NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti (Desktop) vs Intel Iris Graphics 6100

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti (Desktop)

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti is the second fastest Pascal based graphics card in November 2017. It is a high-end desktop graphics card based on a cut down GP104 chip as the GTX 1080 and manufactured in 16 nm FinFET at TSMC. Compared to the GTX 1080, it uses the more available GDDR5 graphics memory, and compared to the GTX 1070 it offers more shaders (2432 versus 1920). More details on the Pascal architecture including all features and comparisons to Maxwell, can be found here.

The performance of the GTX 1070 Ti was in our tests right between the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080. However, the powerefficiency was worse than the GTX 1070 and near the GTX 1080. Nvidia also specifies the 1070 Ti and 1080 at 180W.

Intel Iris Graphics 6100

The Intel Iris Graphics 6100 (GT3) is an integrated Broadwell graphics card revealed in Q1 2015. It can be found in several low-voltage SoCs (28 W TDP) such as the Core i5-5257U or i7-5557U. While Core i5 and Core i7 chips feature 48 EUs, the Core i3 version offers just 47 EUs. Depending on the specific CPU, the maximum GPU frequency varies between 1000 and 1100 MHz.

Architecture and Features

Broadwell features a GPU based on the Intel Gen8 architecture, which has been optimized in various aspects compared to the previous Gen7.5 (Haswell). Inter alia, the shader arrays called "subslice" have been reorganized and now offer 8 Execution Units (EUs) each. Three subslices form a "slice" for a total of 24 EUs. Combined with other improvements such as larger L1 caches and an optimized frontend, the integrated GPU has become faster and more efficient than its predecessor.

The Iris Graphics 6100 represents the top-end version of the Broadwell GPU family and consists of two slices with 48 EUs. Beyond that, there is also a low-end (GT1, 12 EUs), a mid-range (GT2, 24 EUs) and a high-end variant (GT3e, 48 EUs + eDRAM).

All Broadwell GPUs support OpenCL 2.0 and DirectX 12 (FL 11_1). The video engine can now decode H.265 using both fixed function hardware as well as available GPU shaders. Up to three displays can be connected via DP 1.2/eDP 1.3 (max. 3840 x 2160 @ 60 Hz) or HDMI 1.4a (max. 3840 x 2160 @ 24 Hz). HDMI 2.0, however, is not supported.

Performance

Depending on the specific CPU, the maximum GPU frequency varies between 1000 and 1100 MHz. Even though the Iris Graphics 6100 is technically identical to the HD Graphics 6000, the higher TDP (28 W instead of 15 W) leads to a better utilization of the Turbo Boost and therefore a superior performance. Overall, the Iris 6100 is about as fast as a dedicated GeForce 820M and outperforms the former Iris Graphics 5100 by 20 - 25 percent.

Older and less demanding games such as Diablo III, Counter-Strike: GO oder Dota 2 can be played fluently in 1366 x 768 pixels and high settings. More demanding titles, however, may require lower settings or won't run at a decent framerate at all.

Power Consumption

Utilizing a new 14 nm process, the Broadwell LV chips are specified at 28 W TDP and therefore suited for medium-sized ultrabooks. The TDP is flexible and can be further reduced (23 W), which has a significant impact on performance.