Intel HD Graphics 2500

Intel HD Graphics 2500

The Intel HD Graphics 2500 (or Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD 2500 or GMA HD 2500) is an integrated graphics card in the Ivy Bridge codenamed processors. It is the successor the the Intel HD Graphics 2000 in the Sandy Bridge CPUs and should perform between the old HD 2000 and 3000 GPU (according to the naming). Usually it is used in the cheaper desktop Ivy bridge CPUs. The mobile version is simply called Intel HD Graphics and integrated in the Pentium and Celeron line.

Compared to the faster HD Graphics 4000, the 2500 one features less Execution Units (6 versus 16) and only one texture sampler. Therefore, the performance should be clearly worse and only suited for low demanding gaming. Intel states a 10 to 15% higher performance compared to the old Sandy Bridge based HD Graphics 2000. Therefore, only casual games with low demand should be playable with the HD 2500.

A speciality of the Ivy Bridge GPUs is that 4x MSAA is supported in hardware now. However, 2x is only supported through software.  The algorithm to support 2x is going through the 4x pipeline with a software algorithm, so performance is similar to 4x MSAA.

The integrated video decoder called Multi Format Codec Engine (MFX) was also improved and should allow even simultaneus 4K video decoding. DXVAChecker lists MPEG2, VC1, WMV9, and H264 as supported codecs. QuickSync for fast transcoding of videos was also optimized for higher performance and better image quality.

Another new feature is the support for up to 3 independent displays (maybe only with a DisplayPort) as AMD offers with theirs Eyefinity support (up to 6 displays).

Due to the 22nm 3D Tri-Gate production process, the power consumption should be relatively low (the development was focused on performance per Watt). 

ManufacturerIntel
HD Graphics Series

HD Graphics 4600 20@400 - 1350MHz

HD Graphics 5000 40

HD Graphics 4400 20

HD Graphics 4000 16@350 - 1350MHz

HD Graphics 3000 12@350-1350MHz

HD Graphics 2500 6@650 - 1350MHz

HD Graphics (Ivy Bridge) 6@350 - 1000MHz

HD Graphics 2000 6@850 / 1100-1350MHz

HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) 6@350 - 1100MHz

CodenameIvy Bridge GT1
ArchitectureIvy Bridge
Pipelines6 - unified
Core Speed *650 - 1350 MHz
Shader Speed *650 - 1350 MHz
Shared Memoryyes
DirectXDirectX 11.0, Shader 5.0
technology22 nm
Date of Announcement01.04.2012
* The specified clock rates are only guidelines for the manufacturer and can be altered by them.

Benchmarks

3DMark 11 - Performance 1280x720
0% 100%
min: 407     avg: 430.3 (4%)     max: 449 points
3DMark 11 - Performance GPU 1280x720
0% 100%
min: 341     avg: 358.3 (3%)     max: 374 points
3DMark Vantage - P Result no PhysX 1280x1024
0% 100%
min: 1764     avg: 1944 (5%)     max: 2068 Points
3DMark Vantage - P GPU no PhysX 1280x1024
0% 100%
min: 1378     avg: 1454 (4%)     max: 1561 Points
3DMark 06
0% 100%
min: 3742     avg: 4090.8 (14%)     max: 4442 Points
3DMark 05 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 6341     avg: 6627 (18%)     max: 6913 Points
3DMark 03 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 10138     avg: 10138 (7%)     max: 10138 Points
3DMark 2001SE - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 20814     avg: 20814 (34%)     max: 20814 Points
PCMark Vantage - Gaming Score 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 13748     avg: 13748 (53%)     max: 13748 Points
SPECviewperf 11 - Catia 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 0     avg: 0 (0%)     max: 0 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Ensight 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 2.4     avg: 2.4 (4%)     max: 2.4 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Lightwave 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 15.59     avg: 15.6 (19%)     max: 15.59 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Maya 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 12.91     avg: 12.9 (11%)     max: 12.91 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Pro/ENGINEER 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 1.86     avg: 1.9 (11%)     max: 1.86 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - SolidWorks 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 6.76     avg: 6.8 (10%)     max: 6.76 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Tcvis 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 2.66     avg: 2.7 (4%)     max: 2.66 fps
SPECviewperf 11 - Siemens NX 1920x1080
0% 100%
min: 1.61     avg: 1.6 (3%)     max: 1.61 fps
Cinebench R11.5 - OpenGL 64Bit
0% 100%
min: 10.73     avg: 11.2 (13%)     max: 11.98 Points
Cinebench R10 - Shading 32Bit
0% 100%
min: 5892     avg: 6253.7 (58%)     max: 6687 Points
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailled information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
low:
145  fps      Compare
med.:
26  fps      Compare
high:
13.7  fps      Compare
ultra:
4.3  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
SimCity
SimCity (2013)
low:
14.8  fps      Compare
med.:
8  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Tomb Raider (2013): Not playable with a weaker graphics card. - more...
Crysis 3
Crysis 3 (2013)
low:
13.8  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Dead Space 3
Dead Space 3 (2013)
low:
43 46.2 ~ 45 fps      Compare
med.:
18.8  fps      Compare
high:
13.5  fps      Compare
ultra:
7.3  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3 (2012)
low:
18 20.5 ~ 19 fps      Compare
med.:
11.9  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Assassin´s Creed III
med.:
13.8  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Hitman: Absolution
low:
18.4 20.1 ~ 19 fps      Compare
med.:
10.7 11.6 ~ 11 fps      Compare
high:
3.8  fps      Compare
ultra:
1.9  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
low:
18  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Fifa 13
Fifa 13 (2012)
low:
99 101 ~ 100 fps      Compare
med.:
51 52 60 ~ 54 fps      Compare
high:
28 31.2 32 ~ 30 fps      Compare
ultra:
14.5  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
F1 2012
F1 2012 (2012)
low:
37 40 ~ 39 fps      Compare
med.:
21 26 ~ 24 fps      Compare
high:
21 22 ~ 22 fps      Compare
ultra:
12 12 ~ 12 fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Torchlight 2 (2012): Not playable with a weaker graphics card. - more...
Guild Wars 2
Guild Wars 2 (2012)
low:
37  fps      Compare
high:
8  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Counter-Strike: GO
low:
77 82 ~ 80 fps      Compare
med.:
36 39 ~ 38 fps      Compare
high:
18 20.6 ~ 19 fps      Compare
ultra:
11.7  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Sleeping Dogs
low:
21.7  fps      Compare
med.:
15.5  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
The Secret World (2012): Not playable with a weaker graphics card. - more...
Battlefield 3
low:
16.8  fps      Compare
med.:
11  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Batman: Arkham City (2011): Not playable with a weaker graphics card. - more...
Supreme Commander - FA Bench
Supreme Commander - FA Bench (2007)
low:
46  fps      Compare
med.:
22.2  fps      Compare
high:
18.7  fps      Compare
ultra:
7.6  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Crysis - CPU Benchmark (2007): Playable with a weaker graphics card in detail settings low. - more...
Crysis - GPU Benchmark
Crysis - GPU Benchmark (2007)
low:
48.8 52.8 ~ 51 fps      Compare