Intel GMA 950 vs GMA 500

Most netbooks available today use the GMA950 IGP along with the Intel Atom N270 and 945GSE Chipset. Togther this is the standard Atom platform and provides modest performance at a considerably low price.

We are however, starting to see the emergence of the Intel Atom Z series of CPUs combined with the GMA500 series of Integrated Graphics Processors (IGP). So what is the difference between the Intel GMA 950 and GMA 500?

The N270+945GSE+GMA950 platform was made specifically for Netbooks. That being a low cost, portable laptop, capable of basic computing functions such as Internet and Email. The alternative platform is the Intel Atom Z CPU, US15W or ‘Poulsbo’ Chipset, and the GMA 500 IGP. Poulsbo has integrated the Graphics Processor onto the chipset itself, making the entire unit smaller, less power hungry, and capable of fitting into smaller devices such as MIDs.

This was Intel’s intention from the start, to have one platform for Netbooks and another for even smaller computers. What we are starting to see however, is the Atom Z + Poulsbo platform showing up in Netbooks such as the Dell Mini 10. The reasons for this are not entirely known but one theory suggests that the license for 945GSE platform means that any devices using it cannot exceed certain specifications such as a 10.2″ screen and a 1024 x 600 resolution.

To get around this limitation manufacturers are choosing the alternative Poulsbo platform which is free of this restriction. Which platform then, is the better of the two?

The following table shows the differences in hardware:

*note that the GMA950 Memory bandwidth is only 10.7Gb/s in dual channel mode with two RAM sticks installed. Netbooks only come with one so they don’t take advantage of this.

** The GMA950 core clock is underclocked to 133 or 166Mhz in most netbooks.

While the GMA 500 GPU does in fact have support for newer technologies such as Direct X 10 and better high definition audio and video acceleration, it is suffering from rather poor driver support. The current drivers have left the GPU crippled and performing worse than the GMA950, despite its hardware advantage.

These drivers should improve with the release of the Pinetrail platform towards the end of the year, but the GMA950 is currently the faster GPU.

The following table from Notebookcheck shows the 3DMark05 results for both GPUs:

As you can see the GMA 950 scores significantly better in this benchmark.

So for now the N280+GMA950 is definitely the faster option but this could change when the GMA500 drivers mature, if that ever happens.

via netbookmarket