HD Graphics (Broadwell) vs HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) and HD Graphics (Broadwell), covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)
2011
0.34

HD Graphics (Broadwell) outperforms HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) by a whopping 182% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking12961119
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
ArchitectureGen. 6 Sandy Bridge (2011)Gen. 8 Broadwell (2015)
GPU code nameSandy BridgeBroadwell GT1
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date1 May 2011 (13 years ago)5 January 2015 (9 years ago)

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores612
Core clock speed350 MHz100 MHz
Boost clock speed1100 MHz850 MHz
Manufacturing process technology32 nm14 nm

VRAM capacity and type

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 bus width64/128 Bit64/128 Bit
Shared memory++

Supported technologies

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

Quick Syncno data+

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX10.112 (FL 11_1)

Synthetic benchmark performance

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


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark 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 (Sandy Bridge) 0.34
HD Graphics (Broadwell) 0.96
+182%

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3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution.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.

HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) 976
HD Graphics (Broadwell) 2651
+172%

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.

HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) 1405
HD Graphics (Broadwell) 4015
+186%

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:

Full HD7
−157%
18−20
+157%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 3−4
−66.7%
5−6
+66.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%
Hitman 3 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%
Horizon Zero Dawn 8−9
−62.5%
12−14
+62.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 4−5
−75%
7−8
+75%
Watch Dogs: Legion 27−30
−10.7%
30−35
+10.7%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 3−4
−66.7%
5−6
+66.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%
Hitman 3 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%
Horizon Zero Dawn 8−9
−62.5%
12−14
+62.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 4−5
−75%
7−8
+75%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 9−10
−11.1%
10−11
+11.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion 27−30
−10.7%
30−35
+10.7%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 3−4
−66.7%
5−6
+66.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%
Hitman 3 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%
Horizon Zero Dawn 8−9
−62.5%
12−14
+62.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 4−5
−75%
7−8
+75%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 9−10
−11.1%
10−11
+11.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion 27−30
−10.7%
30−35
+10.7%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 0−1 1−2
Hitman 3 6−7
−16.7%
7−8
+16.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 2−3
−100%
4−5
+100%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 0−1 0−1

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Far Cry 5 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Far Cry 5 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Far Cry 5 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Far Cry 5 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 0−1 0−1
Watch Dogs: Legion 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%

4K
High Preset

Far Cry New Dawn 0−1 0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Far Cry 5 0−1 0−1

This is how HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) and HD Graphics (Broadwell) compete in popular games:

  • HD Graphics (Broadwell) is 157% faster in 1080p

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

  • in Horizon Zero Dawn, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD Graphics (Broadwell) is 100% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • HD Graphics (Broadwell) is ahead in 27 tests (64%)
  • there's a draw in 15 tests (36%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 0.34 0.96
Recency 1 May 2011 5 January 2015
Chip lithography 32 nm 14 nm

HD Graphics (Broadwell) has a 182.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, and a 128.6% more advanced lithography process.

The HD Graphics (Broadwell) is our recommended choice as it beats the HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) in performance tests.


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

Vote for your favorite

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Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)
HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)
Intel HD Graphics (Broadwell)
HD Graphics (Broadwell)

Comparisons with similar GPUs

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

Community ratings

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


2.7 84 votes

Rate HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) on a scale of 1 to 5:

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2.3 6 votes

Rate HD Graphics (Broadwell) on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
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  • 5

Questions & comments

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