Intel UHD (12th gen) vs. AMD Vega (Ryzen 5000): Which is the better iGPU for a budget build?

AMD Vega and Intel UHD are the leading integrated GPU solutions available in the market. These integrated graphics processors are powerful enough to handle daily activities and even play some modern games with some compromises.

AMD is constantly improving its integrated GPUs. Team Red processors with an in-built graphics solution are called Accelerated Processing Units (APUs). These processors have the letter 'G' at the end.

Intel's integrated GPU implementation is much older than AMD's. Starting from the HD series, the company now packs the UHD 700 series integrated graphics processors with its chips. Almost all Intel Core processors have an iGPU; the only exception are the chips with an "F" at the end.

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Is AMD Vega better than Intel UHD?

The AMD Vega APUs in the Zen+ lineup (Image via AMD)

The Vega APUs in the Ryzen 5000 Zen 3 lineup, namely the Ryzen 5 5600G with Vega 7 and the Ryzen 7 5700G with Vega 8, are powered by chips based on the now-aging GCN 5th generation architecture. The Radeon RX 5000 series of GPUs introduced this architecture, and AMD markets these APUs as AAA-gaming-capable.

In contrast, Intel uses its Intel 7 microarchitecture to develop the latest UHD 710, 730, and 770 iGP solutions found on Alder Lake-S chips. These integrated graphics processors, however, are not meant for gaming.

In most modern AAA games, we have seen AMD APUs beat Intel's chips by a solid margin. This is because Intel never developed its iGPUs for gaming, and only meant for them to be used in casual browsing and productivity workloads.

In the above video, we see Intel UHD 770 and the AMD Vega 8 go head-to-head in a mix of old and modern demanding games. In all of the tests, AMD Vega graphics beat Intel's options by a huge margin.

If users want to play video games without a GPU, they should look at AMD APUs. Team Red has developed several capable APUs with decent CPU and GPU performance. Coupled with an affordable price, they can act as a viable graphics card replacer.

Some older AMD APUs can be considered in low-budget entry-level builds. Examples include the Ryzen 3 3200G, a processor that packs an 11-core Vega iGPU. In most modern games, it performs as good as the Ryzen 7 5700G processor.

However, Intel chips can be a viable alternative if gaming is not a priority. These iGPUs are capable enough to handle casual gaming, productivity workloads, and browsing requirements. Intel also has far more options to choose from as compared to AMD. Thus, users with varying budgets can easily choose the processor that best suits their interests.

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Conclusion

Although AMD has an overall lead in terms of performance, the company only has two APUs available in the market. These two chips are aimed at the performance section of the market.

Intel has come a long way with its iGPU technology and the latest chips are far more capable. The latest UHD 770 chip that is found on the highest-end Alder Lake processors can run several modern games at 30+ FPS.

With that said, gamers should still opt for AMD APUs because of their higher performance-to-price ratios. However, users who won't be gaming on their system have the freedom to choose between Intel UHD and AMD Vega depending on their budget and interests.