Intel HD Graphics 520 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile

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General info

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in performance ranking108817
Place by popularitynot in top-10044
Value for money76.550.17
ArchitectureMaxwell (2014−2018)Gen. 9 Skylake (2015−2016)
GPU code nameN16E-GXX SLISkylake GT2
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date22 September 2015 (8 years old)1 September 2015 (8 years old)
Current price$301 $309
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 980 SLI Mobile has 44929% better value for money than HD Graphics 520.

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores409624
Core clock speed1126 MHz300 MHz
Boost clock speed1228 MHz1050 MHz
Number of transistors10400 Million189 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)330 Watt15 Watt
Texture fill rateno data25.20

Size and compatibility

Information on GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile and HD Graphics 520 compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.

Laptop sizelargeno data
Interfaceno dataPCIe 3.0 x1
SLI options+no data

Memory

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5DDR3L/LPDDR3/DDR4
Maximum RAM amount2x 8 GB32 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit64/128 Bit
Memory clock speed3500 MHzSystem Shared
Shared memory-+

Video outputs and ports

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectorsno dataNo outputs
G-SYNC support+no data

Technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

Quick Syncno data+

API support

List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12_112 (12_1)
Shader Modelno data6.4
OpenGLno data4.6
OpenCLno data2.1
Vulkanno data+
CUDA+no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 980 SLI Mobile
38.80
+1713%

GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile outperforms HD Graphics 520 by 1713% in our combined benchmark results.


3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 980 SLI Mobile 47704
+734%
HD Graphics 520 5722

GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile outperforms HD Graphics 520 by 734% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 980 SLI Mobile 33169
+2464%
HD Graphics 520 1294

GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile outperforms HD Graphics 520 by 2464% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

GTX 980 SLI Mobile 25453
+3068%
HD Graphics 520 804

GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile outperforms HD Graphics 520 by 3068% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

GTX 980 SLI Mobile 155238
+2217%
HD Graphics 520 6701

GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile outperforms HD Graphics 520 by 2217% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p350−400
+1650%
20
−1650%
Full HD136
+1136%
11
−1136%
4K64
+2033%
3−4
−2033%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
+1260%
5−6
−1260%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 65−70
+3350%
2−3
−3350%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 65−70
+2167%
3−4
−2167%
Battlefield 5 110−120
+3667%
3−4
−3667%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 100−110
+864%
10−12
−864%
Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
+1260%
5−6
−1260%
Far Cry 5 95−100
+4850%
2−3
−4850%
Far Cry New Dawn 90−95
+9200%
1−2
−9200%
Forza Horizon 4 120−130
+1900%
6−7
−1900%
Hitman 3 120−130
+4000%
3−4
−4000%
Horizon Zero Dawn 80−85
+4100%
2−3
−4100%
Red Dead Redemption 2 60−65
+1140%
5−6
−1140%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 90−95
+1075%
8−9
−1075%
Watch Dogs: Legion 70−75
+2300%
3−4
−2300%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 65−70
+3350%
2−3
−3350%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 65−70
+2167%
3−4
−2167%
Battlefield 5 110−120
+3667%
3−4
−3667%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 100−110
+864%
10−12
−864%
Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
+1260%
5−6
−1260%
Far Cry 5 95−100
+4850%
2−3
−4850%
Far Cry New Dawn 90−95
+9200%
1−2
−9200%
Forza Horizon 4 120−130
+1900%
6−7
−1900%
Hitman 3 120−130
+4000%
3−4
−4000%
Horizon Zero Dawn 80−85
+4100%
2−3
−4100%
Metro Exodus 65−70
+2200%
3−4
−2200%
Red Dead Redemption 2 60−65
+1140%
5−6
−1140%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 90−95
+1075%
8−9
−1075%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 132
+3200%
4
−3200%
Watch Dogs: Legion 70−75
+2300%
3−4
−2300%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 65−70
+3350%
2−3
−3350%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 65−70
+2167%
3−4
−2167%
Battlefield 5 110−120
+3667%
3−4
−3667%
Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
+1260%
5−6
−1260%
Far Cry 5 95−100
+4850%
2−3
−4850%
Far Cry New Dawn 90−95
+9200%
1−2
−9200%
Forza Horizon 4 120−130
+1900%
6−7
−1900%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 74
+1380%
5−6
−1380%
Watch Dogs: Legion 70−75
+2300%
3−4
−2300%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 60−65
+1500%
4−5
−1500%
Hitman 3 70−75
+1340%
5−6
−1340%
Horizon Zero Dawn 55−60
+588%
8−9
−588%
Metro Exodus 40−45 0−1
Red Dead Redemption 2 30−35
+3000%
1−2
−3000%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 55−60
+1080%
5−6
−1080%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 40−45
+2050%
2−3
−2050%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 40−45
+2050%
2−3
−2050%
Battlefield 5 80−85
+1950%
4−5
−1950%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−35
+3000%
1−2
−3000%
Far Cry 5 70−75
+2267%
3−4
−2267%
Far Cry New Dawn 70−75
+1725%
4−5
−1725%
Forza Horizon 4 80−85
+8200%
1−2
−8200%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 55−60
+1833%
3−4
−1833%
Watch Dogs: Legion 35−40
+3400%
1−2
−3400%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
+1650%
2−3
−1650%
Hitman 3 35−40
+1850%
2−3
−1850%
Horizon Zero Dawn 27−30
+383%
6−7
−383%
Metro Exodus 27−30
+2600%
1−2
−2600%
Red Dead Redemption 2 21−24
+2000%
1−2
−2000%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 30−35
+3000%
1−2
−3000%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 51
+2450%
2−3
−2450%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 27−30
+2600%
1−2
−2600%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
+2400%
1−2
−2400%
Battlefield 5 45−50
+2250%
2−3
−2250%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14 0−1
Far Cry 5 35−40
+1133%
3−4
−1133%
Far Cry New Dawn 40−45
+720%
5−6
−720%
Forza Horizon 4 55−60
+2650%
2−3
−2650%
Watch Dogs: Legion 20−22
+1900%
1−2
−1900%

This is how GTX 980 SLI Mobile and HD Graphics 520 compete in popular games:

900p resolution:

  • GTX 980 SLI Mobile is 1650% faster than HD Graphics 520

1080p resolution:

  • GTX 980 SLI Mobile is 1136% faster than HD Graphics 520

4K resolution:

  • GTX 980 SLI Mobile is 2033% faster than HD Graphics 520

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Far Cry New Dawn, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the GTX 980 SLI Mobile is 9200% faster than the HD Graphics 520.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, GTX 980 SLI Mobile surpassed HD Graphics 520 in all 47 of our tests.

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 38.80 2.14
Memory bus width 256 64
Pipelines / CUDA cores 4096 24
Chip lithography 28 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 330 Watt 15 Watt

The GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile is our recommended choice as it beats the HD Graphics 520 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Cast your own vote

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile
GeForce GTX 980 SLI Mobile
Intel HD Graphics 520
HD Graphics 520

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User ratings: view and submit

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Questions and comments

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