Intel HD Graphics DirectX Developer's Guide (Sandy Bridge)

Appendix: Introducing Intel® Graphics Performance Analyzers (Intel® GPA)
o Determine why a task seems to run longer than you expect it to.
The Intel® GPA Frame Analyzer is the tool providing a detailed view of a capture
file generated by the Intel® GPA System Analyzer or the Intel® GPA Frame Capture
tool. The capture file contains all DirectX* information used to render the selected
3D frame. Use this tool to understand the performance of your application at the
frame level, render target level, and erg level (an “erg” is any item in the frame
that potentially renders pixels to the frame buffer, such as “draw” calls or “clear”
calls).
Extensive interactive experimentation capabilities within the tool enables detailed
analysis and “what if” optimization experiments without rebuilding the application.
With the Intel® GPA Frame Analyzer you can:
o Find out how much time the graphics application spends on each pass
within the captured scene.
The tool provides a sortable tree view of performance metrics at the
frame level, region level (default region = render target change), and
erg level.
o Determine the most expensive ergs.
The tool shows a thumbnail and full-sized view of all render targets
associated with the current ergs selection set, including highlighting
options for selected ergs.
o Run experiments.
The tool provides a set of selectable experiments including a simple
pixel shader, 2x2 textures, and 1x1 scissor rect that modifies the
current draw call selection set.
How to maximize graphics performance on Intel® Integrated Graphics 39