Obviously, whoever buys a laptop that does not have dedicated graphics does not do so with the intention of playing games, but that does not mean that, from time to time, anyone wants to play their favorite game from time to time. Since computers laptops without GPU Dedicated tend to move in a similar price range with Intel or AMD CPUs, if this is your case then the choice may depend on their performance in games, so let’s get into the matter.
IGPU performance on Intel and AMD laptops
| Intel UIHD Graphics 630 | AMD Radeon 7 Graphics | |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency | 0.35 GHz | 1.6 GHz |
| Turbo frequency | 1.2 GHz | – |
| Generation | 9.5 | 9 |
| Lithography | 14 nm | 7 nm |
| Max video outputs | 3 | 3 |
| Execution units | 24 | 7 |
| Shader | 192 | 448 |
| Max. GPU memory | 64 GB | 2 GB |
| DirectX version | 12 | 12 |
| TDP (set) | PL1: 45W TDP Down: 35W |
PL1: 45W TDP Up: 54W TDP Down: 35W |
| Maximum temperature (Tjunction) | 100ºC | 105ºC |
It really is somewhat complicated to be able to make a general comparison of the Intel and AMD iGPUs, since both have a large number of different models and with different price and performance ranges. So, the best way to do it is to compare the iGPU that integrates two top-selling laptop models and with the same price, so that it is as reliable as possible.
However, we must also take into account that different specifications in other hardware components of the laptop can also influence the price, and quite a bit moreover, so we will try to compare two models that are the same for all intents and purposes and whose main difference it is merely the processor that they integrate, one from Intel and the other from AMD.
For this reason, we have selected a CPU Core i7-10875H on the Intel side and a Ryzen 7 4800H by AMD, two processors that are incorporated into almost all high-end laptops (even if they integrate dedicated GPUs) from both manufacturers. Let’s start by seeing what each of them offers in terms of iGPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630 vs AMD Radeon Vega 7 Graphics.
We are, as you can see, before two quite different iGPUs, both in their lithography and in their resource management and, therefore, they should give us quite different data in terms of performance. In fact, in terms of raw power in simple precision calculations, they give us very, very disparate performance figures, where the integrated graphics of AMD processors wins by a landslide, delivering more than three times the performance of Intel’s.
However, we cannot take the raw power in FP32 calculations as an absolute data to know if the general performance of the iGPU is better or worse, although it is true that it gives us a fairly approximate idea of what we can expect. We are now going to see a series of more specific benchmarks that will help us to get an idea of what to expect from these Intel and AMD laptops with iGPUs in games.
3DMark Cloud Gate GPU
Cloud Gate is an already somewhat outdated benchmark, but it is still used for fairly basic PCs as is the case since we are not using a dedicated GPU, since it has the particularity of running only in 720p resolution. In any case, AMD’s iGPU is ahead of Intel’s, getting more than double the performance, and that already gives us a good indication.
3DMark Fire Strike
Despite the fact that Fire Strike is one of the most used benchmarks currently for GPUs, it still uses the DirectX 11 graphics API. In this case it runs at Full HD resolution and the result is quite interesting because it will show us precisely what we can expect games that we run on a laptop with iGPU (not too demanding graphics, with DirectX 11 and 1080p resolution). Here AMD once again double (and almost triple) the performance of Intel.
3DMark 11
This benchmark is also obsolete to this day, but we once again insist on the fact that it provides us with a good sample of what to expect, since whoever runs games on a laptop without dedicated graphics cannot aspire to play triple A titles but rather more. well to somewhat older games. In 3DMark 11, AMD almost triples Intel in the result.
Unigine Heaven Benchmark 3.0
This benchmark, which uses the 3D Unigine game engine, does give us a fairly accurate performance data if we extrapolate it to games. Here AMD is not so far ahead of the Intel iGPU, but it still gets a good 16 FPS on average.
Global performance of Intel and AMD iGPUs
Combining all the benchmark results obtained in the benchmarks, we have that the iGPU that AMD incorporates in its non-gaming laptops has a subjective score 238% higher than that of Intel, so we can literally expect around three times the performance using a integrated graphics from AMD compared to one from Intel.
So is it better to buy an AMD laptop than an Intel one?
Not necessarily. At the end of the day, whoever wants to buy a laptop to play games will always opt for a model that has a dedicated graphics card, since this is what will allow them to run games with ease. Whoever buys a laptop without a dedicated GPU does not do so with the intention of playing on it, although as we said at the beginning that does not mean that they cannot want to play a game of hundred in the wind, but obviously the laptop is not designed for it by very relatively powerful that is its iGPU, be it from Intel or AMD.
If in your case you want buy a laptop without dedicated graphics but you want to play with it, you will be making a mistake, but even so in this case it will be more convenient to choose an AMD option, although it is true that as we have said before you cannot aspire to run triple A games, and not even play with the graphics settings on high. At best, the graphics built into current laptops will allow you to play at 1080p resolution with the graphics to a minimum and, hopefully, at 30 FPS, so this is definitely not recommended.
