Intel HD Graphics 4200 vs Intel HD Graphics (Braswell) vs Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)

Intel HD Graphics 4200

The Intel HD Graphics 4200 (GT2) is a processor graphics card that is included in some of the ULV Haswell processors of 2013 (4th generation core). The relatively low base clock can be automatically overclocked using Turbo Boost technology.

In comparison to the HD 4000, the graphics core has been modified in several details. The GPU supports DirectX 11.1, OpenCL 1.2 und OpenGL 4.0. It also features an improved decoder for 4K videos and the fast Quick Sync encoder.

The performance of the HD Graphics 4200 is clearly below the HD 4600 and HD 4400, since the GPU is designed for ULV models of the Y-series (11.5 W). Therefore, the clock rates are relatively low. Compared to a similar clocked HD 4000, the HD 4200 is somewhat faster due to architectural improvements and an increased number of execution units: The GT2 version integrates 20 EUs, compared to 16 EUs for the old HD 4000.

In simple games like Anno 2070 or Counter Strike: Global Offensive, the performance is sufficient to handle low settings and 1024 x 768 pixels. Many current titles like Battlefield 4, however, are not playable even at minimum graphic quality. Detailed benchmarks can be found below.

Due to the 22nm 3D Tri-Gate production process, the power consumption is relatively low and suitable even for tablets. In addition to the TDP of 11.5 watts, the Y-series CPUs are rated at an SDP (average power consumption) of 4.5 or 6 watts (depending on the model).

Intel HD Graphics (Braswell)

The Intel HD Graphics (Braswell)  is an integrated graphics card in the low end SoCs of the Braswell series (e.g. Pentium N3700). It is based on the same architecture as the integrated GPU of the Broadwell graphics cards (e.g. HD Graphics 5300), but offers less shader cores and slower clock speeds.

The performance depends on the processor. The fastest models offer 16 EUs (shader cores) at 400 - 700 MHz. It should be about twice as fast as the old HD Graphics in Bay Trail SoCs. At the time of announcement in Q1 2015 the following models exist:

• Pentium N3700: 16 EUs @ 400 - 700 MHz, Dual-Channel Memory
• Celeron N3150: 12 EUs @ 320 - 640 MHz, Dual-Channel Memory
• Celeron N3050: 12 EUs @ 320 - 600 MHz, Dual-Channel Memory
• Celeron N3000: 12 EUs @ 320 - 600 MHz, Dual-Channel Memory

In the first CPUs the graphics card was only called Intel HD Graphics. Later (e.g. in the Celeron N3060) Intel renamed it to Intel HD Graphics 400 (Celeron with 12 EUs) and Intel HD Graphics 405 (Pentium with 16 EUs).

Gaming performance ist still only suited for older or less demanding games. Often also the processor is limited gaming performance (e.g. in the dual-core N3000).

The SoC also integrates a video decoding engine that should be able to handle 4K H.265 videos.

Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)

The Intel HD Graphics (Family) is a processor graphics card which is integrated in the cheap Celeron and Pentium model of the Sandy Bridge generation. It is similar to the Intel HD Graphics 2000 and not with the processor graphics of the older Arrandale dual-core processors (which bears the same name). 

Depending on the processor, the HD graphics offers a different base and Turbo Boost clock speed. Currently there are three different models:

• Power Saving e.g. Celeron 847: base 350MHz, Turbo 800MHz
• Celeron e.g. Celeron B810: base 650MHz, Turbo 950MHz
• Pentium e.g. Pentium B950: base 650MHz, Turbo 1100MHz

Furthermore, the slow CPU performance of some models may influence the games a lot. For example, although the GPU in the Celeron B710 differs not much from the Pentium B950, the gaming performance was clearly worse and many games were unplayable.

As the Intel HD Graphics 3000 and 2000, the processor graphics card is able to use part of the last level cache of the processor (2MB usually for the entry level CPUs). This could be seen as a small amount of very fast dedicated memory.

Altought 2x Antialiasing (AA) is supported, the chip is as fast as when rendering 4x AA. In the Unigine Valley benchmark a similar HD 3000 i7-2637M for example reached the same score with 2x AA and 4x AA.

The feature set compared to the HD Graphics 3000 is also reduced in these entry level CPUs. E.g. Intel Quick Sync (for de- and encoding of HD videos), In Tru 3D, Clear Video HD are usually deactivated.