How to Choose The Best Laptop Graphics
How to Choose The Best Laptop Graphics: Buying a new laptop, but unsure how much graphics power you need? Let’s break down the best laptop graphics options for every situation, from basic integrated silicon to high end, dedicated gaming and workstation GPUs.
Ever think about the graphics silicon that powers your laptop? Possibly not if you’re not a gamer, a pro content creator, or a workstation user, you may never have given it a second thought.
That’s because word processing, web surfing, and email don’t make many demands on a laptop’s graphics processing unit (GPU). Most any modern graphics solution will suffice for those tasks. If you’re in the market for the best gaming laptop or content creation laptop, though, the muscle behind your machine’s visual performance is important. Indeed, it has a great bearing on what your laptop costs, too.
How to Choose The Best Laptop Graphics: This guide will take you through each tier of mobile GPU, gibing as
specific advice as we can, considering the variables of how laptop graphics are implemented. (Spoiler: It’s a little
complicated, and some of it comes down to the way a specific laptop maker builds a given machine.) We’ve also
plumbed the depths of our benchmak results (we’ve tested more than 200 laptops since 2021) and present to you
some average (as well as some anecdotal) test results to put some real world numbers to how laptop GPUs compare.
You’ll come away better armed to pinpoint the GPU that’s best for you, enabling you to look for the best laptops that silicon. From there, you can research how each machine performs, graphically, in specific scenarios such as PC gaming, video transacting, or image editing with Adobe Photoshop. (See more about how we test laptops for these and other aspects of our testing regimen.)
The Basics: Laptop GPUs 101
How to Choose The Best Laptop Graphics: Everything you’re seeing on your computer screen right now was put
there by your computer’s graphics processing unit. The GPU is as central to your PC’s operation as any other
component; in fact, your computer can’t work without it.
You’ll see two broad classes of chips in the world of GPUs for laptops: integrated and discrete. Most laptops use
an integrated graphics processor main processor. IGPs help keep costs, complexity, size, and power draw to a
minimum, and they share some of the computer’s main system memory for graphics duties.
By contrast, a dedicated or discrete GPU (known usually as just the “GPU) is its own, separate internal laptop component, with its own memory and power circuitry. It’s higher performance chip for tasks that require enhanced 3D performance such as gaming, computer aided design (CAD), and digital content creation. Discrete GPUs are particularly useful for photo photo and video editing with software that supports GPU are particularly useful for photo and video editing with software that supports GPU acceleration, and they are, of course, the staple silicon that powers PC gaming.
The principles above apply to desktop graphics cards as well as laptop GPUs. Dedicated GPUs in desktops take the form of a graphics card installed in a PCI Express slot on the motherboard. Desktop graphics card designs also let you swap in a newer or faster one years down the road. Laptop GPUs, in contrast, are practically always impossible to replace or upgrade, as they’re soldered to the motherboard, incorporated on modules that are not readily available to end users, or are part and parcel of the CPU dia. In short, you’re married to whichever GPU comes in your laptop. (The modular Framework Laptop brand is challenging this convention, but it’s early days for this startup.)
Indeed int the laptop world, sometimes two GPUs with the same name may perform the same in different laptops! That’s because that same chip may be configured to operate at different clock speeds or have to work under different thermal constraints, depending on how it’s implemented. As a result, you’re largely reliant on independent testing for precise measures of how a given GPU performs.
That said, a big predictor of GPU performance in the laptop world is the chip’s power rating , or how much current it draws under peak operation. The problem is, chip makers AMD and Nvidia (the two primary makers of discrete GPUs in laptops) measure and express this number differently, so it’s not strictly comparable across the two brands. But you can consider their rating roughly equivalent for quick comparisons. (See our feature on Nvidia’s laptop GPU power ratings.)
How to Choose The Best Laptop Graphics: Power rating are the most meaningful, though, when you are comparing two implementations of the same GPU in different laptops. Most discrete graphic chips can be implemented by the laptop maker will designate the power level according to the laptop’s design might be able to accommodate a higher level than thinner design that emphasizes portability.
Now, let’s get into the meat of this guide. we’ll go through today’s integrated, gaming, and workstation graphics and workstation graphics and the different tiers within each to help you situate the graphics solution you may be looking at in a given laptop or to help you target a laptop with the level of graphics power that you need. Here’s a preview of those six tiers:
- TIER ONE: Laptops with IGPs only (ultra portables and most 2-in-1 laptops)
- TIER TWO: Laptops with entry level discrete GPUs (budget gaming and content creation laptops at 1080p)
- TIER THREE: Laptops with mid range or mainstream discrete GPUs (for mainstream gaming at 1080p to 1440p)
- TIER FOUR: Laptops with performance grade discrete GPUs (for gaming and content creation at 1440p to 1600p)
- TIER FIVE: Laptops with high end discrete GPUs (for gaming up to 1600p and content creation at up to 4K)
- TIER SIX: Laptops with workstation dicrete GPUs (content creation other GPU bound work up to 4K)
TIER ONE: Laptop Integrated Graphics
- Dedicated VRAM: None
- Gaming performance: Low to medium settings at 720p resolution (1080p possibly with Intel Arc)
- Approximate budget range: Business and general use laptops, from the cheapest up to $2,000
- Laptop screen size: 16 inches and smaller
How to Choose The Best Laptop Graphics: Starting with the lowest rung on the ladder, integrated graphics are best for everyday users with little to no 3D demands. Though we’ve seen significant performance gains with IGPs over the past few years, gamer looking to play today’s latest titles still won’t get far with an IGP, at least not to the point where we’d recommend one for your main gaming platform.
