Iris Graphics 550 vs Radeon HD 5970

When choosing between Iris Graphics 550 and Radeon HD 5970, it is worth examining the specifications of the models in detail. Do they meet the recommended requirements of modern games and software? Storage capacity, form factor, TDP, available ports, warranty and manufacturer support are all important. For example, the size of a PC case can limit the maximum thickness and length of the card. Often, instead of the factory overclocked card and RGB backlight, it is better to choose a reference model with a more efficient GPU. And make sure that your current power supply unit has the correct connection pins (using adapters is not recommended). This GPUs compare tool is meant to help you to choose the best graphics card for your build. Let's find out the difference between Iris Graphics 550 and Radeon HD 5970.

Iris Graphics 550 is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Iris Graphics 550 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 550 here:

Main Specs

  Iris Graphics 550 Radeon HD 5970
Power consumption (TDP) 15 Watt 294 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x1 PCIe 2.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
Memory type eDRAM GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 64 MB 1 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 2x DVI, 1x mini-DisplayPort
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  • Radeon HD 5970 has 1860% more power consumption, than Iris Graphics 550.
  • Iris Graphics 550 is connected by PCIe 3.0 x1, and Radeon HD 5970 uses PCIe 2.0 x16 interface.
  • Iris Graphics 550 has 63 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 5970.
  • Iris Graphics 550 is used in Laptops, and Radeon HD 5970 - in Desktops.
  • Iris Graphics 550 is build with Gen. 9 Skylake architecture, and Radeon HD 5970 - with TeraScale 2.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 5970 is 425 MHz higher, than Iris Graphics 550.
  • Iris Graphics 550 is manufactured by 14 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 5970 - by 40 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 9−10 10−12
ultra / 1080p 5−6 6−7
QHD / 1440p 0−1 1−2
low / 720p 21−24 24−27
medium / 1080p 10−12 14−16
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 5970 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 16% more, than Iris Graphics 550.

Full Specs

  Iris Graphics 550 Radeon HD 5970
Architecture Gen. 9 Skylake TeraScale 2
Code name Skylake GT3e Hemlock
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 1 September 2015 18 November 2009
Pipelines 48 1600
Core clock speed 300 MHz 725 MHz
Boost Clock 1100 MHz
Transistor count 189 million 2,154 million
Manufacturing process technology 14 nm 40 nm
Texture fill rate 52.80 58.00
Floating-point performance 2x 2,320.0 gflops
Length 305 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 4000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 128.0 GB/s
Shared memory +
DirectX 12 (12_1) 11.2 (11_0)
Shader Model 6.4 5.0
OpenGL 4.6 4.4
OpenCL 2.1 1.2
Vulkan 1.1.97 N/A
Quick Sync +
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