GPU Comparison

The Intel HD Graphics P4600 and NVIDIA GeForce 820A are both end-of-life mobile and embedded graphics solutions, but they represent fundamentally different design philosophies. The data shows the Intel part, based on the Haswell GT2 chip, edges out the NVIDIA Fermi 2.0 part in the single available benchmark, yet the two GPUs achieve their scores through vastly different hardware configurations. This analysis breaks down the head-to-head results, architectural differences, and the specific use cases where each component holds an advantage.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it results in a clear, albeit narrow, victory for the Intel HD Graphics P4600. The Intel GPU scores 3389, while the NVIDIA GeForce 820A trails at 2983, giving the Intel part a 13.6% lead in this specific workload. This is a significant margin for integrated graphics, and it positions the P4600 ahead of the GeForce 820A in raw compute throughput as measured by this benchmark.

Looking at the broader competitive landscape, the Intel HD Graphics P4600’s score of 3389 places it within a tightly packed group of rivals. It sits just 1.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GT 740 (3431) and 1.3% behind the NVIDIA Quadro 2000M (3434). In the other direction, it holds a 1.7% advantage over the Intel HD Graphics 530 (3332) and a 2.2% edge over the NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M (3316). These deltas are all within a narrow band, indicating that the P4600 performs at a level consistent with entry-level discrete GPUs from its era, while slightly outpacing its immediate competition.

The NVIDIA GeForce 820A’s score of 2983, by contrast, places it in a different competitive tier. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M, which scores 2967, meaning the 820A is 0.5% faster. The 820A also leads the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti (2953) by 1%, the NVIDIA Quadro P600 (2923) by 2.1%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB (2913) by 2.4%. These results are striking because the 820A, a low-power Fermi chip, manages to outperform much more modern and ostensibly powerful GPUs in this specific OpenCL test, though the margins are small.

The overall win tally is 1-0 in favor of the Intel HD Graphics P4600. In terms of percentile ranking against all GPUs, the Intel part sits at the 20th percentile, while the NVIDIA part is just below at the 19th percentile. This confirms that despite the Intel part’s benchmark win, both GPUs are positioned in the lower echelon of graphics performance, suitable for basic tasks rather than demanding gaming or professional workloads.

The Verdict

The data presents a straightforward verdict for these two legacy parts. For users prioritizing raw compute performance in OpenCL-based applications, the Intel HD Graphics P4600 is the clear pick. Its 13.6% advantage over the GeForce 820A in the Geekbench OpenCL test is the decisive factor, and its higher FP32 throughput of 384.0 GFLOPS, compared to the 820A’s 240.0 GFLOPS, supports this result. The P4600 also offers superior texture fill rates, with 24.00 GTexel/s versus the 820A’s 10.00 GTexel/s, making it better suited for workloads that depend on texture sampling.

However, the NVIDIA GeForce 820A should not be dismissed outright. Its 15 W TDP is drastically lower than the Intel part’s 84 W TDP, making it a far more power-efficient solution for portable devices. The 820A also has a higher pixel rate at 2.500 GPixel/s versus 2.400 GPixel/s, and it supports a dedicated 1024 MB of DDR3 memory with a 16.02 GB/s bandwidth, whereas the Intel part relies on system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth. For scenarios where power draw and dedicated memory are more critical than raw compute, the 820A holds a distinct advantage.

The final choice hinges on the user’s priorities. If the goal is maximum OpenCL performance and texture throughput, the Intel HD Graphics P4600 wins. If the goal is minimal power consumption and a dedicated memory pool, the NVIDIA GeForce 820A is the better option. Neither GPU is a strong performer by modern standards, as both sit near the bottom of the percentile rankings.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel HD Graphics P4600 wins in compute-heavy scenarios. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 3389 is 13.6% higher than the 820A’s 2983, and its FP32 performance of 384.0 GFLOPS far exceeds the 820A’s 240.0 GFLOPS. This makes the P4600 better suited for general-purpose GPU computing tasks, such as video encoding, image processing, and any application that leverages OpenCL for acceleration. Its texture rate of 24.00 GTexel/s is more than double the 820A’s 10.00 GTexel/s, giving it a significant advantage in tasks that involve heavy texture mapping. The P4600 also offers a higher base clock of 350 MHz and a boost clock of 1200 MHz, while the 820A’s clocks are not specified.

