Intel Graphics Technology
Intel Graphics Technology is the collective name for a series of integrated graphics processors produced by Intel that are manufactured on the same package or die as the central processing unit. It was first introduced in 2010 as Intel HD Graphics.
Intel Iris Graphics and Intel Iris Pro Graphics are the IGP series introduced in 2013 with some models of Haswell processors as the high-performance versions of HD Graphics. Iris Pro Graphics was the first in the series to incorporate embedded DRAM.
In the fourth quarter of 2013, Intel integrated graphics represented, in units, 65% of all PC graphics processor shipments. However, this percentage does not represent actual adoption as a number of these shipped units end up in systems with discrete graphics cards.
History
Before the introduction of Intel HD Graphics, Intel integrated graphics were built into the motherboard's northbridge, as part of the Intel's Hub Architecture. They were known as Intel Extreme Graphics and Intel GMA. As part of the Platform Controller Hub design, the northbridge was eliminated and graphics processing was moved to the same die as the central processing unit.The previous Intel integrated graphics solution, Intel GMA, had a reputation of lacking performance and features, and therefore was not considered to be a good choice for more demanding graphics applications, such as 3D gaming. The performance increases brought by Intel's HD Graphics made the products competitive with integrated graphics adapters made by its rivals, Nvidia and ATI/AMD. Intel HD Graphics, featuring minimal power consumption that is important in laptops, was capable enough that PC manufacturers often stopped offering discrete graphics options in both low-end and high-end laptop lines, where reduced dimensions and low power consumption are important.
Generations
Intel HD and Iris Graphics are divided into generations, and within each generation are divided into 'tiers' of increasing performance, denominated by the 'GTx' label.Fifth generation (Gen5)
Westmere
In January 2010, Clarkdale and Arrandale processors with Ironlake graphics were released, and branded as Celeron, Pentium, or Core with HD Graphics. There was only one specification: 12 execution units, up to 43.2 GFLOPS at 900 MHz. It can decode a H264 1080p video at up to 40 fps.Its direct predecessor, the GMA_X4500, featured 10 EUs at 800 MHz, but it lacked some capabilities.
| Model number | Tier | Execution units | Boost Clock | max GFLOPS |
| HD Graphics | ? | 12 | 900 | 43.2 |
Sixth generation (Gen6)
Sandy Bridge
In January 2011, the Sandy Bridge processors were released, introducing the "second generation" HD Graphics:| Model number | Tier | Execution units | Boost Clock | max GFLOPS |
| HD Graphics | GT1 | 6 | 1000 | 96 |
| HD Graphics 2000 | GT1 | 6 | 1350 | 129.6 |
| HD Graphics 3000 | GT2 | 12 | 1350 | 259.2 |
Sandy Bridge Celeron and Pentium have Intel HD, while Core i3 and above have either HD 2000 or HD 3000. HD Graphics 2000 and 3000 include hardware video encoding and HD postprocessing effects.
Seventh generation (Gen7)
Ivy Bridge
On 24 April 2012, Ivy Bridge was released, introducing the "third generation" of Intel's HD graphics:| Model number | Tier | Execution units | Shading units | Boost Clock | max GFLOPS |
| HD Graphics | GT1 | 6 | 48 | 1050 | 100.8 |
| HD Graphics 2500 | GT1 | 6 | 48 | 1150 | 110.4 |
| HD Graphics 4000 | GT2 | 16 | 128 | 1300 | 332.8 |
Ivy Bridge Celeron and Pentium have Intel HD, while Core i3 and above have either HD 2500 or HD 4000. HD Graphics 2500 and 4000 include hardware video encoding and HD postprocessing effects.
For some low-power mobile CPUs there is limited video decoding support, while none of the desktop CPUs have this limitation.
