Intel improves the performance of its integrated graphics by 15%

Intel's team of open source drivers has managed to improve the performance of their iGPUs by 15% and increase performance per watt by 43% at the same time.

Intel achieves open source graphics drivers that improve 15% performance

Intel had previously promised to turn its attention to open source drivers for Linux and it appears it is delivering drivers that improve the performance of its iGPUs, especially with Ice Lake chips.

In a single patch, Intel developers were able to improve performance per watt by 43% (which is a very significant gain), while increasing absolute performance by 15%. The patch was tested on an Ice Lake iGPU, but it should be valid for almost all modern Intel iGPUs.

That said, we could experience a different level of performance improvement based on the iGPU we're using - in this case, the improvement was tested with an Ice Lake chip on a Razer Blade Stealth 13 laptop. Therefore, those who play Linux with their Intel-powered laptop should experience a good performance boost.

Intel is preparing its Tiger Lake graphics for launch soon and this would give the performance of a PS4. Linux support for TGL will be very essential if the company wants to establish a lasting footprint in the market.

Visit our guide on the best graphics cards on the market

Intel's Tiger Lake-U processors will have a DG1 iGPU with 96 EUs each. If the ratio of EUs to SPs (or whatever you want to call them) remains the same, we are seeing approximately 768 cores. With a frequency of 1.2 GHz, these cores will be able to produce 1.84 calculation TFLOPs. Interestingly, this is exactly the same level of graphics power that Sony's original Playstation 4 had.

Intel is paving the way for a big leap when it comes to integrated graphics, something AMD has done very well with its Ryzen APUs. We will keep you informed.

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