Intel HD Graphics 5600 vs Intel HD Graphics 2500 vs Intel HD Graphics (Broadwell)

Intel HD Graphics 5600

The Intel HD Graphics 5600 (GT2) is an integrated graphics card of the Broadwell generation. It can be found in standard voltage CPUs (47 W) and offers 24 EUs (Execution Units). The clock range may depend on the model it is built into (Core i7-5700HQ: max. 1050 MHz with Turbo Boost).

Architecture and Features

Broadwell features a GPU based on the Intel Gen8 architecture, which has been optimized in various aspects compared to the previous Gen7.5 (Haswell). Inter alia, the shader arrays called "subslice" have been reorganized and now offer 8 Execution Units (EUs) each. Three subslices form a "slice" for a total of 24 EUs. Combined with other improvements such as larger L1 caches and an optimized frontend, the integrated GPU has become faster and more efficient than its predecessor.

The HD Graphics 5600 represents the mid-range version of the Broadwell GPU family and consists of one slice with 24 EUs. Beyond that, there is also a low-end variant (GT1, 12 EUs) as well as higher-end models (GT3/GT3e + eDRAM, 48 EUs).

All Broadwell GPUs support OpenCL 2.0 and DirectX 12 (FL 11_1). The video engine is now able to decode H.265 using both fixed function hardware as well as available GPU shaders. Up to three displays can be connected via DP 1.2/eDP 1.3 (max. 3840 x 2160 @ 60 Hz) or HDMI 1.4a (max. 3840 x 2160 @ 24 Hz). HDMI 2.0, however, is not supported.

Performance

Thanks to its improved architecture and the additional EUs, the HD Graphics 5600 is about 20 percent faster than the Haswell-based HD 4600 (20 EUs), but still somewhat slower than dedicated low-end GPUs like a GeForce 920M or Radeon R7 M360. Most games as of 2014/2015 will be playable only in low settings (and sometimes not even that).

Power Consumption

The whole Broadwell chip is specified at 47 W TDP (i7-5700HQ) and therefore best suited for notebooks 14-inches in size and above. We tested the power consumption of the GPU with HWInfo sensors in a Core i7-5600HQ (MSI GP62). Idle on the Windows desktop the HD 5600 needed on average 0.04 Watt. Running World of Warships in high details, 9.6 Watt were used by the graphics card (whole CPU needed 41 Watt). In comparison, when we activated the dedicated GeForce 940M, the GPU part needed 0.4 Watt and the whole CPU 29 Watt.

Intel HD Graphics 2500

The Intel HD Graphics 2500 (or Ivy Bridge GT1) is an integrated graphics card in the Ivy Bridge codenamed desktop processors. It is the successor the the Intel HD Graphics 2000 in the Sandy Bridge CPUs and performs between the old HD 2000 and 3000 GPU (see benchmarks below). Usually it is used in the cheaper desktop Ivy bridge CPUs. The mobile version is simply called Intel HD Graphics and integrated in the Pentium and Celeron line.

Compared to the faster HD Graphics 4000, the 2500 one features less Execution Units (6 versus 16) and only one texture sampler. Therefore, the performance is clearly worse and only suited for low demanding gaming. Intel states a 10 to 15% higher performance compared to the old Sandy Bridge based HD Graphics 2000. Therefore, only older casual games with low requirements are playable with the HD 2500.

A speciality of the Ivy Bridge GPUs is that 4x MSAA is supported in hardware now. However, 2x is only supported through software.  The algorithm to support 2x is going through the 4x pipeline with a software algorithm, so performance is similar to 4x MSAA.

The integrated video decoder called Multi Format Codec Engine (MFX) was also improved and should allow even simultaneus 4K video decoding. DXVAChecker lists MPEG2, VC1, WMV9, and H264 as supported codecs. QuickSync for fast transcoding of videos was also optimized for higher performance and better image quality.

Another new feature is the support for up to 3 independent displays as AMD offers with theirs Eyefinity support (up to 6 displays).

Due to the 22nm 3D Tri-Gate production process, the power consumption is relatively low (the development was focused on performance per Watt). 

Intel HD Graphics (Broadwell)

The Intel HD Graphics (Broadwell) (GT1) is an integrated Broadwell graphics card revealed in Q1 2015. It can be found in several low-end CPUs such as the Pentium 3805U or Celeron 3755U. The so-called GT1 GPU offers 12 EUs (Execution Units) and therefore somewhat more shader power than the previous HD Graphics (Haswell). The clock range may depend on the specific model it is built into.

Architecture and Features

Broadwell features a GPU based on the Intel Gen8 architecture, which has been optimized in various aspects compared to the previous Gen7.5 (Haswell). In case of the GT1 version, the shader arrays called "subslice" have been reorganized and now offer 6 Execution Units (EUs) each. Two subslices form a "slice" for a total of 12 EUs. Combined with other improvements such as larger L1 caches and an optimized frontend, the integrated GPU has become faster and more efficient than its predecessor.

The HD Graphics (Broadwell) represents the low-end version of the Broadwell GPU family and consists of one slice with 12 EUs. Beyond that, there is also a mid-range variant (GT2, 24 EUs) as well as higher-end models (GT3/GT3e + eDRAM, 48 EUs).

All Broadwell GPUs support OpenCL 2.0 and DirectX 12 (FL 11_1). The video engine can now decode H.265 using both fixed function hardware as well as available GPU shaders. Up to three displays can be connected via DP 1.2/eDP 1.3 (max. 3840 x 2160 @ 60 Hz) or HDMI 1.4a (max. 3840 x 2160 @ 24 Hz). HDMI 2.0, however, is not supported.

Performance

Even though the HD Graphics (Broadwell) is clocked a bit lower, the performance should be clearly above the HD Graphics (Haswell) and similar to the HD Graphics 4000. Nevertheless, only a few games as of 2014/2015 will run fluently at (very) low settings, e.g. Dota 2 or Sims 4.

Power Consumption

Utilizing a new 14 nm process, the HD Graphics (Broadwell) can be found in ULV models (15 W) as well as regular dual core CPUs (37 W, not yet presented). The TDP is flexible and can be further reduced, which has a significant impact on performance.