Intel UHD Graphics 630 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop) vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q

Intel UHD Graphics 630

The Intel UHD Graphics 630 (GT2) is an integrated graphics card, which can be found in various 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 630 has to access the main memory (2x 64-bit DDR3L-1600 / DDR4-2133). Compared to the older HD Graphics 630 (Kaby-Lake), the newer UHD GPU is identical but can be clocked slightly higher.

Performance

The exact performance of the UHD Graphics 630 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 630 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 630 can be found in several notebook and desktop processors of different TDP classes (35 - 91 W).

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop)

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 is a fast desktop graphics card based on the Pascal architecture. It was announced in May 2016 and offers all 2,560 shader of the used GP104 chip. Furthermore, the GPU is coupled with 8 GB GDDR5X graphics memory using a 256 Bit interface (10 GHz, 320 GB/s). The chip is manufactured at TSMC in 16nm (FinFET). The TDP is specified at 180 Watt and therefore slightly higher than the predecessor, the GTX 980 with 165 Watt.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 with the Max-Q design is a mobile high-end GPU from the Pascal series. It is designed for thin and light laptops and about 10-15% slower than a regular GTX 1060 for laptops based on the cooling capabilities. The base frequency (1063-1265 MHz) is also much lower than on the regular GTX 1060 (1506 MHz, at least -16%) and the Boost (1341-1480 MHz) is also much lower compared to 1708 MHz (at least -13%) for the regular GTX 1060. The memory clock, however, is identical.

The clock is not the only difference compared to the regular GTX 1060 though. The drivers for the Max-Q version were optimized for efficiency (and not performance; only for Max-Q models), there are optimized voltage converters for 1V operation, high-end cooling methods, and a 40 dB limit for the fan noise (with clock adjustments to ensure this at all times).

Features

The GP106 chip is produced in 16nm FinFET at TSMC and offers a range of new features, like DisplayPort 1.4 (ready), HDMI 2.0b, HDR, Simultaneous Multi-Projection (SMP) and improved H.265 video de- and encoding (PlayReady 3.0). A list of improvements and features can be found in our article on the Pascal architecture.

The power consumption of the Max-Q design is notably lower than the normal GTX 1060 for laptops and ranges between 60 and 70 Watt (TGP) according to Nvidia.