NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Laptop GPU vs Intel HD Graphics 3000 vs Intel HD Graphics 4600

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Laptop GPU

Intel HD Graphics 3000

The Intel HD Graphics 3000 (or Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD 3000, GMA HD 3000, Intel HD Graphics 200) is an integrated graphics card in the Sandy Bridge codenamed processors. The HD Graphics 3000 has no dedicated memory but shares the Level 3 / LLC Cache with the CPU cores and also part of the main memory. Due to TurboBoost, the GPU can be overclocked depending on the current CPU load and power consumption. The base speed and the turbo boost speed of the HD Graphics 3000 depend on the processor:

• ULV processors Core ix-2xx7 (base 350MHz, Turbo 900-1000MHz)
• LV processors Core ix-2xx5 (base 500MHz, Turbo 1000MHz)
• Mainstream and high-end Dual und Quad-Core Core ix-2xx0 (base 650MHz, Turbo 1100-1300MHz)
• Desktop K processors (base 850, Turbo 1100-1350MHz)

The HD 3000 offers 12 Execution Units (EUs) like the old Intel GMA HD but due to architectural changes each EU is now faster. The slower HD Graphics 2000 uses only 6 Execution Units. The EUs can be accessed using DirectX 10.1,  OpenGL 3.0 and DirectCompute 4.1. OpenCL is not supported (the media SDK only uses the CPU).

Our performance tests with the high clocked mainstream version of the HD Graphics 3000 in quad-core processors showed a performance level on par with older entry level generations from NVIDIA (e.g. GeForce 310M) and AMD (HD 5450). In comparison with AMD's APU models, the HD 3000 can only compete against the C-and E-series, but not the faster Llano and Trinity models. The quality of the Intel drivers has been improved over the years, so most games are flawlessly playable (if the minimum requirements are fullfilled).

We could measure smooth frame rates in games like Dead Space 3, World of Tanks, Fifa 13, Torchlight 2, Counter-Strike: GO reach, Diablo 3, and many older games, though usually only in minimal detail settings. For accurate performance analysis and gaming benchmarks, read our article "Intel HD Graphics 3000" or scroll down in this article.

Altought 2x Antialiasing (AA) is supported, the chip is as fast as when rendering 4x AA. In the Unigine Valley benchmark a i7-2637M for example reached the same score with 2x AA and 4x AA.

In addition to the GPU, the chip also houses some dedicated units for decoding and encoding HD videos. On the IDF Intel demonstrated the encoding of a 3 minute long 1080p video to an iPhone compatible format in 640x360 in only 14s. Another novelty of the Sandy Bridge GPU is the embedded DisplayPort eDP to connect internal Displays.

Due to the integration in the 32nm built CPU, the power consumption of the GPU should be quite low.

Intel HD Graphics 4600

The Intel HD Graphics 4600 (GT2) is a processor graphics card included in some of the Haswell processors of 2013. The base clock can be automatically overclocked using Turbo Boost technology.
Depending on the processor model, the base and turbo clock rates may differ greatly resulting in varying graphics performance between CPU models.

In comparison to the HD 4000, the graphics core has been modified extensively. The GPU supports DirectX 11.1, OpenCL 1.2 and OpenGL 4.0. It also features an improved decoder for 4K videos and the fast Quick Sync encoder.

According to Intel benchmarks in 3DMark 11, the HD Graphics 4600 will be up to 60 percent faster than the previous HD 4000. In our gaming benchmarks, however, the improvement was only about 30 percent. This performance boost is achieved by architectural improvements and an increased number of execution units: The GT2 version integrates 20 EUs, compared to 16 EUs for the old HD 4000. Thus, the HD 4600 not only matches some dedicated GPUs such as the GeForce GT 620M/630M, but also competes with the fastest integrated AMD GPUs like the Radeon HD 8650G.

Due to the 22nm 3D Tri-Gate production process, power consumption should be relatively low. The HD Graphics 4600 can be found on dual- and quad-core Haswell models in the 37 - 57 Watt TDP range.