Haswell
On 12 September 2012, Haswell CPUs were announced, with four models of integrated GPUs:| Market | Model number | Tier | Execution units | Shading units | eDRAM | Boost Clock | max GFLOPS |
| Consumer | HD Graphics | GT1 | 10 | 80 | N/A | 1150 | 184 |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 4200 | GT2 | 20 | 160 | N/A | 850 | 272 |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 4400 | GT2 | 20 | 160 | N/A | 950 – 1150 | 304 – 368 |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 4600 | GT2 | 20 | 160 | N/A | 900 – 1350 | 288 – 432 |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 5000 | GT3 | 40 | 320 | N/A | 1000 – 1100 | 640 – 704 |
| Consumer | Iris Graphics 5100 | GT3 | 40 | 320 | N/A | 1100 – 1200 | 704 – 768 |
| Consumer | Iris Pro Graphics 5200 | GT3e | 40 | 320 | 128 | 1300 | 832 |
| Professional | HD Graphics P4600 | GT2 | 20 | 160 | N/A | 1200 – 1250 | 384 – 400 |
| Professional | HD Graphics P4700 | GT2 | 20 | 160 | N/A | 1250 – 1300 | 400 – 416 |
The 128 MB of eDRAM in the Iris Pro GT3e is in the same package as the CPU, but on a separate die manufactured in a different process. Intel refers to this as a Level 4 cache, available to both CPU and GPU, naming it Crystalwell. The Linux
drm/i915 driver is aware and capable of using this eDRAM since kernel version 3.12.Integrated Iris Pro Graphics was adopted by Apple for their late-2013 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops, which for a long time in the history of the series did not have discrete graphics cards, although only for the low-end model. It was also included on the late-2013 21.5-inch iMac.
Eighth generation (Gen8)
Broadwell
In November 2013, it was announced that Broadwell-K desktop processors will also carry Iris Pro Graphics.The following models of integrated GPU are announced for Broadwell processors:
| Market | Model number | Tier | Execution units | Shading units | eDRAM | Boost Clock | max GFLOPS |
| Consumer | HD Graphics | GT1 | 12 | 96 | – | 850 | 163.2 |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 5300 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 900 | 345.6 |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 5500 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 950 | 364.8 |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 5600 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 1050 | 403.2 |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 6000 | GT3 | 48 | 384 | – | 1000 | 768 |
| Consumer | Iris Graphics 6100 | GT3 | 48 | 384 | – | 1100 | 844.8 |
| Consumer | Iris Pro Graphics 6200 | GT3e | 48 | 384 | 128 | 1150 | 883.2 |
| Professional | HD Graphics P5700 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 1000 | 384 |
| Professional | Iris Pro Graphics P6300 | GT3e | 48 | 384 | 128 | 1150 | 883.2 |
Braswell
Ninth generation (Gen9)
Skylake
The Skylake line of processors, launched in August 2015, retires VGA support, while supporting multi-monitor setups of up to three monitors connected via HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.2 or Embedded DisplayPort 1.3 interfaces.The following models of integrated GPU are available or announced for the Skylake processors:
| Market | Model number | Tier | Execution units | Shading units | eDRAM | Boost Clock | max GFLOPS |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 510 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | – | 950 | 182.4 |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 515 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 1000 | 384 |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 520 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 1050 | 403.2 |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 530 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 1150 | 441.6 |
| Consumer | Iris Graphics 540 | GT3e | 48 | 384 | 64 | 1050 | 806.4 |
| Consumer | Iris Graphics 550 | GT3e | 48 | 384 | 64 | 1100 | 844.8 |
| Consumer | Iris Pro Graphics 580 | GT4e | 72 | 576 | 128 | 1000 | 1152 |
| Professional | HD Graphics P530 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 1150 | 441.6 |