The NVIDIA GeForce 820A wins in efficiency and memory configuration. Its 15 W TDP is a fraction of the P4600’s 84 W, making it the obvious choice for thermally constrained devices like thin-and-light laptops. The 820A’s dedicated 1024 MB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus provides 16.02 GB/s of bandwidth, which is not only fixed but also separate from the system’s main memory. This is a critical advantage over the P4600’s system-shared memory, which shares bandwidth with the CPU and can lead to performance bottlenecks. The 820A also has a higher pixel rate of 2.500 GPixel/s and a more robust set of display outputs that are portable-device dependent. Additionally, the 820A supports OpenGL 4.6, a newer version than the P4600’s OpenGL 4.3, which may matter for certain legacy applications.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher benchmark score in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The Intel HD Graphics P4600 scores 3389, which is 13.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 820A’s score of 2983.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in terms of power consumption?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 820A has a TDP of 15 W, whereas the Intel HD Graphics P4600 has a TDP of 84 W. This makes the 820A significantly more power-efficient.

Q: What are the memory configurations for each GPU?

A: The Intel HD Graphics P4600 uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce 820A has 1024 MB of dedicated DDR3 memory with a 64-bit bus and a fixed bandwidth of 16.02 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 820A has a pixel rate of 2.500 GPixel/s, which is slightly higher than the Intel HD Graphics P4600’s 2.400 GPixel/s.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each GPU among all GPUs?

A: The Intel HD Graphics P4600 is at the 20th percentile, while the NVIDIA GeForce 820A is at the 19th percentile.

Q: Which GPU offers a newer OpenGL version?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 820A supports OpenGL 4.6, which is newer than the OpenGL 4.3 supported by the Intel HD Graphics P4600.

Architecture Differences

The Intel HD Graphics P4600 is built on Intel’s 22 nm process node and uses the Haswell GT2 chip, which falls under Intel’s Generation 7.5 architecture. It features 160 shading units, 20 texture mapping units (TMUs), and only 2 raster output units (ROPs). The GPU operates with a base clock of 350 MHz and a boost clock of 1200 MHz. Its memory interface is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM, and it connects via a Ring Bus. The P4600 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.3, and Vulkan 1.0. It is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a slot width of IGP, and its display outputs are motherboard-dependent.

The NVIDIA GeForce 820A is fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process and uses the GF117 chip, which is based on the Fermi 2.0 architecture. It contains 585 million transistors on a 116 mm² die, with a transistor density of 5.0M / mm². The 820A has 96 shading units, 16 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, which is a higher ROP count than the Intel part. Its memory is configured as 1024 MB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 16.02 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is listed as 1001 MHz, with 2 Gbps effective speed. The 820A supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but it has no Vulkan support. It connects via PCIe 2.0 x16 and has no power connectors, reflecting its low 15 W TDP. Its display outputs are portable-device dependent. The 820A is part of the GeForce 800A generation, succeeding the GeForce 700A and preceding the GeForce 900A.

The most notable architectural differences are the process nodes, with Intel using 22 nm and NVIDIA using 28 nm, and the memory strategy. The Intel part’s system-shared memory is flexible but bottleneck-prone, while the NVIDIA part’s dedicated DDR3 provides consistent, albeit modest, bandwidth. The compute units also differ significantly: the Intel part has more shading units (160 vs. 96) and TMUs (20 vs. 16), but the NVIDIA part has more ROPs (8 vs. 2). These numbers explain the benchmark results, as the Intel part’s higher shading unit count and texture rate contribute to its superior OpenCL score, while the NVIDIA part’s higher ROP count and pixel rate give it a slight edge in pixel processing. The 820A also has a lower TDP by a wide margin, making it a better fit for battery-powered devices, despite its older Fermi architecture.