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Eomera.
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dan
Keymaster01/16/2016 at 9:45 pm #3427
The Intel HD 520 is a graphics processor you can find integrated in the 6th Generation Intel Core U-series “Skylake” CPUs, such as the popular Core i5-6200U and i7-6500U. These chips are typically used in the mainstream notebooks, ultraportables, and select lower-end gaming laptops.The GPU brings a slight performance improvement over the previous generation Intel HD 5500, primarily thanks to a bit higher clock speeds of 1,000 or 1050 MHz (depending on CPU model) instead of 900 MHz, as well as doubled number or ROP and TMU units. What’s not visible in graphics rendering benchmarks, such as 3D Mark 11 below, is improved support for 4K content decoding, resulting in lower CPU use when you play these high-resolution videos. As expected, 4K, Full HD, and lower resolution videos run perfectly smooth on the Intel HD 520.
Intel HD 520 3D Mark 11 Benchmark

Game Benchmarks
For this review, we used an HP Pavilion 15 15.6-inch Full HD laptop with the mid-range Intel Core i5-6200U processor with the Intel HD 520 graphics, 8GB of dual-channel system memory (2 x 4GB modules), and a standard 5,400rpm mechanical hard drive with 1TB capacity. The tested machine had Windows 10 Home operating system and Intel HD 10.18.15.4281 drivers installed. Keep in mind that laptops with single channel memory setups, with one RAM module instead of two or more, won’t have as good integrated graphics performance as the dual-channel ones. Also, different processor models like the i3, i5 and i7, different thermal designs of laptops’ chassis, as well as BIOS settings, can influence performance of the Intel HD 520 and other integrated graphics processors.
Gameplays were recorded with help of a specialized capture card on another computer instead of using software recorders which can degrade system performance.
The world’s most popular MMORPG League of Legends on maximal graphics detail settings and 1080p 1920×1080 resolution runs flawlessly, with around 50 frames per second. If you primarily play this hardware non-demanding game, the HD 520 IGP is an almost equally good choice as some high-end dedicated video card.
DOTA 2 is another famous MMORPG title. It requires better hardware resources than LoL and you won’t be able to play it on maximal settings and Full HD with the Intel HD 520. Instead an optimal choice appears to be 720p HD-class resolutions like 1280×720 and lower-mid detail settings. Frame rates in this case are around 45. If you increase settings to higher-medium, fps will drop to around 35 mark.
The Intel HD 520 can render PC game classic Minecraft effortlessly on the highest settings. Frame rates were somewhere between 60 and 70 fps most of the time.
Counter Strike: Global Offensive – the most played first person shooter game, isn’t a graphics-rich title. On the positive side, it doesn’t require gaming-class hardware. On the Intel HD 520 graphics, you can play it on 720p resolution and high settings, with around 65 fps most of the time.
The latest iteration of Grand Theft Auto – GTA 5, isn’t so integrated graphics-friendly as the CS:GO. One can say the game is barely playable on the reviewed GPU. With all settings set to minimum and 720p resolution, frame rates vary between 20 and 25 fps.
Battlefield 4 works quite smooth, if you’re willing to make a compromise and dial down resolution to 720p and put settings on medium. However, there was a glitch with displaying ground textures, which we weren’t able to fix by changing graphics settings or reinstalling graphics drivers and the game.
A similar story is with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Frame rates varied greatly, depending on scene, but generally they were mostly between 30 and 50 fps on minimal settings and 720p resolution. Unfortunately, a serious graphics rendering glitch on a part of the first level was very annoying, as you can see in the first part of the video. Again, we weren’t able to fix it.
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim runs very well on low / 720p settings, with mostly 50 – 60 fps.
FIFA 2016 is easily playable, but the settings need to be put on minimum to achieve gameplay without stutter. During standard camera shots of the matches, frame rates are around 55 fps, while during zoomed in scenes like goal celebrations, when the objects are bigger, they drop to around 30 fps.
For a list of laptops with the Intel HD 520 click here.
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Jessi
Keymaster07/01/2016 at 8:35 pm #3472Will this graphics card be sufficient for small amounts of solidworks use? I know that things like zebra stripes won’t run perfectly…I have a dedicated PC but need a light, portable laptop for travel which can handle Adobe, solidworks and renderings software such as keyshot.
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dan
Keymaster02/20/2019 at 8:51 am #3459Hi, you can’t replace DDR3 RAM with DDR4, because they are not compatible. I have made a post about that here: https://laptoping.com/ddr3-and-ddr4-laptop-memory-compatible-no.html
Regards. -
aldo
Keymaster05/28/2019 at 9:54 pm #3458yo tengo un i3 6006u a 2.0 ghz con intel hd 520 12 gb de ram ddr4 1tb disco duro y corro gta 5 en graficos medios altos y wachdogs call of duti ghost y corren perfectos cero lag en todas circuntancias el unico juego viejo que si le subo las texturas y se cuelga un poco es el puto gta4 no entiendo pero e probado mas juegos y tiene un rendimiento perfecto para lo que uso mi laptop que es una dell inspiron 15 series 3000
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Dan
Keymaster09/13/2019 at 8:29 pm #3453Hi, DDR4 RAM doesn’t significantly improve gaming performance over DDR3. What helps a lot is having dual-channel RAM instead of single channel. Now, it is questionable whether having different module sizes of 4GB and 16GB in your case actually allows dual-channel operation and I can’t tell whether that’s the case here. I know that on some older systems different RAM sizes of two used sticks actually cause RAM to operate in a slower single channel mode instead of faster dual-channel. I don’t know whether your notebook’s motherboard supports dual-channel with different-sized RAM modules like 4 and 16GB, but many newer motherboards can do that. They allow for instance 4GB of one RAM module and 4GB of the second module to run in dual-channel, while the rest of the larger RAM runs in single channel.
