Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD

The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD (sometimes also called GMA X4500 HD or other combinations) is a DirectX 10 capable onboard graphics adapter in the GM45, GE45 and GS45 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). The graphics card is also called Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family in the Intel drivers.

The 400MHz clocked version of the 4500MHD found in the GL40 and GS40 chipsets, is called GMA 4500M (without the HD) and has a worse performance in 3D games and video decoding.

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. Some older games like Fear can be played in low details and low resolutions (see "Gaming Performance" below).

Compared to other modern integrated graphic cards like the Nvidia GeForce 9400M (G 102MNVIDIA GeForce G 105M) or AMD ATI Radeon HD 3200, the GMA 4500M HD noticably slower and provides less optimized drivers for games.

The version in the GS45 can be clocked lower (320 versus 533 MHz) and support only FSB 800 (instead of FSB 533/1066). Furthermore, switchable graphics are only supported in the GM45 chipset. The GE45 has the same features as the GM45, and aditionally is certified by Macrovision.

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 (only with the 533 MHz clocked version in the GM45 and GS45).

The graphics core in the GL40 and GS40 chipset with a lower core speed of 400 MHz is called GMA 4500M (without the HD). Because of the lower clock rate, the 4500M performs a bit worse in games and is not capable of decoding Blu-Ray videos fluently.

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
Codename	Montevina
Architecture	Gen. 4.5
Pipelines	10 - unified
Core Speed	533 MHz
Shared Memory	yes
API	DirectX 10, Shader 4.0
technology	65 nm
Features	Enhanced Intel Clear Video Technology, HD Video Decoder (VC/VC2/MPEG2), HDMI with HDCP support, Display Refresh Rate Switching Technology, Render Standby
Date of Announcement	01.10.2008
Link to Manufacturer Page	www.intel.com

Benchmarks