DiRT 3

DiRT 3 is another DirectX 11 game that's able to run in DX11 mode on Ivy Bridge. The medium quality settings default to a DX11 codepath although Sandy Bridge falls back to DX9 in this test. Although racing games are typically very CPU limited at lower resolutions, DiRT 3 pushes the envelope and these GPUs are enough of a limit to make things interesting:

DiRT 3

DiRT 3

DiRT 3 remains in line with the other tests we've run. Ivy Bridge (HD 4000) offers a 30 - 40% increase in performance over Sandy Bridge (HD 3000), while AMD's Llano (6550D) holds onto a 27% advantage over Ivy.

Intel HD 4000 Performance: Metro 2033 Intel HD 4000 Performance: Starcraft 2
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  • sabot00 - Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - link

    How long will Intel keep its HD Graphics increases?
  • MonkeyPaw - Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - link

    I don't understand the logic of selling a high end CPU with the best IGP. Seems like anyone running an it isn't going to stick with the IGP for games, and if they aren't gaming, then what good is that high-end GPU? Maybe the entire "Core i" line should use the HD 4000.
  • Flunk - Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - link

    Because the low end chips are just die-harvested high end chips it makes sense. No reason to disable it so they leave it on.

    And some people do actually use high end processors with IGPs. It's fairly easy to get one from a major OEM. It's stupid but most people don't know any better.
  • aahkam - Tuesday, March 27, 2012 - link

    Funny comments I saw.

    What's wrong even if the High End CPU that comes with IGP?

    Is High End CPU = Gaming Machine CPU? If that is your logic, you're a rich but shallow boy!

    I do lots of Video Editing and Transcoding, I need High End CPU but None of the High End GPU beats Quick Sync in Transcoding in terms of Quality and Speed.
  • dqniel - Friday, April 6, 2012 - link

    "and if they aren't gaming, then what good is that high-end GPU?"

    I feel like you missed that part. He's not saying that only gamers use high-end CPUs. He's saying that gamers using a high-end CPU won't care about the high-end iGPU because they won't use it. Also, non-gamers who need a high-end CPU generally won't see the benefits of the included high-end iGPU. So, he proposes that the better niche for the high-end iGPU would be on the more affordable CPUs, because then budget-minded gamers could buy an affordable CPU that has a relatively powerful iGPU integrated into it.
  • defter - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link

    This is a mid-range CPU, not high-end one.

    High desktop CPUs (i7 3800-3900) don't have IGP.
  • KoolAidMan1 - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link

    It is because laptops continue to get slimmer and slimmer. Getting good GPU performance without the compromises on the chassis that a dedicated GPU would force is the point.
  • Tormeh - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link

    This.

    My next laptop will have processor graphics for the sake of battery life and size, and whoever has the best graphics gets my money.
  • bznotins - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link

    Seconded.
  • aguilpa1 - Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - link

    If the 4000HD is on the level of lets say a 560m I would not hesitate to get a laptop with no dedicated graphics but if it isn't I'm still going to go for the dedicated.

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