Question about the Iris Xe and system RAM

[ltgs]

My system is a 2023 HP Envy 17.3" laptop with i7-13700H and Iris Xe graphics.  512GB SSD and 32GB RAM. I do mainly graphics/motion creation, and 3d. Gaming too, mostly fighting games. 

I have a couple of questions:

1. Where are the specifications for the Iris Xe for this generation? Could not find it anywhere.
2. My understanding is that the Iris Xe uses the system RAM for video memory. If so, would upgrading to 64GB RAM improve graphics performance for the Iris Xe, as it would make a lot more RAM available for it? Or is the Iris Xe only capable of utilizing a certain amount of memory (like 8gb max for example).

Thanks for any pointers/insights!

[Alberto_R_Intel]

ltgs, Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.

We will be more than glad to assist you with this matter. 

In reference to your first question, in the following link you will find the specifications for the 13th Generation Intel® Core™ Processor Family:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/docs/processors/core/core-technical-resources.html

Regarding your second question, in the links below you can find additional details about RAM video memory:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000041253/graphics.html

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000020962/graphics.html

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[ltgs]

@Alberto_R_Intelthank you.

The first link is regarding the Core processor and not the Iris Xe GPU. I checked them still, and some of the links are broken. But of the other working links, there was no mention of the Iris Xe GPU specifications. Please advise.

Your second link is about dedicated graphics memory. The Iris Xe, as far as I understand, does not have dedicated graphics memory. Is that correct?

Your third link was most helpful. It appears that the Iris Xe GPU's maximum memory usage is 1/2 of the total system memory. So for example if the system has 64GB of RAM, the Iris Xe GPU can use up to 32GB of graphics memory. Is that correct?

Thank you.

[Alberto_R_Intel]

ltgs, You are very welcome. Thank you very much for your response.

In relation to your second question, yes, you are correct, The Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics does not have dedicated graphics memory, instead uses shared memory that will be allocated automatically depending on various factors. In addition, if you try to increase the video memory, is important to mention that the option is usually available in the BIOS but the setting may not be available for all systems.

I will report the broken links and I will do further research to confirm if there is a document specifically related to the specifications of the Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics for 13th-generation processors and, if in fact, when using 64 GB of RAM the system will use 32GB for video memory. As soon as I get any updates, I will post all the details on this thread.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello ltgs, I just received an update on this matter.

Since Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics eligible are integrated graphics, the maximum graphics memory limit reported by Windows can vary. The memory limit is dependent on non-Intel-controlled factors—for example, available system memory, BIOS, or system settings. The integrated Intel® processor graphics hardware doesn't use a separate memory bank for graphics/video. 

Regarding your question, yes it should take half of the memory for graphics. Still, we do recommend to check with OEM for additional details and further options.

In reference to the specifications of the Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics, most of the information is located in the document that was provided previously, volume 1. Also, we tested the links, and all of them are working properly. 

Still, if you are looking for more details, we just wanted to check:

Are you a developer?

What is the reason why you need the specifications of the Intel® graphics controller?

Are you working on a project? If yes, what is the project about?

What is it that you need to know about Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics?

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[ltgs]

@Alberto_R_Intel  thank you for the update.

I wanted to learn more about how the Iris works with system RAM, its limitations, etc. so that I can make a better buying decision regarding a new laptop, and if I should upgrade it with more RAM or not.

I found the following page:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/docs/discrete-gpus/iris-xe/integrated-graphics/overview.html

When I click on the "See Product Specifications" button, it gives me a page with 11th gen processors, which is strange.

Anyhow, I believe you have confirmed that the Iris will indeed take advantage of more RAM, up to half the system RAM. Since the processor can only handle up to 64GB of system RAM, this means the maximum RAM the Iris could utilize would be 32GB, which is plenty, and in fact much more than a typical dedicated graphics processor.

That is quite a selling point and I am surprised Intel does not highlight this point at all in their marketing.

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello ltgs, I just received an update on this matter.

For this scenario, it is important to mention that even though more memory could improve the performance you must consider that depending on what you need (basic computer, gaming, design, study porpuses, etc) could or could not be enough having only iGPU.

Based on that, we recommended to check what applications are needed and what you want to run in order to check the requirements directly with the application developers to run them properly, as it could be not enough and the setup you are planning to buy might not meet the recommended requirements to run the apps, games, etc. This could cause issues or bad performance, so we kindly recommend to confirm if your system will meet the requirements to run the apps before any purchase.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[hcosta]

I am  interested in Iris Xe capabilities, especially for IA. Is it a GPU (similar to NVIDIA) ?

Can you provide more details about it ? ex. how many cores it has and  features related to deep learning/AI