Iris Graphics 540 vs Radeon Sky 500

In this comparison between Iris Graphics 540 and Radeon Sky 500 you will find out which graphics card performs better in today's games. Bear in mind that third-party versions may have more efficient cooling and higher clock speeds. This will increase cards' performance, though not by much. In addition to raw power you should also take into account the dimensions. Thicker models simply will not fit into a small mini-ITX case. The resolution of your monitor also affects the choice, since 4K gameplay requires a more powerful GPU. And don't overspend on the graphics card. Other parts of your build may also need to be upgraded, save some money for the CPU or power supply. For some people Iris Graphics 540 will be the best choice, for others Radeon Sky 500 will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Iris Graphics 540 is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Iris Graphics 540 is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with Iris Graphics 540 here:

Main Specs

  Iris Graphics 540 Radeon Sky 500
Power consumption (TDP) 15 Watt 150 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x1 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin
Memory type eDRAM GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 64 MB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 1x DisplayPort
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  • Radeon Sky 500 has 900% more power consumption, than Iris Graphics 540.
  • Iris Graphics 540 is connected by PCIe 3.0 x1, and Radeon Sky 500 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • Iris Graphics 540 has 60 GB more memory, than Radeon Sky 500.
  • Iris Graphics 540 is used in Laptops, and Radeon Sky 500 - in Desktops.
  • Iris Graphics 540 is build with Gen. 9 Skylake architecture, and Radeon Sky 500 - with GCN 1.0.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon Sky 500 is 650 MHz higher, than Iris Graphics 540.
  • Iris Graphics 540 is manufactured by 14 nm process technology, and Radeon Sky 500 - by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 8−9 35−40
ultra / 1080p 5−6 21−24
QHD / 1440p 0−1 16−18
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 20−22 60−65
medium / 1080p 10−12 40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon Sky 500 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 272% more, than Iris Graphics 540.

Full Specs

  Iris Graphics 540 Radeon Sky 500
Architecture Gen. 9 Skylake GCN 1.0
Code name Skylake GT3e Pitcairn
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 1 September 2015 27 March 2013
Pipelines 48 1280
Core clock speed 300 MHz 950 MHz
Boost Clock 1050 MHz
Transistor count 189 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 14 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 50.40 76.00
Floating-point performance 2,432 gflops
Length 242 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 154 GB/s
Shared memory +
DirectX 12 (12_1) 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 6.4 5.1
OpenGL 4.6 4.6
OpenCL 2.1 1.2
Vulkan 1.1.97 1.2.131
Bus support PCIe 3.0
Quick Sync +
Form factor full height / full length
DisplayPort count 1
Dual-link DVI support +
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