NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 vs Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs vs Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 is a desktop graphics card of the upper middle class. It is based on the GM206 Maxwell chip that is produced in 28nm. The GTX960 offers 1024 shader cores, 64 TMUs and 32 ROPs (no deactivated units of the chip). The graphics memory is usually 2 or 4 GB GDDR5 (7 GHz effective clock) connected with a 128 Bit interface.

On average the gaming performance is on a level with the AMD Radeon R9 280 and R9 285. Compared to laptop graphics cards, the 960 is slightly faster than a mobile Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M. The 970M offers more shader cores, but at a lower clock speed. The similar named GeForce GTX 960M for notebooks offers only 640 shader cores and a slightly lower core clock. The performance of the GTX 960 should be suffice for most games in full HD resolution. In our benchmarks only GTA 5 and The Witcher 3 achieved below 30 fps on average (see below for detailed benchmarks).

The GM206 supports CUDA, 3D Vision, PhysX, GeForce Experience, Surround, GameStream, GPU Boost 2.0, Adaptive Vertical Sync / G-SYNC, SLI, DSR, MFAA and Virtual Reality latency improvements. The GTX 960 also includes a H.265 capable de- and encoder as a first.

The power consumption of the GTX 960 on the desktop without load is around 10 Watt and on a similar level to the AMD counterparts. During gaming the 960 reaches around 85-100 Watt (depending on the model) which is a lot less than e.g. the Radeon R9 285 (around 170 Watt) - source tomshardware.com

Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs

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The Intel Xe Graphics G7 (Tiger-Lake U GPU with 96 EUs) is a integrated graphics card in the high end Tiger-Lake U CPUs (15 - 28 Watt). It is using the new Xe architecture (Gen12) and was introduced in September 2020. The GPU clocks with a base clock speed (guaranteed) of 400 MHz in all CPUs and can boost up to 1340 MHz (i7-1185G7). The slowest variant offers only 1100 MHz boost (i5-1130G7, 12 Watt TDP).

The performance depends on the TDP settings of the laptop and the used cooling. First informations show that the chip can be configured at 12 and 28 Watt TDP default (as the Ice Lake-U chips) and the performance should be around a dedicated GeForce MX350 in 3DMark benchmarks. For gaming we are expecting a bit worse performance due to the missing dedicated graphics memory and driver support. Many games e.g. had problems when testing the various laptops (e.g. Horizon Zero Dawn or Cyberpunk 2077 did not start or were crashing - see list below). Less demanding games like the Mass Effect Legendary Edition ran in medium settings fine. Compared to the older Ice Lake Iris Plus G7 GPU, the new Tiger Lake GPU should be approximately twice as fast. Therefore, the iGPU is still only for lowest graphical settings and low resolutions in demanding games.

The Tiger Lake SoCs and therefore the integrated GPU are manufactured in the modern 10nm+ (10nm SuperFin) process (improved 10nm process) at Intel and therefore should offer a very good efficiency.

Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs

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The Intel UHD Graphics Xe Graphics G4 (Tiger-Lake U GPU with 48 EUs) is a integrated graphics card in the low end Tiger-Lake U CPUs (15 Watt, e.g. Core i3 11th Gen). It is using the new Xe architecture (Gen12) and should be announced later in 2020.

The performance depends on the TDP settings of the laptop and the used cooling. First informations show that the chip can be configured at 15 and 28 Watt TDP default (as the Ice Lake-U chips) and the performance should be around a dedicated GeForce MX230 in 3DMark benchmarks. For gaming we are expecting a bit worse performance due to the missing dedicated graphics memory and driver support. Compared to the fastest Ice Lake iGPU (Iris Plus G7), the 48 EU version in an i3 should be slightly faster. Therefore, the iGPU is still only for lowest graphical settings and low resolutions in demanding games.

The Tiger Lake SoCs and therefore the integrated GPU are manufactured in the modern 10nm+ process (improved 10nm process) at Intel and therefore should offer a very good efficiency.