I can only suggest you to check if your laptop’s RAM runs in dual-channel by using utilities like CPU-Z app (it has a Channels # info in the Memory section of the app). If it runs in dual-channel then your RAM configuration is the best possible regarding your laptop. If it is single-channel then, matching the built-in 4GB with another 4GB should 99% likely allow dual-channel operation and increased gaming performance in most games.
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dan
Keymaster -
Jan
Keymaster05/11/2020 at 2:53 am #3448I have i3-6100U with 4GB DDR4 RAM and hd520, does upgrading RAM to 16GB will improve speed and usability significantly or 8GB will be enough. How it may impact HD520 with this small processor?
Would this card allow work on multiple screens FHD or perhaps UHD 4K?
Love the article, thanks for good work! -
BikeHelmet
Keymaster05/30/2020 at 11:55 pm #3447If you have a single 4GB stick, upgrading to 8GB total is a good cheap upgrade path. If you have 2x2GB, I would go for 16GB myself since you are replacing two sticks anyway. Your CPU does not appear to turbo, limiting your upper performance level. That may possibly make 4K streaming unattainable. The GPU should be able to manage it for local video, but my 6600U has significantly higher CPU usage for 4K Netflix/YouTube, and it’s much faster than your 6100U.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylake_(microarchitecture)#Mobile_processorsNormally I’d recommend configuring ThrottleStop when on wall power for maximum performance, but I’m not sure if anything can be done in this case since your CPU lacks Turbo. Maybe it can bump your power limits up, which would help avoid throttling when under full CPU+GPU load, as long as you have adequate cooling. Search some videos/articles on ThrottleStop and you’ll find some good info.
As far as I know the HD520 can only output 4K to a single output at once, and it must be DisplayPort – not HDMI. Most HD520 laptops run HDMI 1.4, 1080p max. This would only be useful for office work, not games.
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PJ Brunet
Keymaster06/24/2020 at 9:06 pm #3446Yes, that seems to be true for 4K, “and it must be DisplayPort.” There is a tease in one specfications document that says 4K is possible on HDMI with a “converter” but I think they are talking about a DisplayPort (male) -> HDMI (female) converter for monitors without DisplayPort. My particular laptop only has an HDMI connection. I just tried HDMI 2 -> HDMI 2 on a 4K monitor and the highest I get is 1080p. Still I am curious if there’s a workaround, since HD520 internally supports 4K.
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dana
Keymaster11/07/2020 at 9:06 pm #3436Hi .. My laptop is Aspire3 A315-53-55Y1.Has got Intel core i5 1.6 Ghz with turbo boost upto 3.4 Ghz. intel Integrated HD Graphics 520, and 4gbram.Display resolution 1366×768 pixels. Can you please advise if Ram could be increased to 16gb with 512 ssd would make it usable for Adobe Illustrator. Can display be enhanced anymore? Kindly suggest the maximum workarounds to get Adobe working. Thanks so much.
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M. Duren
Keymaster12/18/2020 at 9:45 am #3434The Intel i5-6300U is a BGA1356 processor (ball grid array). BGA packages are used to permanently mount devices such as microprocessors and soldering of BGA devices requires precise control and is usually done by automated processes.
As a result you are not able to upgrade your I5-6300U CPU.
Sources:
https://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/Intel/Core_i5_Mobile/i5-6300U.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_grid_array -
M. Duren
Keymaster12/18/2020 at 10:13 am #3433@dana I assume you have the version with the i5-8250U CPU. The motherboard has 2 RAM slots, one 4G soldered on that is not upgradeable and one free DDR 4 slot.
According to different sources you could upgrade your RAM maximal up to 12GB by adding one 8GB RAM stick. Make sure to purchase DDR4 RAM with a maximum speed of 2400MHz (DDR4-2400).To swap your HDD to a SSD, you need to know that your HDD is connected with a SATA3 (Serial ATA-600) connection. I have not yet experience with replacing an HDD to a SSD, so I would love to hear about your experiences.
Sources:
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/devices-systems/laptops/standard/acer-aspire-3-a315-53-55y1-H55500249.html
https://www.cnet.com/products/acer-aspire-3-a315-53-55y1-15-6-core-i5-8250u-4-gb-ram-1-tb-hdd-us-international/
https://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/Intel/Core_i5_Mobile/i5-8250U.html#specs
https://www.ubergizmo.com/products/lang/en_us/devices/intel-i5-8250u/ -
Tippa Maddick
Keymaster04/28/2021 at 12:13 pm #3430Too late for the one who asked.. but make sure you don’t need change other parts when upgrading display. Up to HD+ it takes one eDP lane, full HD needs two. The wiring might need changed as well. So, make sure you can source all the parts needed before buying a panel.
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