Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 vs AMD Radeon R5 (Bristol Ridge) vs Intel HD Graphics 510

Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580

The Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 (GT4e) is an integrated professional graphics unit of the Skylake generation (top version). As successors of the Iris Graphics 6200 (Broadwell), the Iris P580 can be found in some high-end Xeon quad core CPUs and offers 128 MB of dedicated eDRAM memory. Furthermore, the so-called GT4e-version features 72 Execution Units (EUs). Besides the eDRAM cache, the Iris 580 is able to access the main memory (2x 64bit DDR3L-1600 / DDR4-2133).

Compared to the consumer Iris Pro Graphics 580, the P580 is only included in the Xeon processors and intended for professional applications (certified drivers?) similar to the Quadro and Fire Pro lines. 

Compared to the Iris Graphics 550 (28 W GT3e), the Iris Pro Graphics P580 offers more EUs (72 vs. 48) and a larger eDRAM Cache (128 vs. 64 MB).

Performance

The exact performance of the Iris Graphics P580 depends on memory configuration and CPU model (different clock speeds). However, it should be clearly faster than the old Broadwell Iris Pro 6200 and may compete with a dedicated GeForce 945M. Modern games of 2015/2016 should be playable in 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 1.4 (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 P580 can be found in some mobile high-end quad core processors (45 W). Therefore, they are most likely not used in thin and light laptops.

AMD Radeon R5 (Bristol Ridge)

The AMD Radeon R5 (Bristol Ridge) is an integrated graphics card for a number of mid-range mobile Bristol-Ridge-based APUs, such as those from the A10 series. It features 384 shader cores clocked at 720 MHz (15 Watt APUs) or 800 MHz (35 Watt APUs). Depending on the configurable TDP (set per laptop model) and the used main memory, the performance can also differ.

Architecture and Features

The Radeon R5 utilizes the third generation GCN architecture (sometimes referred to as GCN 1.2) similar to the desktop Tonga chip. As a result, it supports DirectX 12 (FL 12_0) with advanced color compression that leads to a 5-7% improvement in games. Furthermore, its shaders can be used with Mantle, OpenGL and OpenCL. HSA 1.0 is supported for running code on both CPU and GPU cores simultaneously. The improved video decoder UVD 6 (Unified Video Decoder) is now able to decode HVEC / H.265 up to 4K in hardware. Furthermore, the VCE (Video Codec Engine) has been improved for faster transcoding of H.264. More information on architecture and features of the Bristol Ridge architecture can be found in our launch article.

Performance

Gaming performance of the integrated R5 GPU depends on the configured TDP, model and main memory of the system. A typical ULV version with a TDP of 15 Watt paired with fast dual channel main memory is nearly on a level with the dedicated GeForce 920M or Radeon R7 M260 (see gaming benchmarks below). Therefore, demanding games of 2015 and 2016 may only run in the lowest detail settings fluently (and some not at all).

Power Consumption

Depending on the configured TDP, the still in 28 nm produced chip may be used in thin-and-light (12 - 20 Watt range) to standard-sized laptops (35 Watt TDP).

Intel HD Graphics 510

The Intel HD Graphics 510 (GT1) is an integrated graphics unit, which can be found in low-end ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processors of the Skylake generation. This "GT1" version of the Skylake GPU offers 12 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at up to 950 MHz (depending on the CPU model). Due to its lack of dedicated graphics memory or eDRAM cache, the HD 510 has to access the main memory (2x 64bit DDR3L-1600 / DDR4-2133).

Performance

Depending on various factors like memory configuration, the HD Graphics 510 should perform sligthly below the older HD Graphics 4400 and will handle modern games (as of 2015) only in lowest settings (if it does at all).

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 HD Graphics 510 can be found in mobile processors specified at 15 W TDP and is therefore suited for compact laptops and ultrabooks.