the simplest and most unpretentious option, suitable for almost all PCs. The only exceptions are some laptops.

Again, search for Peripherals or Integrated Peripherals in the BIOS if you are working on a desktop.

For laptops, the name of the function is different, and not the same everywhere. So just find something related to graphics. For example, the necessary options can be placed in the Advanced and Config sections.

Disabling is also carried out in different ways. Sometimes it’s enough to just click “Disabled” and put the PCI-E video card first in the list.

If you are a laptop user, do not be alarmed if you cannot find a suitable option; a priori, you may not have such a function. For all other devices, the rules are simple - no matter how the BIOS itself looks, the filling is the same.

If you have two video cards and they are both shown in the device manager, then the matter is quite simple: right-click on one of them and select “disable”. However, keep in mind that the display may go dark. This will most likely happen.

However, this is also a solvable problem. It is enough to restart the computer or software.

Make all subsequent settings on it. If this method does not work, roll back your actions using safe mode. You can also resort to the previous method - through the BIOS.

Two programs - NVIDIA Control Center and Catalyst Control Center - configure the use of a specific video adapter.

They are the most unpretentious compared to the other two methods - the screen is unlikely to turn off, and you won’t accidentally mess up the settings through the BIOS either.

For NVIDIA all settings are in the 3D section.

You can select your preferred video adapter for the entire operating system and for specific programs and games.

In Catalyst software, an identical function is located in the “Power” option in the “Switchable Graphics” sub-item.

So switching between GPUs is a breeze.

There are different methods, in particular, through programs and through BIOS. Turning on or off one or another integrated graphics may be accompanied by some failures, mainly related to the image.

It may go out or simply become distorted. Nothing should affect the files on the computer themselves, unless you clicked something in the BIOS.

Conclusion

As a result, integrated graphics processors are in demand due to their low cost and compactness.

You will have to pay for this with the level of performance of the computer itself.

In some cases, integrated graphics are simply necessary - discrete processors are ideal for working with three-dimensional images.

In addition, the industry leaders are Intel, AMD and Nvidia. Each of them offers its own graphics accelerators, processors and other components.

The latest popular models are Intel HD Graphics 530 and AMD A10-7850K. They are quite functional, but have some flaws. In particular, this applies to power, performance and cost of the finished product.

You can enable or disable a graphics processor with a built-in core either yourself through BIOS, utilities and various programs, but the computer itself can easily do this for you. It all depends on which video card is connected to the monitor itself.

« Why is this integration needed? Give us more cores, megahertz and cache!“- the average computer user asks and exclaims. Indeed, when a computer uses a discrete video card, there is no need for integrated graphics. I admit, I lied about the fact that today a central processor without built-in video is harder to find than with it. There are such platforms - LGA2011-v3 for Intel chips and AM3+ for AMD “stones”. In both cases, we are talking about top solutions, and you have to pay for them. Mainstream platforms, such as Intel LGA1151/1150 and AMD FM2+, are universally equipped with processors with integrated graphics. Yes, “built-in” is indispensable in laptops. If only because in 2D mode, mobile computers last longer on battery power. On desktops, integrated video is useful in office builds and so-called HTPCs. Firstly, we save on components. Secondly, we again save on energy consumption. However, recently AMD and Intel are seriously talking about the fact that their integrated graphics are graphics for all graphics! Also suitable for gaming. This is what we will check.

We play modern games on the graphics built into the processor

300% increase

For the first time, graphics integrated into the processor (iGPU) appeared in Intel Clarkdale solutions (first generation Core architecture) in 2010. It is integrated into the processor. An important amendment, since the very concept of “embedded video” was formed much earlier. Intel did it back in 1999 with the release of the 810 chipset for Pentium II/III. At Clarkdale, integrated HD Graphics video was implemented as a separate chip located under the heat-distributing cover of the processor. The graphics were produced according to the old 45-nanometer technical process at that time, the main computing part was produced according to 32-nanometer standards. The first Intel solutions in which the HD Graphics unit “settled” along with other components on one chip were Sandy Bridge processors.