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960

Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs

Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs

Gen. 12 / Xe Series

GeForce GTX 980 SLI (Laptop)	4096 @ 1.13 - 1.23 GHz	256 Bit @ 3500 MHz
GeForce GTX 980 Ti	2816 @ 1 - 1.2 GHz	256 Bit @ 7000 MHz
GeForce GTX 980	2048 @ 1.13 - 1.22 GHz	256 Bit @ 3500 MHz
GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop)	2048 @ 1.13 - 1.23 GHz	256 Bit @ 3500 MHz
GeForce GTX 970	1664 @ 1.05 - 1.18 GHz	224 + 32 Bit @ 3500 MHz
GeForce GTX 960	1024 @ 1.13 - 1.18 GHz	128 Bit @ 3500 MHz
GeForce GTX 950	768 @ 1.02 - 1.19 GHz	128 Bit @ 3300 MHz

Iris Xe G7 96EUs	96 @ 0.4 - 1.35 GHz
Iris Xe G7 80EUs	80 @ 0.4 - 1.35 GHz
UHD Graphics 64EUs	64 @ 1.4 GHz
UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs	48 @ 0.35 - 1.45 GHz
UHD Graphics 32EUs	32 @ 1.25 GHz
UHD Graphics Xe 32EUs (Tiger Lake-H)	32 @ 0.35 - 1.45 GHz
UHD Graphics Xe 750 32EUs	32 @ 0.35 - 1.45 GHz
UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N)	24 @ 0.45 - 0.75 GHz
UHD Graphics Xe 16EUs (Tiger Lake-H)	16 @ 0.35 - 1.45 GHz

Iris Xe G7 96EUs	96 @ 0.4 - 1.35 GHz
Iris Xe G7 80EUs	80 @ 0.4 - 1.35 GHz
UHD Graphics 64EUs	64 @ 1.4 GHz
UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs	48 @ 0.35 - 1.45 GHz
UHD Graphics 32EUs	32 @ 1.25 GHz
UHD Graphics Xe 32EUs (Tiger Lake-H)	32 @ 0.35 - 1.45 GHz
UHD Graphics Xe 750 32EUs	32 @ 0.35 - 1.45 GHz
UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N)	24 @ 0.45 - 0.75 GHz
UHD Graphics Xe 16EUs (Tiger Lake-H)	16 @ 0.35 - 1.45 GHz

Codename

GM206

Tiger Lake Xe

Architecture

Maxwell

Gen. 11 Ice Lake

Pipelines

1024 - unified

96 - unified

48 - unified

Core Speed

1127 - 1178 (Boost) MHz

400 - 1350 (Boost) MHz

350 - 1450 (Boost) MHz

Memory Speed

3500 MHz

Memory Bus Width

128 Bit

Memory Type

GDDR5

Max. Amount of Memory

4 GB

Shared Memory

yes

API

DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.4

DirectX 12_1, OpenGL 4.6

Power Consumption

120 Watt

28 Watt

Transistors

2.9 Billion

technology

28 nm

10 nm

Features

CUDA, 3D Vision, PhysX, GeForce Experience, Surround, GameStream, GPU Boost 2.0, Adaptive Vertical Sync, G-SYNC, SLI, H.265 Decoder/Encoder

