Intel HD Graphics 620 vs NVIDIA GeForce 930MX

Intel HD Graphics 620

The Intel HD Graphics 620 (GT2) is an integrated graphics unit, which can be found in various ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processors of the Kaby Lake generation. This "GT2" version of the Kaby Lake GPU is clocked at up to 1050 MHz (depending on the CPU model). Due to its lack of dedicated graphics memory or eDRAM cache, the HD 620 has to access the main memory (2x 64bit DDR3/DDR4).

Performance

The exact performance of the HD Graphics 620 depends on various factors like L3 cache size, memory configuration (DDR3/DDR4) and maximum clock rate of the specific model but is very similar to the old HD Graphics 520 GPU. That means only some less demanding recent games like Farming Simulator 17 run fluently in low detail settings (see below for gaming benchmarks). Compared to dedicated graphics cards, the HD620 should be positioned between a GeForce 910M and 920M from Nvidia. For games, the drivers however are not that fast updated and tested as with GeForce graphics cards.

Features

The revised video engine now supports H.265/HEVC Main10 profile in hardware with 10 bit colors. Furthermore, Googles VP9 codec can also be hardware decoded. The first models do not support HDCP 2.2 and therefore Netflix 4K. This was added with the new models in 2017 and beginning of May 2017 also the older CPU models like the i3-7100U are now shipped with a new S-Spec Code that supports HDCP 2.2. HDMI 2.0 however is still only supported with an external converter chip (LSPCon).

Power Consumption

The HD Graphics 620 can be found in mobile processors specified at 15 W TDP and is therefore suited for compact laptops and ultrabooks.

NVIDIA GeForce 930MX

The Nvidia GeForce 930MX is an entry-level DirectX 12 graphics card for laptops that was announced in the first quarter of 2016. It is the refresh of the GeForce 930M and now supports GDDR5 graphics memory. It is based on the same GM108 chip and may feature slightly increased clock rates.

The performance will depend on the used graphics memory. With fast GDDR5 it should be similar or slightly faster than the Maxwell GPU in the Surface Book. With DDR3 it performs be somewhere between the old 930M and 940M. That means that only non demanding games of 2017 run fluently (in lowest detail settings) on the GeForce 930M. Games with low demands like Dota 2 or Path of Exile should run in higher detail settings and resolution.

The power consumption should be quite similar to the 930M and 940M and therefore also suited for smaller laptops.