Intel Clarkdale - the first processor with integrated graphics

Since then, on-chip graphics for mainstream LGA115* platforms has become the de facto standard. Generations Ivy Bridge, Haswell, Broadwell, Skylake - all have integrated video.

Graphics integrated into the processor appeared 6 years ago

In contrast to the computing part, “embeddedness” in Intel solutions is progressing noticeably. HD Graphics 3000 in Sandy Bridge K-series desktop processors has 12 execution units. HD Graphics 4000 in Ivy Bridge has 16; HD Graphics 4600 in Haswell has 20, HD Graphics 530 in Skylake has 25. The frequencies of both the GPU itself and RAM are constantly increasing. As a result, the performance of embedded video increased by 3-4 times over four years! But there is also a much more powerful series of “embedded” Iris Pro, which are used in certain Intel processors. 300% interest over four generations is not 5% per year.

Intel Integrated Graphics Performance

In-processor graphics is one segment where Intel has to keep up with AMD. In most cases, the Reds' decisions are faster. There is nothing surprising in this, because AMD develops powerful gaming video cards. So the integrated graphics of desktop processors use the same architecture and the same developments: GCN (Graphics Core Next) and 28 nanometers.

AMD hybrid chips debuted in 2011. The Llano family of chips was the first to combine integrated graphics and computing on a single chip. AMD marketers realized that it would not be possible to compete with Intel on its terms, so they introduced the term APU (Accelerated Processing Unit, processor with a video accelerator), although the idea had been hatched by the Reds since 2006. After Llano, three more generations of “hybrids” came out: Trinity, Richland and Kaveri (Godavari). As I already said, in modern chips the integrated video is architecturally no different from the graphics used in Radeon discrete 3D accelerators. As a result, in 2015-2016 chips, half of the transistor budget is spent on iGPUs.

Modern integrated graphics take up half the usable CPU space

The most interesting thing is that the development of APUs influenced the future... of game consoles. So the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One use an AMD Jaguar chip - eight-core, with graphics based on GCN architecture. Below is a table with characteristics. The Radeon R7 is the most powerful integrated video the Reds have to date. The block is used in AMD A10 hybrid processors. Radeon R7 360 is an entry-level discrete video card, which, according to my recommendations, can be considered a gaming card in 2016. As you can see, the modern “integration” in terms of characteristics is not much inferior to the Low-end adapter. It cannot be said that the graphics of game consoles have outstanding characteristics.

The very appearance of processors with integrated graphics in many cases puts an end to the need to buy an entry-level discrete adapter. However, today integrated video from AMD and Intel is encroaching on the sacred - the gaming segment. For example, in nature there is a quad-core Core i7-6770HQ (2.6/3.5 GHz) processor based on the Skylake architecture. It uses integrated Iris Pro 580 graphics and 128 MB of eDRAM memory as a fourth-level cache. The integrated video has 72 execution units operating at a frequency of 950 MHz. This is more powerful than the Iris Pro 6200 graphics, which uses 48 actuators. As a result, the Iris Pro 580 turns out to be faster than such discrete video cards as the Radeon R7 360 and GeForce GTX 750, and also in some cases imposes competition on the GeForce GTX 750 Ti and Radeon R7 370. What else will happen when AMD switches its APUs to 16-nanometer technical process, and both manufacturers will eventually begin to use HBM/HMC memory together with integrated graphics.

Intel Skull Canyon - a compact computer with the most powerful integrated graphics

Testing

To test modern integrated graphics, I took four processors: two each from AMD and Intel. All chips are equipped with different iGPUs. So, AMD A8 (plus A10-7700K) hybrids have Radeon R7 video with 384 unified processors. The older series - A10 - has 128 more blocks. The flagship also has a higher frequency. There is also the A6 series - its graphics potential is completely sad, since it uses the “built-in” Radeon R5 with 256 unified processors. I did not consider it for games in Full HD.

