19 ms·

I agree, laptops have moved to terrible intel GPUS and are much worse for it because intel conned oems into thinking it was a decent GPU. They brand them as "mu

I agree, laptops have moved to terrible intel GPUS and are much worse for it because intel conned oems into thinking it was a decent GPU. They brand them as "multimedia" which just means it can stream video up to its screen resolution at 110C

terminalcommand 9y ago
IMHO Intel GPU's are not that bad. If you're not gaming they handle most tasks such as image editing with Photoshop and driving multiple screens at high resolutions. And frankly, that's all a consumer really needs. Sure, an external dedicated GPU is nice to have, but being able to buy a decent processor (ie. Pentium G4560) with an integrated GPU for 50 dollars is really awesome, if you're on a tight budget. PS: I'm writing this on a laptop that has the very first Intel HD Graphics (1st gen i7). I don't have any problem with it, except gaming and a two monitor limit.
- dman 9y ago
  The quality of their opengl drivers has been really lacking.
  - amluto 9y ago
    Except on Linux, where they're excellent.
    - dman 9y ago
      I still havent gotten over Intels poulsbo fiasco on Linux. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTMyODA http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTMyODA .
      - scott_karana 9y ago
        Um... isn't that misstep exactly why they avoided it the next time around, by making the GPUs in-house, and having open specs and drivers from the very start? Seems like genuine efforts to mitigate.
- gshulegaard 9y ago
  This is also my opinion. I don't understand the vehemence for the integrated GPUs...I think they perform remarkably well. I am currently typing this from a bus on a Dell Alienware 13 r3 which has both an integrated Iris and a discrete Nvidia. TBH, I run my Ubuntu environment through the integrated graphics chip for the watt savings and because 90% of the stuff I do under Linux performs flawlessly on the integrated GPU. Of course I can switch to the Nvidia GPU using `prime-select` but besides running games or playing with CUDA I don't need the GTX 1060 day-to-day.
  - jackmott 9y ago
    they work fine when they are just rendering ubuntu's window manager yeah, but so would a cpu with avx2. That is a pretty low bar. those of us complaining are using them for gaming, or serious compute jobs.
    - gshulegaard 9y ago
      Like I allude to...I can swap cards at any time: $ sudo prime-select nvidia $ sudo logout But having the intel option to roughly double my battery life is really nice on a laptop that sees a fair bit of use as a portable.
    - EpicEng 9y ago
      >those of us complaining are using them for gaming, or serious compute jobs. Then... don't do that? Seriously, they're not intended for this. Are you also upset that your $50 Ryobi drill doesn't have enough torque to bolt together a 747?
  - Theodores 9y ago
    I never got that weird loop through Nvidia adapter working satisfactorily on Ubuntu so decided on Intel all the way on laptop GPUs - I am not building in 3D or playing games so nothing is missed. Would not mind knowing how it works on your Dell though, do you have to call things differently to use the Nvidia adapter? Bumblebee rings a bell.
    - 9y ago
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- squeaky-clean 9y ago
  > PS: I'm writing this on a laptop that has the very first Intel HD Graphics (1st gen i7). I don't have any problem with it, except gaming and a two monitor limit. Damn, and that's one of the ones I would consider pretty bad. They started getting decent around Sandy Bridge / HD 3000. Before then, most 3d applications would just fail to open from my experience.
- ksec 9y ago
  Using it for anything like Browsers GPU acceleration causes many oddballs problems. ( Actually Firefox will just blacklist those drivers / Hardware ) The newer Iris are actually acceptable, But we will have to wait and see in a few years time if they will continue to provide Drivers Support. Those IGP from Sandy to Haswell didn't get supported and GPU acceleration gets turned off. And if they dont intend it for gaming or any GPU usage ( Which is perfectly fine ), how about stop wasting silicon on GPU? After all the majority cost of developing GPU isn't even in the hardware, but the software and support of drivers.
mtgx 9y ago
I think the worst part about it is not necessarily that some lower-end/slimmer laptops have integrated Intel GPUs. That's fine, there's a market for it. The worst part is that Intel has coerced OEMs into buying their integrated GPUs even if they buy a dedicated GPU for their laptop. Imagine if ARM said that if you wanted its Cortex-A CPU, you had to use a Mali GPU, even if you also bought a PowerVR GPU to put in your device...That would be crazy, right? Then so is this. Intel has done quite a few anti-competitive things since it was last sued (and lost) in the EU for such behavior, almost a decade ago. I wonder why no government body seems willing to take on it anymore. Everyone's tired of doing the whole antitrust dance with Intel again?
- neogodless 9y ago
  Maybe I'm just a sucker for marketing, but the whole reason for the "Optimus Technology" was that you could effectively "turn off" the power hungry nVidia graphics when you weren't playing games. Yes, that means Intel is selling integrated graphics, but that silicon is useful for power savings. It doesn't seem like a bad thing.
  - rayuela 9y ago
    No, you are absolutely correct in pointing this distinction out. There is indeed a place in the market for this dual GPU setup. The Intel GPU provides for much better battery performance over the discrete graphics card and switching between the two can be very useful.
  - pkolaczk 9y ago
    Why is it such a problem to make discrete cards less power hungry instead of powering them down and switching to internal GPU?
    - neogodless 9y ago
      A simple metaphor would be like - why not make a Ford F350 get 35 mpg instead of owning a Fusion Hybrid for commuting during the week? Limits of physics and engineering. Will a reasonably powerful gaming card eventually draw the equivalent power of an integrated chip (when not gaming)? Probably. It seems like we're not there yet.

