I recently picked up an HP laptop with an Intel i5 1334U processor. According to Intel, this CPU supports Iris Xe graphics, but when I checked in Device Manager, it shows that my display is using Intel UHD graphics. I'm wondering if this is due to the fact that my laptop has only 8GB of single channel RAM. The shopkeeper mentioned that it would run Iris Xe, but now I'm not sure if this was misleading or if I can actually get Iris Xe graphics working on my laptop. Any insights?
4 Answers
You're right about needing dual channel RAM for the Iris branding to show up. It's like Intel's way of discouraging those low-cost laptops with single channel setups by not allowing the premium branding.
If you can, just add that extra 8GB of RAM. It's pretty much the minimum needed these days, especially with integrated graphics.
To get Iris Xe graphics working, it's recommended to have at least 16GB of RAM. If your laptop has an expansion slot, consider adding another identical 8GB stick to enable the full graphics capabilities!
Definitely. Onboard graphics tend to use available RAM, so more memory will help a lot.
Your laptop indeed has an Iris Xe G7 80 units GPU, but it looks like you're stuck on Intel UHD graphics because of the single channel RAM setup. Intel tends to reserve the Iris branding for systems with dual channel memory, which they do to encourage manufacturers not to skimp on important specs.
In Device Manager, under display settings, you'll see the Intel UHD listed. It's a common issue if dual channel RAM isn't present.
Right, and Intel's reasoning is to push manufacturers to provide better configurations instead of delivering budget options that can barely keep up.
Yeah, adding another stick of RAM would also improve overall performance, especially for multitasking.