AMD A10 and Intel Broadwell processors have the most powerful integrated graphics

As for Intel products, the most popular Skylake Core i3/i5/i7 chips for the LGA1151 platform use the HD Graphics 530 module. As I already said, it contains 25 actuators: 5 more than the HD Graphics 4600 (Haswell), but 23 less than the Iris Pro 6200 (Broadwell). The test used the youngest quad-core processor - Core i5-6400.

Below are the configurations of all test benches. When it comes to integrated video performance, it is necessary to pay due attention to the choice of RAM, since it also determines how many FPS the integrated graphics will show in the end. In my case, DDR3/DDR4 kits were used, operating at an effective frequency of 2400 MHz.

RAM support for AMD Kaveri processors

Such sets were chosen for a reason. According to official data, the built-in memory controller of Kaveri processors works with DDR3-2133 memory, however, motherboards based on the A88X chipset (due to an additional divider) also support DDR3-2400. Intel chips, coupled with the flagship Z170/Z97 Express logic, also interact with faster memory; there are noticeably more presets in the BIOS. As for the test bench, for the LGA1151 platform we used a dual-channel Kingston Savage HX428C14SB2K2/16 kit, which overclocked to 3000 MHz without any problems. Other systems used ADATA AX3U2400W8G11-DGV memory.

Selecting RAM

A little experiment. In the case of Core i3/i5/i7 processors for the LGA1151 platform, using faster memory to accelerate graphics is not always rational. For example, for the Core i5-6400 (HD Graphics 530), changing the DDR4-2400 MHz kit to DDR4-3000 in Bioshock Infinite gave only 1.3 FPS. That is, with the graphics quality settings I set, performance was limited precisely by the graphics subsystem.

Dependence of the performance of the integrated graphics of an Intel processor on the frequency of RAM

The situation looks better when using AMD hybrid processors. Increasing the speed of RAM gives a more impressive increase in FPS; in the frequency delta of 1866-2400 MHz we are dealing with an increase of 2-4 frames per second. I think that using RAM with an effective frequency of 2400 MHz in all test benches is a rational solution. And closer to reality.

Dependence of the performance of the integrated graphics of an AMD processor on the frequency of RAM

We will judge the performance of integrated graphics based on the results of thirteen gaming applications. I roughly divided them into four categories. The first includes popular but undemanding PC hits. Millions play them. Therefore, such games (“tanks”, Word of Warcraft, League of Legends, Minecraft - here) have no right to be demanding. We can expect a comfortable FPS level at high graphics quality settings in Full HD resolution. The remaining categories were simply divided into three time periods: the 2013/14, 2015 and 2016 games.

Integrated graphics performance depends on RAM frequency

The quality of graphics was selected individually for each program. For undemanding games, these are mainly high settings. For other applications (with the exception of Bioshock Infinite, Battlefield 4 and DiRT Rally) the graphics quality is low. Still, we will test the built-in graphics in Full HD resolution. Screenshots describing all graphics quality settings are located in the screenshot of the same name. We will consider 25 fps as playable.

HD

The main purpose of testing is to study the performance of integrated processor graphics in Full HD resolution, but first, let's warm up on a lower HD. The iGPU Radeon R7 (for both A8 and A10) and Iris Pro 6200 felt quite comfortable in such conditions. But the HD Graphics 530 with its 25 actuators in some cases produced a completely unplayable picture. Specifically: in five games out of thirteen, since in Rise of the Tomb Raider, Far Cry 4, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Need for Speed ​​and XCOM 2 there is no place to reduce the quality of graphics. It is obvious that in Full HD the integrated video of the Skylake chip is a complete failure.

HD Graphics 530 already merges in 720p resolution

The Radeon R7 graphics used in the A8-7670K failed in three games, the Iris Pro 6200 failed in two, and the built-in A10-7890K failed in one.

Test results in 1280x720 pixels resolution

Interestingly, there are games in which the integrated video of the Core i5-5675C seriously outperforms the Radeon R7. For example, in Diablo III, StarCraft II, Battlefield 4 and GTA V. Low resolution affects not only the presence of 48 actuators, but also processor dependence. And also the presence of a fourth level cache. At the same time, the A10-7890K outperformed its opponent in the more demanding Rise of the Tomb Raider, Far Cry 4, The Witcher 3 and DiRT Rally. The GCN architecture works well in modern (and not so modern) hits.

