<p>Which among Intel's integrated GPUs depart from their predecessors in a major way? Which are merely incremental improvements?</p>

<p><strong>BACKGROUND</strong></p>

<p>Intel integrates GPUs with many of the processors they sell. With each generation of processors (Ivy Bridge, Haswell, Broadwell, Skylake, Kaby Lake, etc.), Intel updates the graphics architecture. Much is written in the popular press regarding each of these: does your favorite video game make only 98 frames per second on the latest, or does it achieve a previously unheard-of 99? Bar charts are published, and so on.</p>

<p>None of the articles, or practically none, seems to grasp the underlying technology. I would be interested to learn whether Ivy Bridge, Haswell, Broadwell, Sklyake, Kaby Lake, and so on, are each merely incremental improvements in the same, basic graphics architecture, or whether, say, Broadwell (or Kaby Lake, or whatever) was an entirely new design.</p>

<p>I would likewise be interested to learn if one generation had been upgraded over the previous in a way which made OpenCL-type usage much more practical or capable.</p>

<p>Apparently, Broadwell was the first capable of Vulkan, but I do not know whether this capability represents a fundamental architectural change or if it's just a driver issue.</p>

<p>Most of the popular press seems pretty clueless at this technical level. Can you shed any light?</p>

<gpu>
The generations of Intel's integrated graphics
thb
# The generations of Intel's integrated graphics

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-15)

Which among Intel's integrated GPUs depart from their predecessors in a major way? Which are merely incremental improvements?

**BACKGROUND**

Intel integrates GPUs with many of the processors they sell. With each generation of processors (Ivy Bridge, Haswell, Broadwell, Skylake, Kaby Lake, etc.), Intel updates the graphics architecture. Much is written in the popular press regarding each of these: does your favorite video game make only 98 frames per second on the latest, or does it achieve a previously unheard-of 99? Bar charts are published, and so on.

None of the articles, or practically none, seems to grasp the underlying technology. I would be interested to learn whether Ivy Bridge, Haswell, Broadwell, Sklyake, Kaby Lake, and so on, are each merely incremental improvements in the same, basic graphics architecture, or whether, say, Broadwell (or Kaby Lake, or whatever) was an entirely new design.

I would likewise be interested to learn if one generation had been upgraded over the previous in a way which made OpenCL-type usage much more practical or capable.

Apparently, Broadwell was the first capable of Vulkan, but I do not know whether this capability represents a fundamental architectural change or if it's just a driver issue.

Most of the popular press seems pretty clueless at this technical level. Can you shed any light?

**Tags:** gpu

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## 0 answers

