Intel UHD Graphics 32EU (Alder Lake-HX)

Intel UHD Graphics 32EU (Alder Lake-HX)
Intel UHD Graphics 32EU (Alder Lake-HX) graphics card review

Intel UHD Graphics 32EU (Alder Lake-HX): Tests and Performance

Intel UHD Graphics 32EU is used in certain mobile processors of the Alder Lake-HX series. Despite being adjacent to the powerful Core i7 and Core i9, this is a simple integrated GPU (iGPU) designed for desktop use, video playback, and tasks that do not require a discrete graphics card. In gaming and heavy graphical tasks, HX laptops typically utilize a dedicated GPU.

The GPU is built on the Xe-LP architecture and contains 32 execution units. The frequency depends on the processor, and instead of dedicated video memory, it uses the laptop's system RAM.

Geekbench 6 OpenCL in Specific Laptops

Even the same version with 32 EU shows different results in different laptops. The result is influenced by the iGPU’s frequency, memory configuration, drivers, and system settings.

Device Processor RAM Geekbench 6 OpenCL
Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9E Core i7-12650HX 16 GB DDR5 6,926
Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 1 Core i9-12950HX 64 GB DDR5 7,591
Dell Precision 7670 Core i9-12950HX 32 GB DDR5 7,946

The difference between the minimum and maximum results is about 15%. Therefore, the result from one laptop cannot be extrapolated to all systems with UHD Graphics 32EU.

According to CPUTronic, this graphics chip scores 755 points in 3DMark Time Spy. This is a low score even for integrated graphics of this generation.

Gaming and Everyday Tasks

The Windows desktop, web browsing, office applications, and video playback do not put significant strain on the UHD Graphics 32EU.

The GPU supports hardware video decoding and Intel Quick Sync, so it can be used for video playback and processing without a discrete graphics card.

Modern demanding games at 1080p are too heavy for this iGPU. Older and less demanding games can run at low settings, but it is not advisable to choose an HX laptop solely for the integrated graphics.

Why Alder Lake-HX Uses a Simple iGPU

Alder Lake-HX is primarily focused on high CPU performance, which is why the integrated graphics here are relatively simple.

Gaming laptops and mobile workstations on Alder Lake-HX are typically equipped with a discrete graphics card. The UHD Graphics can handle system interface and video playback, while gaming, 3D rendering, and other heavy graphical tasks are performed on a dedicated GPU.

Impact of RAM

UHD Graphics 32EU utilizes the laptop's system RAM, meaning its bandwidth affects the iGPU's performance. Dual-channel mode provides greater bandwidth than single-channel, but even fast DDR5 does not compensate for the limited number of execution units.

Conclusion

Intel UHD Graphics 32EU (Alder Lake-HX) is a simple iGPU found in high-performance mobile processors of the 12th generation Core HX. It is suitable for system interface, video playback, and office applications but is too slow for modern demanding games.

When choosing a laptop with a Core i7 or Core i9 HX, it is more important to look at the discrete graphics card. For light tasks, the system can utilize UHD Graphics without activating a separate GPU.

GPU Comparison

Compare UHD Graphics 32EU (Alder Lake-HX) with other GPUs

Please select GPU from the dropdown list.

Basic

Label Name
Intel
Platform
Integrated
Launch Date
May 2022
Former Codename
Alder Lake-HX GT1
GPU Lithography
Intel 7
Model Name
Intel UHD Graphics 32EU (Alder Lake-HX)
Generation
Alder Lake-HX
Base Clock
300 MHz
Boost Clock
1350-1550 MHz (CPU dependent)
Bus Interface
Ring Bus
RT Cores
No
Compute Units
32
Tensor Cores
?
Tensor Cores are specialized processing units designed specifically for deep learning, providing higher training and inference performance compared to FP32 training. They enable rapid computations in areas such as computer vision, natural language processing, speech recognition, text-to-speech conversion, and personalized recommendations. The two most notable applications of Tensor Cores are DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) and AI Denoiser for noise reduction.
No
TMUs
?
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) serve as components of the GPU, which are capable of rotating, scaling, and distorting binary images, and then placing them as textures onto any plane of a given 3D model. This process is called texture mapping.
16
Foundry
Intel
Process Size
10 nm
Architecture
Xe-LP (Generation 12.2)

Memory Specifications

Memory Size
System Shared
Memory Type
System Shared
Memory Bus
?
The memory bus width refers to the number of bits of data that the video memory can transfer within a single clock cycle. The larger the bus width, the greater the amount of data that can be transmitted instantaneously, making it one of the crucial parameters of video memory. The memory bandwidth is calculated as: Memory Bandwidth = Memory Frequency x Memory Bus Width / 8. Therefore, when the memory frequencies are similar, the memory bus width will determine the size of the memory bandwidth.
System Shared
Memory Clock
System Shared
Bandwidth
?
Memory bandwidth refers to the data transfer rate between the graphics chip and the video memory. It is measured in bytes per second, and the formula to calculate it is: memory bandwidth = working frequency × memory bus width / 8 bits.
System Dependent

Display and Media

AV1 Encode/Decode
Decode Only
DisplayPort Extensions
1.4a
H.264 Hardware Encode/Decode
Yes
H.265 HEVC Hardware Encode/Decode
Yes
H.266 VVC Hardware Encode/Decode
No
HDMI Version
2.1
Intel Quick Sync Video
Yes
Max Resolution DP
7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz
Max Resolution eDP
5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz
Max Resolution HDMI
4096 x 2304 @ 60Hz
Number of Displays Supported
4
Outputs
eDP 1.4b, DP 1.4a, HDMI 2.1

Theoretical Performance

FP32 (float)
?
An important metric for measuring GPU performance is floating-point computing capability. Single-precision floating-point numbers (32-bit) are used for common multimedia and graphics processing tasks, while double-precision floating-point numbers (64-bit) are required for scientific computing that demands a wide numeric range and high accuracy. Half-precision floating-point numbers (16-bit) are used for applications like machine learning, where lower precision is acceptable.
0.742 TFLOPS

Miscellaneous

Shading Units
?
The most fundamental processing unit is the Streaming Processor (SP), where specific instructions and tasks are executed. GPUs perform parallel computing, which means multiple SPs work simultaneously to process tasks.
256
Vulkan Version
?
Vulkan is a cross-platform graphics and compute API by Khronos Group, offering high performance and low CPU overhead. It lets developers control the GPU directly, reduces rendering overhead, and supports multi-threading and multi-core processors.
1.4
OpenCL Version
3.0
OpenGL
4.6
CUDA
No
DirectX
12.1
Power Connectors
None
ROPs
?
The Raster Operations Pipeline (ROPs) is primarily responsible for handling lighting and reflection calculations in games, as well as managing effects like anti-aliasing (AA), high resolution, smoke, and fire. The more demanding the anti-aliasing and lighting effects in a game, the higher the performance requirements for the ROPs; otherwise, it may result in a sharp drop in frame rate.
8
Shader Model
6.6

Benchmarks

FP32 (float)
Score
0.742 TFLOPS
3DMark Time Spy
Score
755
Vulkan
Score
8310
OpenCL
Score
7182

Compared to Other GPU

FP32 (float) / TFLOPS
1.007 +35.7%
0.997 +34.4%
0.28 -62.3%
3DMark Time Spy
3881 +414%
2847 +277.1%
1879 +148.9%
1216 +61.1%
Vulkan
61331 +638%
38904 +368.2%
20775 +150%
10645 +28.1%
OpenCL
37494 +422.1%
22818 +217.7%
12811 +78.4%
9356 +30.3%