Intel strikes back: Core i7-1065G7 with Iris Plus Graphics G7 on par with AMD Radeon RX Vega 10

We start with the graphics performance in the synthetic benchmarks. We obviously want to see how much faster the new chip is compared to the familiar UHD Graphics, which is also used by the new Comet Lake CPUs. The next question is whether Intel can close the gap or even beat AMD's Vega iGPUs and how the new Iris Plus Graphics compares with Nvidia's entry-level dGPUs (MX150, MX250), which are available in many compact laptops.

We use the following comparison devices with different graphics adapters: Dell XPS 13 7390 with the small Ice Lake GPU (32 EUs), the two Lenovo IdeaPads S540 14 (with the GeForce MX250 25W and the RX Vega 10), Schenker Slim 15 (Comet Lake UHD Graphics 620), Asus VivoBook 14 X403F with the Whiskey Lake UHD Graphics 620 as well as the HP Envy 13 with the slower 10W version of the GeForce MX250. All laptops with iGPUs are equipped with dual-channel memory, so the results are comparable.

The results in the two 3DMark 11 and 3DMark benchmarks are very good and the new Iris Plus Graphics G7 (64 EUs) is only beaten by the faster 25W version of the GeForce MX250. All other GPUs, however, are slower. AMD's fastest iGPU, the RX Vega 10, is about 15-20% slower, while the old UHD Graphics 620 is almost 50-60% slower.

Synthetic benchmarks are one thing, but dedicated graphics adapters usually have an advantage in real-world gaming tests thanks to their dedicated video memory. This is also the case here, and both GeForce MX250 versions are clearly faster and therefore the better choice for gaming in compact devices. However, the two integrated GPUs from AMD and Intel, which are pretty much on par in the gaming tests, are still a decent choice for occasional gamers. The advantage compared to the old UHD Graphics, however, drops to 50-60%.

It looks like Intel's new Iris Plus Graphics G7 can close the gap to AMD and it is even faster in the synthetic benchmarks. The slower 10W version of the GeForce MX250 is beaten as well.

However, the situation changes in real-world gaming tests, where Nvidia's GPUs still have the edge thanks to the dedicated video memory. AMD and Intel on the other hand perform on a very similar level.

We will run additional benchmarks over the next couple of days and release the results in our full review of the Lenovo Yoga C940, which will probably be released by the end of the week.

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