Integrated GPUs

Main article: Integrated GPU

Integrated graphics allows you to build a computer without separate video adapters, which reduces the cost and power consumption of systems. This solution is typically used in low-end laptops and desktops, as well as business computers that do not require high levels of graphics performance. 90% of all personal computers sold in North America have integrated graphics. These graphic systems use the computer's RAM as video memory, which leads to performance limitations, since both the central and graphic processors use the same bus to access memory.

Like “stationary” video cards, mobile video adapters are divided into 3 main types, depending on the way the video core and video memory communicate:

• Shared Memory Graphics (Shared graphics, Shared Memory Architecture). There is no video memory in the form of specialized cells; instead, an area of ​​the computer's main RAM is dynamically allocated for the needs of the video adapter. This method of addressing memory is almost exclusively used by the so-called. integrated video cards (i.e., not made in the form of a separate chip, but being part of one large chip - the north bridge). The advantages of this solution are low price and low energy consumption. Disadvantages - poor performance in 3D graphics and a negative impact on memory bandwidth. The largest manufacturer of integrated graphics is Intel, whose video solutions are currently exclusively integrated; This type of graphics is also produced by ATI (Radeon, IGP), in much smaller volumes by SiS and NVidia.
• Discrete graphics (Dedicated graphics). A video chip and one or more video memory modules are soldered on the motherboard or (less often) on a separate module. Only discrete graphics provide the highest performance in 3D graphics. Disadvantages: higher price (very high for high-performance processors) and higher power consumption. The main manufacturers of discrete video adapters, as in the stationary video card market, are AMD-ATI and NVidia, offering the widest range of solutions.
• Hybrid discrete graphics (Hybrid graphics). As the name suggests, it is a combination of the above methods, which became possible with the advent of the PCI Express bus. There is a small amount of video memory physically soldered on the board, which can be virtually expanded by using the main RAM. A compromise solution that, with varying degrees of success, attempts to level out the disadvantages of the two above-mentioned types, but does not eliminate them completely.

Notes

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what “Integrated graphics processor” is in other dictionaries:

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Video card of the GeForce 4 family, with a cooler A video card (also known as a graphics card, graphics card, video adapter) (English videocard) is a device that converts an image located in the computer's memory into a video signal for the monitor.... ... Wikipedia

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Compare Iris Pro 6200 and Radeon R7 with HD Graphics and discrete Radeon R7 250X

The publication of our first article on desktop processors of the Broadwell family, among other things, caused a couple of fair comments regarding testing the graphics core in gaming applications. Indeed: there are tests, but for comparison only the HD Graphics 4600 GPU was taken, with which everything is clear. But how the successes of Intel’s new “graphics top” look against the background of AMD processors or inexpensive discrete video cards is a more important question from a practical point of view. Moreover, C-series processors are about 100 dollars more expensive than similar Haswell ones, and this is quite enough to purchase a Radeon R7 250X or something close, that is, not a very slow solution.

Today we will solve all the questions.

Test bench configuration

There will be two pairs of Intel processors - to clearly understand where the Core i7 has preferences over the Core i5, and where one vanity of vanities and vexation of spirit. The comparison will be in gaming applications, of course, and with a discrete video card. We, however, have already investigated this issue, but there the i5 and i7 were of different frequencies, and today we have equalized them in this parameter. In principle, it would be possible to take Broadwell of the same frequency, but it is only available in the form of Xeon, i.e. it is not a mass solution. So there will be no direct intersections here - just both socket models for household use.

We decided to take two AMD processors so that it would not be boring. In addition, it is also interesting to evaluate the progress of graphics, and do not forget that the A10-6800K also has a twin brother in the form of the Athlon X4 760K. And which of the Atlons to choose when using a discrete video card (760K or 860K) is an interesting question from a practical point of view. Moreover, 760K will work on a board with a “regular” FM2. Could it be that the user was no longer satisfied with some old A6-5400K, and he decided to change the processor and add a discrete video card? Quite possibly. So let's see if in this situation it makes sense to change the motherboard.

