Intel UHD Graphics 617 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU vs Intel UHD Graphics 620

Intel UHD Graphics 617

The Intel UHD Graphics 617 (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 1050 MHz (depending on the CPU model). Due to its lack of dedicated graphics memory or eDRAM cache, the UHD 617 has to access the main memory (2x 64bit DDR3L/LPDDR3). Compared to the old HD Graphics 615 in Kaby-Lake-Y CPUs, the UHD 617 is the same GPU with slightly different clock speeds (depending on the model) and slight power/performance improvements due to the improved 14nm++ process. Compared to the similar UHD Graphics 615 in other Amber Lake models, the 617 looks to be higher clocked (+50 MHz) and has more headroom due to the higher TDP of 7 versus 5 Watt.

Performance

The 3D performance of the UHD 617 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 617 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 / 617 now supports H.265/HEVC Main10 profile in hardware with 10 bit colors. Furthermore, Googles VP9 codec can also be hardware decoded. The UHD 617 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 617 can be found in Y processors with 7 W TDP  and is therefore suited for very thin, mostly passively cooled subnotebooks like the MacBook Air 2018.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU (Codename GN21-X9) is a high-end laptop GPU. It is based on the AD104 chip as the desktop RTX 4070 Ti and use the Ada Lovelace architecture. The AD104 chip offers a maximum of 7.680 shaders (e.g., the RTX 4070 Ti Desktop) from which RTX 4080 Laptop uses 7.424 and a 192 Bit memory bus. The RTX 4080 mobile uses 12 GB GDDR6 dedicated graphics memory with a clock speed of 16 or 20 Gbps (effective). The TGP (Total Graphics Power) can be configured between 60 and 150 Watt (+ 25 Watt Dynamic Boost from the CPU) leading to different performance levels (the desktop RTX 4070 Ti uses 285 Watt for comparisons). The boost clock speed ranges from 1350 MHz (at 60 Watt TGP) up to 2280 MHz (150W). Therefore, the performance is also depending a lot on the power setting used for the RTX 4080 mobile in the laptop.

The synthetic performance of the RTX 4080 is clearly above the mobile RTX 3080 Ti in our tests and only bested by the mobile RTX 4090. In actual games we saw that even demanding games with Raytracing enabled (like F1 23) could be played in QHD and maximum settings. Less demanding games like Baldur's Gate 3 can be fluently played in 4k (see results below).

The RTX 4080 offers 232 tensor cores (4th gen) that enable DLSS 3 including frame generation for supported games. Furthermore, 58 raytracing cores (4rd gen) can be used for raytracing effects in supported games.

The AD103 chip is manufactured in 5nm at TSMC (4N process).

Intel UHD Graphics 620

The Intel UHD Graphics 620 (GT2) is an integrated graphics unit, which can be found in various ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processors of the Kaby Lake Refresh generation (8th generation Core). Compared to the similar named Intel HD Graphics 620 in the 2016 Kaby Lake CPUs, only the name changed from HD to UHD. It is clocked with up to 1.150 MHz and therefore 100 MHz higher than the old HD Graphics 620 (max. 1.050 MHz) and offer a comparable performance. Due to its lack of dedicated graphics memory or eDRAM cache, the HD 620 has to access the main memory (2x 64bit DDR3/DDR4).

Performance

The exact performance of the UHD Graphics 620 depends on various factors like L3 cache size, memory configuration (DDR3/DDR4) and maximum clock rate of the specific model and as is similar to the Intel HD Graphics 620 and Intel HD Graphics 630. Compared to the average HD Graphics 620, the UHD graphics profits from the quad-core CPU a bit in our gaming benchmarks. Therefore, should be positioned between a GeForce 910M and 920M dedicated graphics card from Nvidia. For games, the drivers however are not that fast updated and tested as with GeForce graphics cards. In our tests, the UHD 620 is most suited for casual games like Team Fortress 2, Rocket League or Farming Simulator 17. See below for a list of modern games tested with various models.

Features

The revised video engine now supports H.265/HEVC Main10 profile in hardware with 10 bit colors. Furthermore, Googles VP9 codec can also be hardware decoded. The first models do not support HDCP 2.2 and therefore Netflix 4K. This was added with the new models in 2017 and beginning of May 2017 also the older CPU models like the i3-7100U are now shipped with a new S-Spec Code that supports HDCP 2.2. HDMI 2.0 however is still only supported with an external converter chip (LSPCon).

Power Consumption

The UHD Graphics 620 can be found in mobile processors specified at 15 W TDP and is therefore suited for compact laptops and ultrabooks. The power consumption during playing The Witcher 3 (with an external monitor) was comparable to a Intel HD Graphics 620 based laptop and on the lowest end of all of our measurements. Dedicated GPUs, like the GeForce 940MX, needed a lot more power.