Intel GMA950 VS GMA500
Most netbooks available today use the GMA950 IGP along with the Intel Atom N270 and 945GSE Chipset. Togther this is the standard Atom platform 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, 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 from Yertech shows the differences in hardware:
| GMA500 | GMA950 | |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Intel US15W | Intel 945GSE |
| Clockspeed | 200 Mhz | 250 Mhz |
| Max Memory Band (GB/s) | 4.2GB/s | 10.7GB/s |
| Max Shared Memory | 256MB | 8-224MB |
| Vertex Shader Model | 4.1 | 2 |
| Pixel Shade Model | 4.1 | 2 |
| Pixel Pipelines | 2 | 4 |
| Unified Shader Procs | 4 | N/A |
| Hardware Vertex Shaders | Yes | No |
| OpenGL | 2 | 1.4 |
| Dirext X | 10.1 | 9.0c |
| MPEG-2 Acceleration | VLD+iDCT+MC | MC |
| VC-1 Acceleration | VLD+iMDCT+MC+LF | N/A |
| AVC Acceleration | VLD+iMDCT+MC+LF | N/A |
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 also has a lower clock speed and less than half of the memory bandwidth.
What this means is that in an environment where these newer technologies cannot be utilised, such as Windows XP, the Intel GMA950 will definitely be faster. On a newer operating system such as Windows 7 or Vista, the GMA 500 may perform better in tasks that make use of its hardware acceleration such as 3D graphics or HD content.
It should be kept in mind however, that the Intel Atom processor is not particularly good at processing 3D or High Definition content, and despite the GMA500 being better in these regards the entire platform itself is still not capable of what would be considered acceptable playback.
As always, which platform you should go with depends on your specific needs. A Windows XP system will be faster with the GMA950 but a GMA500 system also have less power draw, and possibly longer batter life.