We’ve performed extensive benchmark tests on laptop integrated graphics, playing modern and legacy game titles on AMD’s and Intel’s most popular IGP’s. Basically, they can run some of today’s games but not all, and usually not anything better than low or medium visual quality setting at relatively low resolution (typically 720p rather than 1080p or full HD).
ADM Radeon Graphics
Radeon Graphics is the brand of integrated graphics built into most AMD mobile processors, and it is not to be confused with AMD’s Radeon RX disscrete graphics chips. Not all Radeon Graphics implementations are equal; some Ryzen CPUs have peppier Radeon Graphics than others. Their performance is generally comparable with that of Intel’s current Iris IGP solutions.
Intel Arc Graphics
How to Choose The Best Laptop Graphics: Not to be confused with Intel’s name for its discrete desktop GPUs,
Arc in laptops makes use of the same underlying technology driving those products. It has been shrunken down
further and applied to the chip maker’s latest IGP, found exclusively so far in its Core Ultra processor line. While
it’s early days for this new IGP, our first tests have been promising, showing a marked improvement to the pound
of rivaling the lowest end dedicated mobile GPUs.
Note: The integrated Arc graphics on Intel’s Core Ultra chips are not to be confused with Intel discrete Arc graphics
chips for laptops, which debuted in 2023. They haven’t gotten a load of traction, but Intel did issue a series of discrete
Arc A-series chips, along the same lines as its debut desktop GPUs, which appeared in a few configurations of well
known machines like the HP Spectre X 360 and MSI Modern.
Intel Iris Xe Graphics
How to Choose The Best Laptop Graphics: Found in recent and current Intel Core processors, this integrated
graphics solution is basically on par with AMD’s Radeon Graphics integrated silicon. This is the most common
IGP you’ll see in modern laptops, a staple in most mainstream business and consumer machines not meant for
gaming or workstation use.
Intel UHD Graphics
This more basic integrated graphics solution is part of some older and economy model Intel CPUs. It’s generally
unsuitable for modern gaming and should be looked at as a “display-only” solution.
Qualcomm Adreno 690
This solution is only found with the few laptops based on ARM processors. Out Lenovo Think pad x 13s Gen
1 review showed its performance to be somewhere between Intel’s Graphics and Iris Xe solutions.
AMD vs. Intel: Integrated Laptop GPU Graphics Results Compared
How to Choose The Best Laptop Graphics: Since 2021, we’ve tested many, many dozens of laptops with IGPs
for synthetic graphics performance. The below chart collects and averages test results across all the laptops we
have benchmarked based on Intel Core i5 and i7 CPUs (11th to 13th Generation) as well as AMD Ryzen 5 and
7 chips (from the 5000 to 7000 series). It shows how Intel’s IGPs have compared in our tests to AMD’s on average.
These results above show that Intel’s Xe Graphics have historically outperformed AMD’s integrated Radeon Graphics,
but AMD’s solutions have almost always been better than Intel UHD Graphics. While it’s important to remember our collections of tests don’t necessarily mean 100% brand representation, the trend is a helpful shorthend barometer for
whether a given laptop is ready for IGP level tasks like media streaming and light gaming.
For more detail on these matchups, we’ve tested several games on laptops with these IGPs as well.
What Are Laptop Discrete Graphics?
How to Choose The Best Laptop Graphics: Now we’ll get into gaming specific and workstation minded laptop
GPUs. We’ll organize this section by the tiers mentioned above, from entry level to high end.
AMD and Nvidia dominate laptop dedicated graphics with their Radeon RX and Nvidia RTX chips, respectively.
(If you see a GeForce GTX chip, that’s a laptop older than the last several generations.) Intel is a minor player here;
it hasn’t made much headway yet with its mobile versions of its Arc dedicated GPUs.
As far as those specifications go, higher processor core counts (AMD calls them “Compute Units” and Nvidia,
CUDA cores”) and higher clock speeds equate to better performance. We can’t stress enough, however, the role
that the GPU’s power rating plays in overall graphics performance when you’re looking at two laptops with the
same ostensible discrete GPU inside.
TIER TWO: Entry-Level Discrete Laptop Graphics
- Dedicated VRAM: 2GB to 6GB (typically 4GB)
- Gaming performance: Medium to high setting, 1080p; expect 100fps or more in minimally demanding esports games
- Approximate budget range: Laptops under $1.100
- Laptop screen size: 16 inches and smaller
How to Choose The Best Laptop Graphics: The bread and butter of the laptop graphics market, entry level discrete GPUs let you play any modern game, though usually not at peak visual quality settings. Expect to stick to 720p or 1080p resolution, and medium to medium high image quality settings.
The limited video memory that accompanies these chips means you might have to compromise
on texture settings. Try to avoid GPUs with only 2GB of dedicated display memory; 4GB of VRAM is typical for this tier, though we’ve starting to see newer discrete chips like Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4050 equipped 6GB.
Conclusion
How to Choose The Best Laptop Graphics: It’s at this range that we begin to see more of a mix and hints of more AMD representation. However, it’s also when we begin to see Nvidia overtake the field with far more tested units behind these numbers, not to mention just overall better performance.
