Intel UHD Graphics 620 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)

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.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 is a graphics card for desktops and high end laptops (upcoming, see our article for the mobile GTX 1060 for benchmarks and specs). It is based on the Pascal architecture and manufactured in 16 nm FinFET at TSMC. The GPU is be based on the smaller GP106 chip. In laptops it has the codename N17E-G1 and will be the successor to the old GTX 970M (predecessor). The laptop version should be launched in August 2016. The desktop version is already out.

The performance of the 6 GB version is on par with an older GeForce GTX 980 (desktop and laptop). Therefore, 1080p gaming at highest detail is currently the best use case for the card. A comprehensive review of the desktop GeForce GTX 1060 Founders Edition with 6 GB GDDR5 can be found here. Beware, the upcoming 3 GB desktop variant should feature 128 shader less but clocked slightly higher. Still the performance should be definately slower than the 6 GB version.