AMD Radeon R7 370 vs Intel UHD Graphics P630 vs Intel UHD Graphics 615

AMD Radeon R7 370

The AMD Radeon R7 370 is a single-GPU graphics card for mid-range desktop PCs, which was introduced in May 2015. It is based on the 28 nm "Trinidad (Pitcairn)" chip, which features 1024 shader units and a 256 bit memory interface (2 GB GDDR5, 179.2 GB/s at 1.400 MHz or 5600MHz effective).

Architecture

The basis of the 212 mm² graphic chip with 2.8 billion transistors of the AMD Radeon R7 370 is the so-called GCN architecture. The chip, which is called Trinidad now, has already been used in the AMD Radeon HD 7870 and the AMD Radeon R9 270X under the names "Pitcairn" and "Curacao”. The number of hardware units including 1024 ALUs/shader units, 64 TMUs and 32 ROPs, were reduced compared to the direct predecessor. Just like the AMD Radeon R9 270X, the AMD Radeon R7 370 does not support True Audio and supports DirectX 12 (but only FL 11_1).

Performance

Depending on resolution, AA setting and game, the performance of the AMD Radeon R7 370 is about on par with the GeForce GTX 950 from Nvidia. So, it even performs slightly better than fast mobile graphics solutions like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M. Even extremely demanding games like Metro: Last Light can be played smoothly with maximum settings and 1920 x 1080 pixels. However, the quality settings should not be set too high in several games – otherwise, the 2 GB GDDR5 will quickly reach its limits. Due to a lower number of ALUs and TMUs, the AMD Radeon R7 370 is beaten by the AMD Radeon R9 270x. Probably this is the reason why the card is listed in the R7 series.

Features

The AMD R7 370 supports features like Eyefinity, Mantle, App Acceleration, CrossFire, PowerTune, ZeroCore, and HD3D. The cooling concept of the MSI Radeon R7 370 is convincing and even hardly audible under load. The fan stands completely still in 2D mode and the card turns silent. Since the GPU is relatively old in the meanwhile, you have to live without features like for example DirectX 12 Feature-Level 12_0, FreeSync, and TrueAudio.

Power Consumption

By means of dynamic clock speed adjustment and the familiar ZeroCore technology (since the introduction of the HD 7000 series), the AMD Radeon R7 370 can very efficiently save energy while idle. The power consumption is 110 Watt under load (according to the manufacturer).

Details to the MSI AMD R7 370

The AMD Radeon R7 370 from MSI is clocked slightly higher (GPU and RAM). GPU-Z reported a GPU clock of 1050 MHz and a memory clock of 1425MHz (effective 5700 MHz). Furthermore, MSI offers the "MSI Gaming App" tool, which allows three different modes for the graphics card (Silent mode, Gaming mode, OC mode). Depending on the selected mode, the GPU is driven with a clock frequency of 925 - 975 MHz, 980 - 1030 MHz, or 1000 - 1050 MHz. The manufacturer’s warranty covers also overclocking with the "MSI Gaming App”.

The cooling concept, also called Twin Frozr design, is decisive for the look of the MSI AMD Radeon  R7 370. The MSI 300 series shares the "Twin Frozr V" design. However, the manufacturer omitted a backplate.

Only the waste heat of the GPU is emitted to the heatsink, which extends beyond the PCB, via two heatpipes. The two big fans have a diameter of about 10 cm and provide the necessary fresh air. The fan blades’ special shape (dispersion fan blade) ensures an up to 19% higher airflow for low-noise operation.

The cooling concept proved to work quietly even under load in the benchmarks. In addition, the Zero Frozr technology ensures that the fans turn off completely during desktop use or undemanding applications.

In terms of connectivity, the graphics card delivers 2x DVI (DVI-I, DVI-D); 1x HDMI (1.4a/2.0), and 1x Display Port (1.2).

Overall, the gaming performance of the MSI AMD R7 370 is sufficient for current titles with a resolution of up to 1080p. However, depending on the game, the quality settings should not be set too high. Those who do not want to do without quality settings like AA/AF should better consider the R9 300 series.

Prospective buyers should comprehensively inform themselves about the product policy of the manufacturer. A new model does not always mean more performance! For example the AMD Radeon R9 270x is faster than the AMD Radeon R7 370.

Intel UHD Graphics P630

The Intel UHD Graphics P630 (GT2) is a professional integrated graphics card, which can be found in various Xeon desktop and notebook processors of the Coffee-Lake generation. The "GT2" version of the GPU offers 24 Execution Units (EUs) and the clocks depend on the CPU model. Due to its lack of dedicated graphics memory or eDRAM cache, the UHD P630 has to access the main memory (2x 64-bit DDR3L-1600 / DDR4-2133). Compared to the older HD Graphics P630 (Kaby-Lake), the newer UHD GPU is identical but can be clocked slightly higher. Compared to the regular UHD 630, the P630 supports ECC main memory and is intended for professional applications.

Performance

The exact performance of the UHD Graphics P630 depends on various factors like TDP, L3 Cache, memory (DDR3/DDR4) and maximum clock rate of the specific model. However, it should be fairly similar to the HD Graphics 530 and HD Graphics 630 and therefore only suited for low demanding games like Overwatch or Farming Simulator 2017 (low details).

Features

The features of the UHD P630 are the same as for the HD 630 and therefore H.265/HEVC Main10 profile at 10-bit color depth are supported in hardware. Furthermore, HDCP 2.2 is also supported in all chips, which allows Netflix 4K videos, for instance. HDMI 2.0 however is still only supported with an external converter chip (LSPCon).

Power Consumption

The UHD Graphics P630 can be found in several notebook and desktop processors of different TDP classes.

Intel UHD Graphics 615

The Intel UHD Graphics 615 (GT2) is a low-end integrated graphics unit, which can be found in the Y-series of the Amber-Lake generation. This "GT2" version offers 24 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at up to 1000 MHz (depending on the CPU model). Due to its lack of dedicated graphics memory or eDRAM cache, the UHD 615 has to access the main memory (2x 64bit DDR3L/LPDDR3). Compared to the old HD Graphics 615 in Kaby-Lake-Y CPUs, the UHD 615 is the same GPU with slightly different clock speeds (depending on the model) and slight power/performance improvements due to the improved 14nm++ process .

Performance

The 3D performance of the UHD 615 depends on the CPU model and the cooling / TDP-setting of the laptop. Furthermore, the used main memory (single channel, DDR3(L), amount) is influencing performance. On average the UHD graphics 615 should be very similar to the Kaby-Lake HD Graphics 615 due to the same architecture and similar speeds. That means that only low demanding games like Farming Simulator 17 or Rocket League are playable in lowest detail settings.

Features

The revised video engine in the HD 615 and UHD 615 now supports H.265/HEVC Main10 profile in hardware with 10 bit colors. Furthermore, Googles VP9 codec can also be hardware decoded. The UHD 615 should support HDCP 2.2 and therefore Netflix 4K. HDMI 2.0 however is still only supported with an external converter chip (LSPCon).

Power Consumption

The UHD Graphics 615 can be found in Y processors with 5 W TDP (can be manipulated by the laptop manufacturers, and up 0,5 Watt from the previous generation) and is therefore suited for very thin, mostly passively cooled 2-in-1 notebooks and tablets.