Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 vs Qualcomm Adreno 690 vs Qualcomm Adreno 620

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650

The Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 (GT3e) is a processor graphics card for Kaby Lake models announced in January 2017. As the successor to the Intel Iris Graphics 550 (Skylake), the Iris Plus Graphics 650 is used for 28-Watt models and is equipped with 64 MB eDRAM cache. There should not be any big changes compared to the Iris Graphics 550.

The so called GT3e version of the Kaby Lake GPU probably still has 48 Execution Units (EUs), which can reach up to 1100 MHz depending on the model. Besides eDRAM cache, the Iris 650 can also access the system memory (2x 64 Bit DDR3L-1600/DDR4-2400) via processor interface.

Compared to the Iris Plus 640 from the 15-Watt models, the Iris 650 only has a slightly higher maximum clock as well as almost twice the TDP, which allows a better utilization of the Turbo Boost potential.

Performance

The exact performance of the Iris Plus Graphics 650 depends on the CPU model, because maximum clock as well as the size of the L3 cache can differ a bit. The system memory (DDR3/DDR4) will influence the performance as well.

The fastest chips are high-clocked Core i7 models like the Core i7-7567U. Depending on the game, the Iris Plus 650 will probably be on par with a dedicated GeForce 930M and can handle smooth gameplay in modern titles in low up to medium settings.

Features

The reworked video engine now fully supports hardware decoding of H.265/HEVC videos. Contrary to Skylake, however, Kaby Lake can now also decode H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The video output is possible via DP 1.2/eDP 1.3 (up to 3840 x 2160 @60 Hz), whereas HDMI is also supported in the older 1.4a standard. An HDMI 2.0 output can be added via converter from DisplayPort. The GPU can drive up to three displays simultaneously.

Power Consumption

The Iris Plus Graphics 650 is used for 28-Watt processor and therefore medium-sized notebooks.

Qualcomm Adreno 690

The Qualcomm Adreno 690 is an integrated graphics card in the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 SoC for Windows laptops. According to Qualcomm, the 690 is up to 60% faster than the previous generation. In our tests with the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s, the Adreno 690 was only on par with a low en Intel UHD Graphics iGPU and not well suited for 3D games.

The chip is manufactured in 5nm at Samsung (5LPE) and suited for fanless laptops.

Qualcomm Adreno 620

The Qualcomm Adreno 620 is a mobile graphics card for upper mid-range smartphones and tablets (mostly Android based). It is included in the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G and 765 SoCs and based on the Adreno 600 architecture (like the Adreno 630, which should be fully compatible in software).

According to Qualcomm, the Adreno 620 in the 765G is 10% faster than the one in the 765 and 20% faster than the old Adreno 618. In our benchmarks, the Adreno 620 in the Snapdragon 765G even was 25% faster in selected benchmarks, but the faster CPU will also influence the results.

The GPU supports modern standards like Vulkan 1.0 (according to Wikipedia), OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.0 and DirectX 11 (FL 11_1).