Graphics performance comparison: intel ice lake gen 11 (15w vs 25w)

The integrated GPUs of the Intel Ice Lake processors will be available in 25W and 15W variants, the first offering more performance at the cost of higher consumption.

25W Ice Lake GPU offers 40% more performance

The configurable 15W TDP is what will likely end up in very thin ultrabooks, while the 25W option will end up in more powerful laptops. The first comparative test between both configurations could be seen today with a single game : CS: GO.

If we can extrapolate the results of this single game, then the performance difference between the two is 40% in favor of the 25W variant. The tests were run at 1080p resolution and the game ran smoothly in both cases. Here is the average fps that were seen in the session (both frames are the same):

As you can see, in the 15W mode, the Ice Lake GPU is capable of producing a constant flow of fps hovering around 67-69, while when using the 25W mode, it instantly jumps to stabilize around 97-100 fps. It was a static scene in which the game was stopped, so any variation is likely to be the result of dynamic GPU timing based on ambient temperature and air flow. Overall, this is pretty good performance for an integrated GPU.

Visit our guide on the best graphics cards on the market

Considering that the Ice Lake GPU supports adaptive sync, the low frame rates are going to look a lot smoother now. This will start a new era of notebooks with higher performance than what we have today, especially at the level of graphic performance.

The company is already shipping 10nm Ice Lake processors right now and they should be on the shelves as soon as partners can integrate them into their laptops.

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