terminalcommand 9y ago

IMHO Intel GPU's are not that bad. If you're not gaming they handle most tasks such as image editing with Photoshop and driving multiple screens at high resolutions. And frankly, that's all a consumer really needs. Sure, an external dedicated GPU is nice to have, but being able to buy a decent processor (ie. Pentium G4560) with an integrated GPU for 50 dollars is really awesome, if you're on a tight budget. PS: I'm writing this on a laptop that has the very first Intel HD Graphics (1st gen i7). I don't have any problem with it, except gaming and a two monitor limit.

dman 9y ago
The quality of their opengl drivers has been really lacking.
- amluto 9y ago
  Except on Linux, where they're excellent.
  - dman 9y ago
    I still havent gotten over Intels poulsbo fiasco on Linux. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTMyODA http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTMyODA .
    - scott_karana 9y ago
      Um... isn't that misstep exactly why they avoided it the next time around, by making the GPUs in-house, and having open specs and drivers from the very start? Seems like genuine efforts to mitigate.
gshulegaard 9y ago
This is also my opinion. I don't understand the vehemence for the integrated GPUs...I think they perform remarkably well. I am currently typing this from a bus on a Dell Alienware 13 r3 which has both an integrated Iris and a discrete Nvidia. TBH, I run my Ubuntu environment through the integrated graphics chip for the watt savings and because 90% of the stuff I do under Linux performs flawlessly on the integrated GPU. Of course I can switch to the Nvidia GPU using `prime-select` but besides running games or playing with CUDA I don't need the GTX 1060 day-to-day.
- jackmott 9y ago
  they work fine when they are just rendering ubuntu's window manager yeah, but so would a cpu with avx2. That is a pretty low bar. those of us complaining are using them for gaming, or serious compute jobs.
  - gshulegaard 9y ago
    Like I allude to...I can swap cards at any time: $ sudo prime-select nvidia $ sudo logout But having the intel option to roughly double my battery life is really nice on a laptop that sees a fair bit of use as a portable.
  - EpicEng 9y ago
    >those of us complaining are using them for gaming, or serious compute jobs. Then... don't do that? Seriously, they're not intended for this. Are you also upset that your $50 Ryobi drill doesn't have enough torque to bolt together a 747?
- Theodores 9y ago
  I never got that weird loop through Nvidia adapter working satisfactorily on Ubuntu so decided on Intel all the way on laptop GPUs - I am not building in 3D or playing games so nothing is missed. Would not mind knowing how it works on your Dell though, do you have to call things differently to use the Nvidia adapter? Bumblebee rings a bell.
  - 9y ago
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
squeaky-clean 9y ago
> PS: I'm writing this on a laptop that has the very first Intel HD Graphics (1st gen i7). I don't have any problem with it, except gaming and a two monitor limit. Damn, and that's one of the ones I would consider pretty bad. They started getting decent around Sandy Bridge / HD 3000. Before then, most 3d applications would just fail to open from my experience.
ksec 9y ago
Using it for anything like Browsers GPU acceleration causes many oddballs problems. ( Actually Firefox will just blacklist those drivers / Hardware ) The newer Iris are actually acceptable, But we will have to wait and see in a few years time if they will continue to provide Drivers Support. Those IGP from Sandy to Haswell didn't get supported and GPU acceleration gets turned off. And if they dont intend it for gaming or any GPU usage ( Which is perfectly fine ), how about stop wasting silicon on GPU? After all the majority cost of developing GPU isn't even in the hardware, but the software and support of drivers.

mtgx 9y ago

I think the worst part about it is not necessarily that some lower-end/slimmer laptops have integrated Intel GPUs. That's fine, there's a market for it. The worst part is that Intel has coerced OEMs into buying their integrated GPUs even if they buy a dedicated GPU for their laptop. Imagine if ARM said that if you wanted its Cortex-A CPU, you had to use a Mali GPU, even if you also bought a PowerVR GPU to put in your device...That would be crazy, right? Then so is this. Intel has done quite a few anti-competitive things since it was last sued (and lost) in the EU for such behavior, almost a decade ago. I wonder why no government body seems willing to take on it anymore. Everyone's tired of doing the whole antitrust dance with Intel again?

neogodless 9y ago
Maybe I'm just a sucker for marketing, but the whole reason for the "Optimus Technology" was that you could effectively "turn off" the power hungry nVidia graphics when you weren't playing games. Yes, that means Intel is selling integrated graphics, but that silicon is useful for power savings. It doesn't seem like a bad thing.
- rayuela 9y ago
  No, you are absolutely correct in pointing this distinction out. There is indeed a place in the market for this dual GPU setup. The Intel GPU provides for much better battery performance over the discrete graphics card and switching between the two can be very useful.
- pkolaczk 9y ago
  Why is it such a problem to make discrete cards less power hungry instead of powering them down and switching to internal GPU?
  - neogodless 9y ago
    A simple metaphor would be like - why not make a Ford F350 get 35 mpg instead of owning a Fusion Hybrid for commuting during the week? Limits of physics and engineering. Will a reasonably powerful gaming card eventually draw the equivalent power of an integrated chip (when not gaming)? Probably. It seems like we're not there yet.