AMD Radeon RX Vega 3 vs Intel UHD Graphics 605

AMD Radeon RX Vega 3

The AMD Radeon RX Vega 3 is an integrated GPU for laptops. It is used for the entry level Ryzen 3 APUs, which were launched in early 2018. The GPU is based on the Vega architecture (5th generation GCN) and has 3 CUs (= 192 of the 704 shaders) clocked at up to 1200 MHz (depending on the model). The performance depends on the configured TDP (12-25 W at launch), the clocks, the cooling, and the memory configuration). The GPU should benefit from fast dual-channel DDR4-2400 RAM (contrary to DDR4-2133 single-channel, which is also possible).

The Vega architecture offers some improvements over the Polaris generation and now supports DirectX 12 Feature Level 12_1. More information is available in our dedicated article about the Raven Ridge architecture.

Currently we estimate a performance around a GeForce 910M. Therefore, demanding current games may not be playable fluently.

Thanks to the 14nm process and clever power-saving features, the power consumption is comparatively low (according to AMD), so the graphics card can also be used for slim and light notebooks.

Intel UHD Graphics 605

The Intel UHD Graphics 605 is an integrated processor graphics unit from the Gemini Lake generation (e. g. Pentium Silver N5000), which was announced late 2017. The GPU can convince with low consumption figures, but the performance is only in the low-end segment and is rarely sufficient for modern games. Being the maximum configuration of the Gemini Lake GPU, the UHD Graphics 605 is equipped with 18 Execution Units (EUs) running at up to 750 MHz. The technical specifications of the GPU are based on Intel's Gen9 architecture, which is also used for the more expensive Skylake series and also in the predecessor HD Graphics 505.

Due to its lack of dedicated graphics memory or eDRAM cache, the UHD 605 has to access the main memory via processor (2x 64bit DDR4/LPDDR4-2400).

Performance

The UHD Graphics 605 offers a similar performance as the Intel HD Graphics 505 in the Apollo Lake SoCs (same Gen 9 architecture). Therefore, the GPU is only suited for some very low demanding games like Dirt Rally or Sims 4.

Features

The video engine decodes H.265/HEVC (8b and 10b) and VP9 completely in hardware. Up to three displays can be connected via DP 1.2a/eDP 1.3 or HDMI 2.0a (including HDCP 2.2).

Power Consumption

The TDP of the whole Pentium Silver N5000 chip is 6 Watts by default, so the GPU is primarily used for (often passively cooled) netbooks or thin notebooks. The TDP can also be reduced to 4.9 Watts, but this will obviously affect the performance.