As for other testing conditions, they were equal, but not the same: the RAM operating frequency was the maximum supported according to the specifications, but they are slightly different. But its volume (8 GB) and system drive (Toshiba THNSNH256GMCT with a capacity of 256 GB) were the same for all subjects. All tests were carried out using the built-in video core (which all six processors have) and in conjunction with a discrete Radeon R7 250X.

Testing methodology

Since we have already established that the programs from the iXBT Application Benchmark 2015 set are very weakly affected by a specific video card, we limited ourselves to the iXBT Game Benchmark 2015 gaming methodology. All results were obtained in a resolution of 1920x1080 (Full HD) at minimum quality settings and at 1366x768 at maximum settings. Why this choice? Maximum settings at FHD resolution are too tough not only for integrated video adapters, but also for many inexpensive discrete solutions. But many people want to improve the quality - even at the cost of reducing the resolution. Moreover, the reduction is not always so radical - users still have old monitors on their hands, up to those that support a maximum of 1280x1024 pixels. So why not check out the “low” modes. In addition, with settings for maximum quality, the specific share of the load on the GPU increases, and today we are interested in GPUs. And even if they don’t cope with the job, it will be a stress test that well demonstrates the actual graphics capabilities.

Minimum high resolution quality

As you can see, HD Graphics in Haswell cannot cope with this task; you can already play on both A10s, but on the edge, and Broadwell with Iris Pro leaves no doubt. But if we talk about using a discrete video card, then all processors are equal. The price of the Athlon X4 is several times lower than that of any Core i7. The same state of affairs will be in other games with low requirements for processor performance, but high requirements for graphics.

But WoT, however, is the exact opposite of what was formulated above - here graphics are needed insofar as. As long as it doesn't interfere. HD Graphics 4600 is obviously not enough. The rest are enough that when adding a discrete video card, performance does not increase, and may even decrease.

Another processor-dependent game, which requires an HDG 4600 for the selected mode. However, faster graphics even with a weak processor allows you to achieve better results. And the discrete video adapter shows that the fourth level cache in some cases actually makes Broadwell-C a much faster solution than Haswell. However, there is little practical benefit from this - 200 or 300 frames doesn’t matter. Here, obviously, the quality needs to be improved, which we will do a little later.

The game is hard on all systems, but especially on video cards. As you can see, only integrated Broadwell graphics, and in the older version (GT3e), generally allow you to play in this mode: Haswell GT2 is traditionally two times behind, and the best AMD IGPs are one and a half times behind. However, when using an inexpensive discrete video card, everyone suddenly becomes equal: both cheap Athlon (and disabling the graphics part in the A10 converts processors in this way) and expensive Core i7.

In the previous version of Metro the situation is similar. True, here the A10 is already approaching the threshold of playability, but without stretching it, only Broadwell-C and the like are suitable. A discrete device (even one as relatively weak as 250X) already depends on the performance of processors. Another question is that there will still be enough “athlons”, and ten frames per second can be neglected.

Once again, Hitman is similar to Metro 2033 with minor variations. For example, here two A10s of different generations behave very differently, even when using discrete data, i.e. optimization in Kaveri is not an empty phrase. However, no matter how you optimize it, the Core i5 is much faster. As for integrated solutions, here again only Broadwell-C is suitable without any stretch of the imagination - the others will have to reduce the resolution.

A very difficult game that even Iris Pro can't handle! However, as we see, here even 250X is enough without much reserve - paired with slow processors, it’s completely on the threshold of playability.

As we've said many times before, Tomb Raider runs great on everything (or almost everything) in minimal mode. However, the new Broadwell still has something to praise for, since it is not so far behind a budget but discrete video card :)

In this game, you can't go without discrete data. Moreover, what is curious is that the Iris Pro 6200, as usual, is twice as fast as the HDG 4600, but it is only slightly ahead of AMD solutions. Apparently, the main load is on shader and other units, and they cannot be accelerated using eDRAM. Let's see how this manifests itself when the quality increases.

