Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super Mobile

The Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 (GT3e) is a processor graphics card announced in September 2017. As the successor to the Intel Iris Graphics 650 (Kaby Lake), the Iris Plus Graphics 655 is used for 28-Watt Coffee Lake-U models. The biggest difference is the doubled eDRAM-cache at 128 MB. There should not be any big changes compared to the Iris Graphics 650.

The so called GT3e version of the Kaby Lake GPU still has 48 Execution Units (EUs), which can reach up to 1200 MHz (previously 1100 MHz) depending on the model. Besides eDRAM cache, the Iris 655 can also access the system memory (2x 64 Bit DDR3L-2133/DDR4-2400) via processor interface.

Compared to the Iris Plus 640 from the 15-Watt models, the Iris 655 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 655 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 i7-8559U. Depending on the game, the Iris Plus 655 will probably be on par with a dedicated GeForce 930M or GeForce 940MX 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 655 is used for 28-Watt processor and therefore small/medium-sized notebooks.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super Mobile is a high end gaming graphics cards for laptops. It is the 2020 refresh of the GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile and may now also use the TU104 chip with more shaders (as the desktop RTX 2070 Super did). The older mobile RTX 2070 uses the TU106 chip with 2,304 shaders and should be slightly slower than the new Super model.

Features

NVIDIA manufacturers the TU106 and TU104 chips on a 12 nm FinFET process and includes features like Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and Real-Time Ray Tracing (RTRT), which should combine to create more realistic lighting effects than older GPUs based on the company's Pascal architecture (if the games supports it). The RTX 2070 Super is also DisplayPort 1.4 ready, while there is also support for HDMI 2.0b, HDR, Simultaneous Multi-Projection (SMP) and H.265 video en/decoding (PlayReady 3.0).