| Professional | Iris Pro Graphics P555 | GT3e | 48 | 384 | 128 | 1000 | 768 |
| Professional | Iris Pro Graphics P580 | GT4e | 72 | 576 | 128 | 1000 | 1152 |
Apollo Lake
The Apollo Lake line of processors was launched in August 2016.| Model number | CPU model | Tier | Execution units | Shading units | Clock speed |
| HD Graphics 500 | E3930 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | 400 – 550 |
| HD Graphics 500 | E3940 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | 400 – 600 |
| HD Graphics 500 | N3350 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | 200 – 650 |
| HD Graphics 500 | N3450 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | 200 – 700 |
| HD Graphics 500 | J3355 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | 250 – 700 |
| HD Graphics 500 | J3455 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | 250 – 750 |
| HD Graphics 505 | E3950 | GT1 | 18 | 144 | 500 – 650 |
| HD Graphics 505 | N4200 | GT1 | 18 | 144 | 200 – 750 |
| HD Graphics 505 | J4205 | GT1 | 18 | 144 | 250 – 800 |
Kaby Lake
The Kaby Lake line of processors was introduced in August 2016. New features: speed increases, support for 4K UHD "premium" streaming services, media engine with full hardware acceleration of 8- and 10-bit HEVC and VP9 decode.| Market | Model number | Tier | Execution units | Shading units | eDRAM | Base clock | Boost clock | max GFLOPS | Used in |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 610 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | – | 300−350 | 900 − 1100 | 172.8 – 211.2 | Desktop Celeron, Desktop Pentium G45**, i3-7101 |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 615 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 300 | 900 – 1050 | 345.6 – 403.2 | m3-7Y30/32, i5-7Y54/57, i7-7Y75, Pentium 4415Y |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 620 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 300 | 1000 – 1050 | 384 – 403.2 | i3-7100U, i5-7200U, i5-7300U, i7-7500U, i7-7600U |
| Consumer | HD Graphics 630 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 350 | 1000 – 1150 | 384 − 441.6 | Desktop Pentium G46**, i3, i5 and i7, and Laptop H-series i3, i5 and i7 |
| Consumer | Iris Plus Graphics 640 | GT3e | 48 | 384 | 64 | 300 | 950 – 1050 | 729.6 − 806.4 | i5-7260U, i5-7360U, i7-7560U, i7-7660U |
| Consumer | Iris Plus Graphics 650 | GT3e | 48 | 384 | 64 | 300 | 1050 – 1150 | 806.4 − 883.2 | i3-7167U, i5-7267U, i5-7287U, i7-7567U |
| Professional | HD Graphics P630 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 350 | 1000 – 1150 | 384 − 441.6 | Xeon E3-**** v6 |
Kaby Lake Refresh / Amber Lake / Coffee Lake / Whiskey Lake / Comet Lake
The Kaby Lake line of processors was introduced in October 2017. New Features: HDCP 2.2 support| Market | Model number | Tier | Execution units | Shading units | eDRAM | Base clock | Boost clock | max GFLOPS | Used in |
| Consumer | UHD Graphics 610 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | – | 350 | 1050 | 201.6 | Pentium Gold G54**, Celeron G49** |
| Consumer | UHD Graphics 615 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 300 | 900 – 1050 | 345.6 – 403.2 | i7-8500Y, i5-8200Y, m3-8100Y |
| Consumer | UHD Graphics 617 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 300 | 1050 | 403.2 | i7-8510Y, i5-8310Y, i5-8210Y |
| Consumer | UHD Graphics 620 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 300 | 1000 – 1150 | 422.4 – 441.6 | i3-8130U, i5-8250U, i5-8350U, i7-8550U, i7-8650U i3-8145U, i5-8265U, i5-8365U, i7-8565U, i7-8665U |
| Consumer | UHD Graphics 630 | GT2 | 23 | 184 | – | 350 | 1100 – 1150 | 404.8 – 423.2 | i3-8350K, i3-8100 with stepping B0 |
| Consumer | UHD Graphics 630 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 350 | 1050 – 1250 | 403.2 – 480 | i9, i7, i5, i3, Pentium Gold G56**, G55** |
| Consumer | Iris Plus Graphics 645 | GT3e | 48 | 384 | 128 | 300 | 1050 – 1150 | ? | i7-8557U, i5-8257U |
| Consumer | Iris Plus Graphics 655 | GT3e | 48 | 384 | 128 | 300 | 1050 – 1200 | 806.4 – 921.6 | i7-8559U, i5-8269U, i5-8259U, i3-8109U |