There are more or less enough new A10s, Broadwell-C is enough without a stretch, Haswell is nothing to catch here (except for the R-series, also equipped with a GT3e video core). But... but it will be cheaper to install a discrete video card.

So what do we have in minimum quality mode? Broadwell-C handles almost all the games in our set, except one. The performance of Broadwell GT3e is approximately twice as high as that of Haswell GT2, and these solutions are one and a half times faster than integrated AMD graphics. But it’s better, of course, to use a discrete video card if possible - it may even work out cheaper. And always at least not slower.

Low resolution but high quality

A discrete video card allows you to play even when using an inexpensive processor; integrated graphics are still unusable. None.

With great difficulty and strain, the Core i5-5675C reached 30 FPS. A cheaper combination of Athlon X4 760K or 860K and R7 250X easily scores almost 40. Comments are unnecessary.

This is where the Iris Pro 6200 looks very good. The discrete video card may be a little faster, but not significantly. What's worse is that its use is not always possible, so the advent of powerful integrated video is a great boon for those in such circumstances.

There are not enough junior discrete cards either, which means that integrated solutions can be forgotten in practice. From a theoretical point of view, what is interesting is that here they are quite close to each other, which is no wonder: when the main load falls on the GPU itself, no tricks in terms of memory performance will help.

Everything is even more pronounced than in the previous case. The only interesting thing is that the HDG 4600 is faster than the Radeon HD 8670D. However, this is not practically significant.

Again, even a discrete card cannot cope, and its gap from integrated solutions increases to three to five times. With the minimum quality, let us remember, there were sometimes less than two. Those. The higher the GPU requirements, the greater the difference between integrated and discrete versions of the latter. Which is more than expected, but not taken into account by everyone.

If you have a discrete video card, you can play, but an integrated one is not enough, even just any one. A similar picture was seen at minimum FHD settings, only here it became even more clear. But nothing surprising - in general, cards of a minimum Radeon R7 265 level and higher are desirable for this game. And there are not so few such games.

If with minimal settings this game is very gentle on the video system, then increasing the quality can “bring to its knees” much more powerful solutions than we are considering today. Those. The room for maneuver here is huge, but only owners of discrete video cards can use it successfully.

Sleeping Dogs behaves in a similar way, only the advantages of a discrete solution are even more visible. But the benefits from eDRAM disappear even more noticeably, since it doesn’t even come to texturing speed: the graphics processors themselves are still too weak. But they are weak in different ways, so the integrated Radeon R7 can even outperform the Iris Pro. In practice, however, this does not matter, since both are still too slow.

And another similar case confirms the hypothesis stated above :)

In general, as we see, attempts to use modes with high picture quality (even with a decrease in resolution) only on integrated graphics are usually doomed to fiasco.

Total

So what do we see? Low quality modes lend themselves well to modern integrated graphics. At least the best representatives of the latter. The idea with eDRAM is correct and logical - it helps alleviate the lack of memory bandwidth. Actually, thanks to this, the solutions of the Iris Pro line become the fastest in their class. Not necessarily Broadwell - Haswell is not much worse, but such modifications of the latter are not installed in the socket, which imposes its own specifics.

But can gamers be satisfied with low-quality modes? Probably not. In any case, if modern games are at all interesting to him, at minimum settings the “modernity” easily disappears, often resembling a picture from ten years ago. Especially if you remember the high cost of Intel processors with GT3e - for this money you can buy something simpler, but with a good discrete video card. AMD solutions are much more affordable, and with an increase in image quality, the performance “sag” is weaker, since the graphics processors themselves are still more powerful (and eDRAM cannot fix this), but... But this does not change anything fundamentally - the final performance is still the same too low, so gamers don’t have to seriously rely on the graphics capabilities of the AMD APU.

