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Intel HD Graphics 4000

Intel HD Graphics 4000

The Intel HD Graphics 4000 (GT2) is a processor graphics card that is included in the Ivy Bridge processors of 2012 (3rd generation of core, e.g. Core i7-3770). The base clock can be automatically overclocked using Turbo Boost technology. Depending on the processor model, the base and turbo clock rate may differ greatly resulting in different graphics performance of ULV parts compared to high-end desktop and laptop quad-core parts.

Compared to the Intel HD Graphics 3000 in Sandy Bridge CPUs, the HD 4000 card was completely redesigned and offers improved DirectX 11 capable shaders, Hardware Tessellation, a dedicated level 3 cache (before the Last Level Cache LLC of the CPU) and DirectCompute support. The IPC (instructions per clock) can therefore be even 2x as fast as with Sandy Bridge and overall up to 60% more performance (3DMark Vantage) should be possible.

First benchmarks position the HD Graphics 4000 (in a fast quad core desktop CPU) on a level with a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GT 330M and therefore above the AMD processor graphics Radeon HD 6620G. In our extensive tests with games the HD Graphics 4000 was able to beat the HD 6620G in a fast Core i7-3820QM by about 15%. In the slower i7-3610QM and a dual core i5 it was on a similar level as the 6620G. Therefore, casual gamers that wont mind reducing the quality settings in high end games, may be happy with the performance of the HD Graphics 4000. Beware, that the HD Graphics 4000 is used with different clock speeds depending on the CPU model. The ULV CPUs (Core ix-3xx7U) for example feature lower clock speeds and cant maintain the Turbo frequency as good as the 35 - 55 Watt models. Therefore, the ULV version is about 30% slower on average.

A speciality of the Ivy Bridge GPUs is that 4x MSAA is supported in hardware now. However, 2x is only supported through software.  The algorithm to support 2x is going through the 4x pipeline with a software algorithm, so performance is similar to 4x MSAA.

The integrated video decoder called Multi Format Codec Engine (MFX) was also improved and should allow even simultaneus 4K video decoding. DXVAChecker lists MPEG2, VC1, WMV9, and H264 as supported codecs. QuickSync for fast transcoding of videos was also optimized for higher performance and better image quality.

Another new feature is the support for up to 3 independent displays (depends on how the HD 4000 is used in the laptop - maybe only with a DisplayPort / eDP) as AMD offers with theirs Eyefinity support (up to 6 displays). DisplayPort 1.1 (max 2560x1600) and HDMI 1.4 (max 1920x1080 without hacks) are supported by the chip according to Intel.

Due to the 22nm 3D Tri-Gate production process, the power consumption should be relatively low (the development was focused on performance per Watt). The TDP of the whole package (including processor and memory controller) varies between 18 Watt (ULV) up to 45 Watt (mobile quad core) for the consumer laptop CPUs.

HD Graphics Series

HD Graphics P530 compare 24 @ 0.35 - 1.05 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 5600 compare 24 @ 0.3 - 1.05 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 6000 compare 48 @ 0.3 - 1 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 4600 compare 20 @ 0.2 - 1.35 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 5500 compare 24 @ 0.3 - 0.95 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 5000 compare 40 @ 0.2 - 1.1 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 4400 compare 20 @ 0.2 - 1.1 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 5300 compare 24 @ 0.1 - 0.9 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 4000 16 @ 0.35 - 1.35 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics (Broadwell) compare 12 @ 0.1 - 0.85 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 4200 compare 20 @ 0.2 - 0.85 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics (Skylake) compare 12 @ 0.3 - 0.8 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 405 (Braswell) compare 16 @ 0.32 - 0.7 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics (Braswell) compare 16 @ 0.32 - 0.7 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 400 (Braswell) compare 12 @ 0.32 - 0.64 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics (Haswell) compare 10 @ 0.2 - 1 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics (Cherry Trail) compare 16 @ 0.2 - 0.6 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 3000 compare 12 @ 0.35 - 1.35 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 2500 compare 6 @ 0.65 - 1.15 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics (Ivy Bridge) compare 6 @ 0.35 - 1.1 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics 2000 compare 6 @ 0.85 - 1.35 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) compare 6 @ 0.35 - 1.1 GHz64/128 Bit
HD Graphics (Bay Trail) compare 4 @ 0.31 - 0.9 GHz32/64/128 Bit
CodenameIvy Bridge
ArchitectureGen. 7 Ivy Bridge
Pipelines16 - unified
Core Speed350 - 1350 (Boost) MHz
Memory Bus Width64/128 Bit
Shared Memoryyes
APIDirectX 11, Shader 5.0, OpenGL 3.1
technology22 nm
FeaturesQuickSync
Date of Announcement23.03.2011
CPU in HD Graphics 4000GPU Base SpeedGPU Boost / Turbo
Intel Core i7-3770K4 x 3500 MHz, 77 W650 MHz1150 MHz
Intel Core i7-3940XM4 x 3000 MHz, 55 W650 MHz1350 MHz
Intel Core i7-3920XM4 x 2900 MHz, 55 W650 MHz1300 MHz
min. - max.350 - 650 MHz850 - 1350 MHz

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - 3DMark 11 + Fire Strike + Time Spy
0.2 pt (1%)
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Score
min: 1469     avg: 3380     median: 3282.5 (4%)     max: 5946 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
min: 1619     avg: 3850     median: 3768.5 (1%)     max: 5761 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Score
min: 168     avg: 446.5     median: 444 (1%)     max: 647 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
min: 191     avg: 486.1     median: 480 (1%)     max: 705 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Graphics
min: 11232     avg: 31858     median: 31598 (4%)     max: 48923 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Score
min: 248     avg: 603     median: 603 (1%)     max: 802 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance GPU
min: 216     avg: 522     median: 523 (0%)     max: 684 Points
3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. total
min: 830     avg: 2985     median: 2959 (1%)     max: 4433 Points
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX
min: 659     avg: 2441     median: 2415 (1%)     max: 3488 Points
3DMark 03 - 3DMark 03 - Standard
min: 7402     avg: 11805     median: 12768 (7%)     max: 19294 Points
3DMark 05 - 3DMark 05 - Standard
min: 5239     avg: 8296     median: 8393 (9%)     max: 11948 Points
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Score Unknown Settings +
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +
3DMark 06
min: 1605     avg: 4588     median: 4412.5 (6%)     max: 7159 Points
Unigine Heaven 3.0 - Unigine Heaven 3.0 DX 11
min: 6.9     avg: 7.6     median: 7.4 (2%)     max: 8.9 fps