Clarkdale’s Second Half: Intel HD Graphics Review

Although Intel decided not to use the familiar GMA abbreviation for its name, Intel HD Graphics core integrated into Westmere processors doesn’t actually have anything revolutionary about itself. Namely, Intel HD Graphics is none other but a common evolutionary refresh of the GMA X4500 graphics processor used in Intel G45 chipsets in terms of its architecture and functionality. Yes, the actual graphics core moved from the chipset North Bridge into the CPU, but this change has pure engineering significance. The users will not even notice it, they will be much more curious to see what practical changes have been made to the new GPU: slight increase in the number of shader units and the ability to decode two independent HD video streams simultaneously on the hardware level.