What awaits us in the near future? Processors in the Skylake line are predicted to eventually acquire graphics cores like GT4e, which will have more actuators than before (in fact, GT with the usual numbers will also “grow up,” but much less noticeably, but the appearance of a new modification directly hints at radical changes) , and eDRAM. Moreover, DDR4 support will increase memory bandwidth - albeit not immediately, perhaps. However, it does not follow from this that even such processors will be able to cope with high-quality game modes from our methodology even at low resolutions - for this the performance must be increased by 3-5 times, which is unlikely to happen. They will be able to outperform junior discrete video cards more often, but mostly only in areas where either “it’s enough as it is” or “it’s still fundamentally not enough,” so the fact of greater or lesser performance in itself is not very important.

In general, progress in the field of integrated graphics is clearly visible. But so far, from a gamer’s point of view, it is still not enough to fundamentally change the state of affairs. A full-fledged gaming computer, as before, must have a discrete video card, moreover, more expensive than the processor. What, by the way, makes Broadwell-C a poor gaming solution in any case (even with a discrete video card) is that the benefits of L4 cache are not great enough to justify higher prices. If instead of 250X we used 290X (for example), they would be more noticeable, but all the same, it’s better to spend this money on a video card - the return will be much greater. In addition, the limited thermal package interferes - the Core i5 often turns out to be slightly faster than the Core i7, operating at a higher clock frequency, which is not even close when comparing 4690K and 4770K. In general, Broadwell-C is initially a niche solution, perfect for compact computers, but it has nothing special to do in a “regular” modular desktop: there is no need to “squeeze” into 65 W and you can use powerful video cards, or save a lot of money if the Video performance is not required.

Good day, friends.

The topic of our conversation today will be the graphics core in the processor - what it is and when it is used. The article is especially relevant for those who are choosing between an integrated and discrete video card or are simply concerned about image quality.

Explanation of the concept

There was already an article on my website about what it is. But don't confuse those kernels with these ones. Now we will talk about graphics. It is not built into everyone. This is just their variety.

I'll try to explain it as simply as possible.

These devices simultaneously perform the functions of a processor, that is, they process all computing tasks, and a video card, which is responsible for playing images on your monitor.

You may also find this chip referred to as IGP. This is an abbreviation for “Integrated Graphics Processor”, that is, “integrated graphics processor”.

Why do they combine the processor with the video card inside?

In order to:

• Reduce energy consumption of hardware, not only because low-power devices consume less energy themselves, but they also require poor cooling;
• Make the hardware more compact;
• Reduce PC cost.

By the way, when manufacturers were just starting to practice combining devices, they built the graphics core directly into the .

Now it is more popular to combine them with central processors in order to relieve the motherboard as much as possible. In addition, due to reduction, it is now possible to make devices of the same size, but with greater power.

Minuses

Let's consider the points mentioned above as advantages of graphics cores. Now I’ll tell you about the shortcomings.

The best in terms of image quality displayed on the screen are discrete ones, since they are independent devices created specifically for this purpose.

In turn, embedded kernels do not have such native resources. In particular, they do not use their own separate RAM, but a shared one. They also share one data bus with the processor. This naturally slows down the performance of the entire computer because it slows down the CPU.

Where are graphics cores used?

Considering the pros and cons described above, integrated controllers are often used in laptops and inexpensive desktop computers. This solution is perfect for office PCs where high quality graphics and accelerated performance are not required.

But for connoisseurs of high-quality pictures and powerful, realistic games, it is still better to buy discrete models. They have their own RAM, cooling system and data bus, so they can afford to be much more powerful than integrated ones.

Note

I want to warn you that if you want to increase the performance of your chip with a built-in graphics core by purchasing an external video card, you will be wasting your money. Either one or the other will work.

True, there are exceptions - laptops with two video devices. The main one is usually some kind of Intel HD model. And when she can’t cope, a stronger device from AMD or NVidia helps her. This solution allows you to simultaneously enjoy high-quality graphics and reduce power consumption. Since the powerful device rests while surfing the Internet or working with office programs.

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