QuickSync

Date of Announcement

22.01.2015

15.08.2020

Link to Manufacturer Page

www.geforce.com

CPU in Iris Xe G7 96EUs		GPU Base Speed	GPU Boost / Turbo
Intel Core i9-13900HK	14 x 1900 MHz, 45 W	? MHz	1500 MHz
Intel Core i9-13905H	14 x 1900 MHz, 45 W	? MHz	1500 MHz
Intel Core i9-13900H	14 x 1900 MHz, 45 W	? MHz	1500 MHz
» show 29 more
Intel Core i7-13800H	14 x 1800 MHz, 45 W	? MHz	1500 MHz
Intel Core i9-12900HK	14 x 1800 MHz, 45 W	? MHz	1450 MHz
Intel Core i9-12900H	14 x 1800 MHz, 45 W	? MHz	1450 MHz
Intel Core i7-13705H	14 x 1800 MHz, 45 W	? MHz	1500 MHz
Intel Core i7-13700H	14 x 1800 MHz, 45 W	? MHz	1500 MHz
Intel Core i5-14500HX	14 x 1800 MHz, 55 W	? MHz	1550 MHz
Intel Core i7-12800H	14 x 1800 MHz, 45 W	? MHz	1400 MHz
Intel Core i7-12700H	14 x 1700 MHz, 45 W	? MHz	1400 MHz
Intel Core i7-1370P	14 x 1400 MHz, 28 W	? MHz	1500 MHz
Intel Core i7-1360P	12 x 1600 MHz, 28 W	? MHz	1500 MHz
Intel Core i7-1280P	14 x 1300 MHz, 28 W	? MHz	1450 MHz
Intel Core 7 150U	10 x 1200 MHz, 15 W	? MHz	1300 MHz
Intel Core i7-1365U	10 x 1300 MHz, 15 W	? MHz	1300 MHz
Intel Core i7-1355U	10 x 1200 MHz, 15 W	? MHz	1300 MHz
Intel Core i7-1265U	10 x 1300 MHz, 15 W	? MHz	1250 MHz
Intel Core i7-1270P	12 x 1600 MHz, 28 W	? MHz	1400 MHz
Intel Core i7-1260P	12 x 1500 MHz, 28 W	? MHz	1400 MHz
Intel Core i7-11390H	4 x 3400 MHz, 35 W	400 MHz	1400 MHz
Intel Core i7-11375H	4 x 3300 MHz, 35 W	400 MHz	1350 MHz
Intel Core i7-1195G7	4 x 2900 MHz, 28 W	400 MHz	1400 MHz
Intel Core i7-11370H	4 x 3300 MHz, 35 W	400 MHz	1350 MHz
Intel Core i7-1255U	10 x 1200 MHz, 15 W	? MHz	1250 MHz
Intel Core i7-1185G7	4 x 3000 MHz, 28 W	400 MHz	1350 MHz
Intel Core i7-1165G7	4 x 2800 MHz, 28 W	400 MHz	1300 MHz
Intel Core i7-1260U	10 x 800 MHz, 9 W	? MHz	950 MHz
Intel Core i7-1250U	10 x 800 MHz, 9 W	? MHz	950 MHz
Intel Core i5-11320H	4 x 3200 MHz, 35 W	400 MHz	1350 MHz
Intel Core i7-1180G7	4 x 2200 MHz, 15 W	400 MHz	1100 MHz
Intel Core i7-1160G7	4 x 2100 MHz, 15 W	400 MHz	1100 MHz
min. - max.		400 MHz	950 - 1550 MHz

CPU in UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs		GPU Base Speed	GPU Boost / Turbo
Intel Core i5-13420H	8 x 1500 MHz, 45 W	? MHz	1400 MHz
Intel Core i5-12450H	8 x 1500 MHz, 45 W	? MHz	1200 MHz
Intel Core i3-1125G4	4 x 2000 MHz, 28 W	400 MHz	1250 MHz
» show 11 more
Intel Processor U300	5 x 900 MHz, 15 W	? MHz	1100 MHz
Intel Pentium 8505	5 x 900 MHz, 15 W	? MHz	1100 MHz
Intel Pentium 8500	5 x 700 MHz, 9 W	? MHz	800 MHz
Intel Core i3-1115G4	2 x 3000 MHz, 28 W	400 MHz	1250 MHz
Intel Core i3-1120G4	4 x 1500 MHz, 15 W	400 MHz	1100 MHz
Intel Pentium Gold 7505	2 x 2000 MHz, 15 W	400 MHz	1250 MHz
Intel Core i3-1110G4	2 x 2500 MHz, 15 W	400 MHz	1100 MHz
Intel Celeron 7305	5 x 900 MHz, 15 W	? MHz	1100 MHz
Intel Celeron 7300	5 x 700 MHz, 9 W	? MHz	800 MHz
Intel Celeron 6305	2 x 1800 MHz, 15 W	400 MHz	1250 MHz
Intel Celeron 6205	2 x ? MHz, 15 W	400 MHz	? MHz
min. - max.		400 MHz	? - 1550 MHz