Intel Kaby Lake HD Graphics 620 OpenGL/Vulkan Performance On Linux

Looking at the Dota 2 Vulkan vs. OpenGL results at 800 x 600, the Vulkan performance is faster on this Core i5 7200U system compared to the OpenGL driver.

At 1280 x 1024, the performance was about the same. Keep in mind this doesn't have the latest Git with the notable optimizations there that landed just hours ago. I'll have some fresh benchmarks there shortly. Also, Dota 2 wasn't boosted by either Linux 4.9 or Mesa 13 for this Kaby Lake testing.

At 1080p, the Vulkan performance was trailing the OpenGL numbers.

To run your own numbers against these results, install the Phoronix Test Suite and run phoronix-test-suite benchmark 1611107-TA-VULKANKAB37.

Well, that's the Vulkan vs. OpenGL data with the HD Graphics 620 found on the Core i5 7200U. While Intel has been making many graphics improvements in their recent generations, the lower-end HD Graphics 620 isn't really enough for any Steam Linux gaming at a modest resolution right now with either Vulkan or OpenGL. But at least it's good enough for basic Linux desktop workloads and sufficient for video playback via VA-API so a MSI Cubi 2 could be used for say a Kodi/HTPC box. Unless there is a lot of interest from premium members, not too interested in a Windows vs. Linux Kaby Lake comparison for now until getting my hands on faster Kaby Lake processors in the future where the numbers should be more meaningful.

More Intel Kaby Lake Linux benchmarks coming up soon on Phoronix. If you wish to support all of the Linux hardware testing work done here, please consider joining Phoronix Premium.