Intel HD Graphics 510 vs AMD Radeon R2 (Stoney Ridge) vs AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge)

Intel HD Graphics 510

The Intel HD Graphics 510 (GT1) is an integrated graphics unit, which can be found in low-end ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processors of the Skylake generation. This "GT1" version of the Skylake GPU offers 12 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at up to 950 MHz (depending on the CPU model). Due to its lack of dedicated graphics memory or eDRAM cache, the HD 510 has to access the main memory (2x 64bit DDR3L-1600 / DDR4-2133).

Performance

Depending on various factors like memory configuration, the HD Graphics 510 should perform sligthly below the older HD Graphics 4400 and will handle modern games (as of 2015) only in lowest settings (if it does at all).

Features

The revised video engine now decodes H.265/HEVC completely in hardware and thereby much more efficiently than before. Displays can be connected via DP 1.2 / eDP 1.3 (max. 3840 x 2160 @ 60 Hz), whereas HDMI is limited to the older version 1.4a (max. 3840 x 2160 @ 30 Hz). However, HDMI 2.0 can be added using a DisplayPort converter. Up to three displays can be controlled simultaneously.

Power Consumption

The HD Graphics 510 can be found in mobile processors specified at 15 W TDP and is therefore suited for compact laptops and ultrabooks.

AMD Radeon R2 (Stoney Ridge)

The AMD Radeon R2 (Stoney Ridge) is an integrated graphics adapter of the weakest mobile dual-core Stoney Ridge APUs. At its launch, it is being used in the AMD E2-9010 and probably has 128 shaders running at up to 600 MHz. The performance can vary heavily depending on the configured TDP and the system memory.

Architecture and Features

The Radeon R4 is equipped with two cores from the third GCN generation (often called GCN 1.2 or 2.0 by the press). This means it is very similar to the Tonga desktop chip and supports DirectX 12 (FL 12_0), but the graphics cores can also be accessed via Mantle, OpenGL, and OpenCL. The GPU supports the HSA 1.0 standard as well and can therefore use the connection with the CPU cores very efficiently. The technical specifications are identical to the Carrizo predecessor. 

The video unit includes the UVD 6 (Unified Video Decoder), which can decode HEVC/H.265 and 4K with support from the hardware. More details are available in our dedicated Stoney Ridge article. 

Power Consumption

Depending on the model and configured TDP (cTDP), the 28 nm chip is specified with 10 up to 15 Watts. This means it can also be used for thin and light notebooks.

AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge)

The AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge) is an integrated graphics card for the fastest mobile AMD Carrizo APUs. At its launch, the R7 is available on the top model FX9830P with 512 GCN shader units and a core clock of 900 MHz. The technical specifications do not differ from the AMD Radeon R7 in Carrizo, but the clock is up to 100 MHz higher. Depending on the cooling and the configurable TDP (12-45 Watts), the performance can differ quite a lot. The performance also depends on the memory (best performance with dual-channel DDR4).

Architecture and Features

According to AMD, the Radeon R7 consists of eight cores based on the third GCN generation (often called GCN 1.2 or 2.0 in the press). It is therefore very similar to the Tonga desktop chip and supports DirectX 12 (FL 12_0). Furthermore, its shaders can be used with Mantle, OpenGL and OpenCL. HSA 1.0 is supported for running code on both CPU and GPU cores simultaneously.

Compared to the Kaveri generation (Kaveri R7 with GCN 1.1), the new color compression in particular results in better memory utilization and improves the gaming performance by 5-7 %. 

The improved video decoder of Carrizo/Bristol Ridge now includes UVD 6 (Unified Video Decoder), which can decode HVEC / H.265 up to 4K in hardware. Furthermore, the VCE (Video Codec Engine) has been improved for faster transcoding of H.264. More information on architecture and features of the Bristol Ridge architecture can be found in our launch article.

Performance

Depending on the configurable TDP of the Bristol Ridge chips between 12 up to 45 Watts, there can be significant differences in games. Overall, the results are slightly better compared to the Carrizo Radeon R7 due to the higher clocks for comparable model. You can still use the Kaveri R7 benchmarks to check the gaming performance.

Power Consumption

Depending on the configurable TDP (cTDP), the 28 nm chip is specified at 12-45 Watts. It can therefore be used for thin and light notebooks as well as medium-sized devices or All-in-Ones (AiO).