| Professional | UHD Graphics P630 | GT2 | 24 | 192 | – | 350 | 1100 – 1200 | 422.4 – 460.8 | Xeon E 21**G, 21**M, 22**G, 22**M |
Gemini Lake
New Features: HDMI 2.0 support, VP9 10-bit Profile2 hardware decoder| Model number | Tier | Execution units | Shading units | CPU model | Clock speed | GFLOPS |
| UHD Graphics 600 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | - | - | - |
| UHD Graphics 600 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | N4000 | 200 – 650 | 38.4 – 124.8 |
| UHD Graphics 600 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | N4100 | 200 – 700 | 38.4 – 134.4 |
| UHD Graphics 600 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | J4005 | 250 – 700 | 48.0 – 134.4 |
| UHD Graphics 600 | GT1 | 12 | 96 | J4105 | 250 – 750 | 48.0 – 144.0 |
| UHD Graphics 605 | GT1.5 | 18 | - | - | - | |
| UHD Graphics 605 | GT1.5 | 18 | N5000 | 200 – 750 | 57.6 – 216 | |
| UHD Graphics 605 | GT1.5 | 18 | J5005 | 250 – 800 | 72.0 – 230.4 |
Eleventh generation (Gen11)
Ice Lake
New Features: 10 nm Gen 11 GPU microarchitecture, two HEVC 10-bit encode pipelines, three 4K display pipelines, variable rate shading Integer scaling| Market | Name | Tier | Execution units | Shading units | Base clock | Boost clock | max GFLOPS | Used in |
| Consumer | UHD Graphics | G1 | 32 | 256 | 300 | 900 – 1050 | 460.8 – 537.6 | Core i3-10**G1, i5-10**G1 |
| Consumer | Iris Plus Graphics | G4 | 48 | 384 | 300 | 900 – 1050 | 691.2 – 806.4 | Core i3-10**G4, i5-10**G4 |
| Consumer | Iris Plus Graphics | G7 | 64 | 512 | 300 | 1050 – 1100 | 1075.2 – 1126.4 | Core i5-10**G7, i7-10**G7 |
Future
is an in-development GPGPU and dGPU product expected to first release products in 2020.Features
Intel Insider
Beginning with Sandy Bridge, the graphics processors include a form of digital copy protection and digital rights management called Intel Insider, which allows decryption of protected media within the processor. Previously there was a similar technology called Protected Audio Video Path.Intel Quick Sync Video
is Intel's hardware video encoding and decoding technology, which is integrated into some of the Intel CPUs. The name "Quick Sync" refers to the use case of quickly transcoding a video from, for example, a DVD or Blu-ray Disc to a format appropriate to, for example, a smartphone. Quick Sync was introduced with the Gen 6 in Sandy Bridge microprocessors on 9 January 2011.Graphics Virtualization Technology
was announced and is supported by Iris Pro GPUs.Multiple monitors
Ivy Bridge
HD 2500 and HD 4000 GPUs in Ivy Bridge CPUs are advertised as supporting three active monitors, but this only works if two of the monitors are configured identically, which covers many but not all three-monitor configurations. The reason for this is that the chipsets only include two phase-locked loops for generating the pixel clocks timing the data being transferred to the displays.Therefore, three simultaneously active monitors can only be achieved when at least two of them share the same pixel clock, such as:
- Using two or three DisplayPort connections, as they require only a single pixel clock for all connections. Passive adapters from DisplayPort to some other connector do not count as a DisplayPort connection, as they rely on the chipset being able to emit a non-DisplayPort signal through the DisplayPort connector. Active adapters that contain additional logic to convert the DisplayPort signal to some other format count as a DisplayPort connection.
- Using two non-DisplayPort connections of the same connection type and the same clock frequency, so that a single unique pixel clock can be shared between both connections.
Haswell
Z87- and H87-based motherboards support three displays simultaneously. Asus H87-based motherboards are also advertised to support three independent monitors at once.Capabilities
OpenCL 2.1 and 2.2 possible with software update on OpenCL 2.0 hardware with future software updates.While Mesa does support Direct3D 9.3, this is only implemented for Gallium3D-style drivers and not for the Mesa Intel driver.