NVIDIA GeForce GTS 160M vs Intel HD Graphics 520

#ad
Buy
VS

Combined performance score

HD Graphics 520
2.14
+22.3%

HD Graphics 520 outperforms GeForce GTS 160M by 22% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking819881
Place by popularity44not in top-100
Value for money0.170.15
ArchitectureGen. 9 Skylake (2015−2016)G9x (2007−2010)
GPU code nameSkylake GT2N10E-GS1
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date1 September 2015 (8 years old)2 March 2009 (15 years old)
Current price$309 $230
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD Graphics 520 has 13% better value for money than GTS 160M.

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 cores2464
CUDA coresno data64
Core clock speed300 MHz600 MHz
Boost clock speed1050 MHzno data
Number of transistors189 million505 million
Manufacturing process technology14 nm55 nm
Power consumption (TDP)15 Watt60 Watt
Texture fill rate25.2019 billion/sec
Floating-point performanceno data192 gflops
Gigaflopsno data288

Size and compatibility

Information on HD Graphics 520 and GeForce GTS 160M 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 sizeno datalarge
Bus supportno dataPCI-E 2.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x1PCIe 2.0 x16
SLI optionsno data2-way
MXM Typeno dataMXM 3.0 Type-B

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 typeDDR3L/LPDDR3/DDR4GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount32 GB1 GB
Memory bus width64/128 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speedSystem SharedUp to 800 MHz
Memory bandwidthno data51 GB/s
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 outputsVGADisplayPortDual Link DVIHDMILVDSSingle Link DVI
HDMIno data+
Maximum VGA resolutionno data2048x1536
Audio input for HDMIno dataS/PDIF

Technologies

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

Power managementno data8.0
Quick Sync+no data

API support

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

DirectX12 (12_1)11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model6.44.0
OpenGL4.62.1
OpenCL2.11.1
Vulkan+N/A
CUDAno 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.

HD Graphics 520 2.14
+22.3%
GTS 160M 1.75

HD Graphics 520 outperforms GeForce GTS 160M by 22% in our combined benchmark results.


Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

HD Graphics 520 831
+22.6%
GTS 160M 678

HD Graphics 520 outperforms GeForce GTS 160M by 23% in Passmark.

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%

HD Graphics 520 5722
+44.3%
GTS 160M 3965

HD Graphics 520 outperforms GeForce GTS 160M by 44% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.

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:

900p20
+25%
16−18
−25%
Full HD11
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Battlefield 5 3−4
+200%
1−2
−200%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Far Cry 5 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Far Cry New Dawn 1−2 0−1
Forza Horizon 4 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
Hitman 3 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Horizon Zero Dawn 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Red Dead Redemption 2 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Battlefield 5 3−4
+200%
1−2
−200%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Far Cry 5 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Far Cry New Dawn 1−2 0−1
Forza Horizon 4 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
Hitman 3 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Horizon Zero Dawn 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Metro Exodus 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Red Dead Redemption 2 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 4
−25%
5−6
+25%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Battlefield 5 3−4
+200%
1−2
−200%
Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Far Cry 5 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Far Cry New Dawn 1−2 0−1
Forza Horizon 4 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Hitman 3 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Horizon Zero Dawn 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Metro Exodus 0−1 0−1
Red Dead Redemption 2 1−2 0−1
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Far Cry 5 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Hitman 3 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 1−2 0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 1−2 0−1
Far Cry 5 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%

This is how HD Graphics 520 and GTS 160M compete in popular games:

900p resolution:

  • HD Graphics 520 is 25% faster than GTS 160M

1080p resolution:

  • HD Graphics 520 is 37.5% faster than GTS 160M

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

  • in Battlefield 5, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the HD Graphics 520 is 200% faster than the GTS 160M.
  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTS 160M is 25% faster than the HD Graphics 520.

All in all, in popular games:

  • HD Graphics 520 is ahead in 26 tests (62%)
  • GTS 160M is ahead in 1 test (2%)
  • there's a draw in 15 tests (36%)

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 2.14 1.75
Recency 1 September 2015 2 March 2009
Maximum RAM amount 32 GB 1 GB
Chip lithography 14 nm 55 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 15 Watt 60 Watt

The HD Graphics 520 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTS 160M in performance tests.


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

User ratings

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


Intel HD Graphics 520
HD Graphics 520
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 160M
GeForce GTS 160M

Similar GPU comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

User ratings: view and submit

Here you can see the user rating of the graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


3.1 2501 vote

Rate Intel HD Graphics 520 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
1 4 votes

Rate NVIDIA GeForce GTS 160M on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions and comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.