Intel Iris Graphics 540

The Intel Iris Graphics 540 (GT3e) is an integrated graphics unit of the Skylake generation. As successors of the HD Graphics 6000 (Broadwell), the Iris Graphics 540 can be found in CPUs of 15-watt series and offers 64 MB of dedicated eDRAM memory. Furthermore, the so-called GT3e-version features 48 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at up to 1050 MHz (depending on the CPU model). Besides the eDRAM cache, the Iris 540 is able to access the main memory (2x 64bit DDR3L-1600 / DDR4-2133).

Compared to the Iris Graphics 550 of the 28-watt series, the Iris Graphics 540 differs only by its slightly lower maximum clock and a nearly halved TDP, which limits the utilization of the Turbo Boost in certain situations.

Performance

The exact performance of the Iris Graphics 540 depends on various factors like memory configuration (DDR3/DDR4) and maximum clock rate of the specific model. The fastest versions (Core i7-6650U) should be slightly ahead of a dedicated GeForce 920M and will handle modern games (as of 2015) in low or medium settings.

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 Iris Graphics 540 can be found in mobile processors specified at 15 W TDP and is therefore suited for compact laptops and ultrabooks.

Gen. 9 Series Iris Pro Graphics P580 72 @ 0.35 - 1.1 GHz eDRAM + 64/128 Bit Iris Pro Graphics 580 72 @ 0.35 - 1.05 GHz eDRAM + 64/128 Bit Iris Graphics 550 48 @ 0.3 - 1.1 GHz eDRAM + 64/128 Bit Iris Graphics 540 48 @ 0.3 - 1.05 GHz eDRAM + 64/128 Bit HD Graphics 530 24 @ 0.35 - 1.15 GHz 64/128 Bit HD Graphics 520 24 @ 0.3 - 1.05 GHz 64/128 Bit HD Graphics 515 24 @ 0.3 - 1 GHz 64/128 Bit UHD Graphics 610 12 @ 0.3 - 0.95 GHz 64/128 Bit HD Graphics 610 12 @ 0.3 - 0.95 GHz 64/128 Bit HD Graphics 510 12 @ 0.3 - 0.95 GHz 64/128 Bit UHD Graphics 605 18 @ 0.3 - 0.75 GHz 64/128 Bit HD Graphics 505 18 @ 0.3 - 0.75 GHz 64/128 Bit UHD Graphics 600 12 @ 0.3 - 0.7 GHz 64/128 Bit HD Graphics 500 12 @ 0.3 - 0.7 GHz 64/128 Bit
Codename	Skylake GT3e
Architecture	Gen. 9 Skylake
iGPU	Integrated Graphics
Pipelines	48 - unified
Core Speed	300 - 1050 (Boost) MHz
Memory Bus Width	eDRAM + 64/128 Bit
Memory Type	eDRAM
Max. Amount of Memory	64 MB
Shared Memory	yes
API	DirectX 12_1, OpenGL 4.4
Man. Technology	14 nm
Features	QuickSync
Date of Announcement	01.09.2015

Benchmarks