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Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 vs Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500 vs Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4700MHD

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900

► remove from comparison Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900

The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (also known as GMA 900) is an integrated (onboard) graphic chip on the Mobile Intel 915GM chipset for Intel processors. It does not support hardware T&L (Transform & Lightning) calculations (which is required for some games).

It supports DirectX 9.0 with Shader Model 2.0 (Vertex Shader are calculated in Software - by the CPU) and OpenGL 1.4. Furthermore, the chip is able to accelerate the decoding of MPEG2 videos and supports Motion Compensation.

The GMA 900 can not be described as a graphics card that is sufficient for gamers. Still Intel published a list  of games that will run (not needingly beautiful) on the notebook. Some old 3D games and especially 2D games should run without problems. The advantage of integrated graphics cards, is that they have a low power consumtion and therefore save battery life. Furthermore, the laptop may stay cooler and more silent than laptops with dedicated graphics cards. For office programs and surfing the performance is more than sufficient.

Currently there are no drivers that support Aero Glass for Windows Vista.

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500

► remove from comparison Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500

The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500 (also called GMA 500) is a graphics card for embedded products (e.g. MIDs), netbooks and other small mobile devices. It is usually paired with an Intel Atom CPU and designed for video playback tasks (even HD content). The integrated video decoder is able to accelerate MPEG-2, VC-1, and AVC HD videos.

The graphics core is based on a licensed PowerVR SGX core (Power VR SGX535 as in the Apple A4) and is clocked with 100 (UL11L) or 200 MHz (US15L, US15W chipset). The GMA 500 is compatible with DirectX 10.1 and features 4 unified shaders. Still the performance wont be sufficient for playing 3D games.

The chipsets that integrate the GMA 500 (UL11L, US15L, and US15W) support

GMA 500 chipset comparison
UL11LUS15LUS15W
Core Speed100200200 MHz
Max RAM512 MB1024 MB1024 MB
max Displays122
PCIe Slots122

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4700MHD

► remove from comparison Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4700MHD

The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4700MHD (sometimes also called GMA X4700 HD or other combinations) is a DirectX 10 capable onboard graphics adapter in the GM47 chipset of the Centrino 2 platform (Montevina). The chip has no dedicated graphics memory, but takes dynamically an amount from the main memory (up to 384 MB).

Compared to the GMA 4500MHD, the 4700MHD features a higher core clock (plus 107 MHz) and is therefore a bit faster. Compared to the predecessor GMA X3100, the GMA 4500MHD has two more shaders and a 33 MHz higher core clock speed. Therefore, the chip is noticable faster than the older one (especially in 3DMark06). Still, the performance is just on par with the entry level dedicated graphics cards and therefore not suited for demanding games.

A new feature of the GMA chip, are the integrated HD video-decoding functions. The GM45 is able to decode HD-videos in the formats AVC, VC-2, and MPEG-2 to help the CPU. This way a Blu-Ray playback should also be possible with a low end CPU.

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4700MHD
GMA Series
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4700MHD 10 @ 0.64 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD 10 @ 0.53 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500M 10 @ 0.4 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 8 @ 0.5 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950 4/0 cores @ 0.25 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 4/0 cores @ 0.4 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 600 4 @ 0.4 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500 4 @ 0.2 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4700MHD 10 @ 0.64 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD 10 @ 0.53 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500M 10 @ 0.4 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 8 @ 0.5 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950 4/0 cores @ 0.25 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 4/0 cores @ 0.4 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 600 4 @ 0.4 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500 4 @ 0.2 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4700MHD 10 @ 0.64 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD 10 @ 0.53 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500M 10 @ 0.4 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 8 @ 0.5 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950 4/0 cores @ 0.25 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 4/0 cores @ 0.4 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 600 4 @ 0.4 GHz
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500 4 @ 0.2 GHz
CodenameGMA 900GMA 500Montevina
ArchitectureGen. 3PowerVR SGX5Gen. 4.5
Pipelines4 / 0 Pixel- / Vertexshader4 - unified10 - unified
Core Speed400 MHz200 MHz640 MHz
Shared Memorynoyesyes
APIDirectX 9c, Shader 2.0DirectX 10.1, Shader 4.1DirectX 10, Shader 4.0
technology130 nm130 nm65 nm
FeaturesNo Hardware Transform and Lightning Support (T&L), MPEG2 acceleration, Motion Compensation
OpenGL 2.0, PowerVR SGX Kern, Screen Tiling, Internal True Color Processing, Zero overhead AA, 32 Bit floating-point operations.
Enhanced Intel Clear Video Technology, HD Video Decoder (VC/VC2/MPEG2), HDMI mit HDCP Support, Display Refresh Rate Switching Technology, Render Standby
Date of Announcement01.03.2005 01.11.2008 01.10.2008
Link to Manufacturer Pagewww.intel.comdownload.intel.comwww.intel.com

Benchmarks

3DMark 2001SE - 3DMark 2001 - Standard
min: 1726     avg: 3330     median: 4000 (4%)     max: 4264 Points
3DMark 03 - 3DMark 03 - Standard
min: 289     avg: 736     median: 877.5 (0%)     max: 900 Points
3DMark 05 - 3DMark 05 - Standard
min: 200     avg: 234     median: 223 (0%)     max: 279 Points
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Score Unknown Settings + Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900
3DMark 06
min: 54     avg: 57     median: 57 (0%)     max: 60 Points
3DMark 06 - Score Unknown Settings + Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500
min: 72     avg: 75.5     median: 75.5 (0%)     max: 79 Points
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 + Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500
3DMark 06
68 Points (0%)
3DMark 06 - Standard 1024x768 + Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500
3DMark 06
88 Points (0%)
Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Gaming graphics
min: 2.3     avg: 2.4     median: 2.4 (30%)     max: 2.4 Points
Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Graphics
min: 2.9     avg: 4.2     median: 4.5 (57%)     max: 4.5 Points
Windows Vista Experience Index - Windows Vista Leistungsindex - Grafik (Spiele)
min: 2.4     avg: 2.7     median: 2.7 (40%)     max: 3 Points
Windows Vista Experience Index - Windows Vista Leistungsindex - Grafik
min: 4.5     avg: 5.2     median: 5.2 (76%)     max: 5.9 Points
Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) + Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit)
149 Points (0%)
Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) + Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500

Average Benchmarks Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 → 0% n=

Average Benchmarks Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500 → 0% n=

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

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 detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

F.E.A.R.

F.E.A.R.

2005
low 640x480
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500:
16  fps
med. 800x600
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500:
2  fps
high 1024x768
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500:
1  fps
Doom 3

Doom 3

2004
low 640x480
100%
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900:
2.8  fps
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo

Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo

1999
high 1024x768
100%
Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900:
32.1  fps

Average Gaming Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 → 100%

Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 100%

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500lowmed.highultraQHD4K
F.E.A.R.1621
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps
1


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Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900lowmed.highultraQHD4K
Doom 32.8
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo32.1
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps
1






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For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List

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Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)