Nvidia GeForce 9400 / 9300 IGP Chipset Reviewed

Nvidia GeForce 9400/9300 MGPU (code named the MCP7A) is an IGP chipset solution for the Intel platform, which directly competes with the chipsets from Intel. The chipset features are as follows:

• Intel Core 2 Family, Pentium D, Pentium 4, Celeron D, Celeron
• 1333 Mhz FSB
• Dual-channel DDR2-800 / DDR3-1333 Memory Interface
• DirectX 10 Support
• 16 Graphics Cores
• 580/1400 MHz (9400) or 450/1200 MHz (9300) Core/Shader Clocks
• 3.6 Billion/second Texture Fill Rate
• 128-bit Max. HDR Precision
• 2048 × 1536 Max. Analog Resolution
• 2560 × 1600 Max Digital Resolution
• GeForce Boost Technology
• HybridPower Technology
• NVIDIA PureVideo HD With full HD decode (1080i/p)
• PCI-Express 2.0 support
• 10/100/1000 Networking
• HDA (Azalia) audio
• 7.1 LPCM HD Audio Support

Guru3D tested the ECS GF9300T-A-V1.0 motherboard:

"... the GF9300 based mainboards will be a flexible solution, and not just for the budget minded. It performs as fast as any modern mainboard, you can make it a gaming rig, you can use it excellently for HTPC and if it floats your boat, it's a nice NET PC as well. I also think it's lovely we can use the integrated GPU, if not utilized for graphics, for CUDA, transcoding, PhysX and whatever new applications we'll see in the future... if you're looking for a competitive IGP solution, and a versatile and flexible mainboard that's not too expensive... this should be ranking at the top of your list. Definitely recommended." [Guru3D.com| NVIDIA GF9300 (ECS GF9300TA) mainboard review]

AnandTech had comparisons IGP boards - Nvidia 9400 / 9300 / 8300 / 8200, AMD 790GX / 780G, Intel G45 / G35:

"Everyone likes a clean victory; while NVIDIA has the opportunity to obtain just that with the GeForce 9300, there are a handful of lingering issues that cause them to hit just wide of the bullseye... if these problems are quickly addressed, the GeForce 9300 is as close to perfect as you're going to get for now... The GeForce 9300 is leaps and bounds ahead of Intel's G45, but that's not really a tremendous accomplishment. What NVIDIA has done however is effectively bring 780G-class performance to the Intel platform, which is better than nothing." [AnandTech | The IGP Chronicles Part 3: NVIDIA's GeForce 9300]

HotHardware.com tested two 9300 motherboards - Zotac GeForce 9300 and Asus P5N7A-VM - and compared it with mainboards with the Intel G45:

"In comparison to Intel's G45 chipset, the GeForce 9300 generally performs on roughly the same level in productivity applications, with a slight edge going to the G45 where its increased memory bandwidth comes into play. In any GPU intensive situation, however, the GeForce 9300 is simply on a different level than the G45. In the game tests, for example, the GeForce 9300 was up to 4.4X faster than the G45. ... If you're thinking about building a low-cost, low-power Intel-based rig or an HTPC anytime in the near future, do yourself a favor and check out the GeForce 9300 or GeForce 9400." [HotHardware.com | NVIDIA GeForce 9300 and 9400 Motherboard GPUs]

PC Perspective took a look at three motherboards - the MSI P7NGM-Digital (9300), Zotac GF9300-A-E, and ASUS P5N7A-VM (9300) - and compared it to an Intel DG45ID (G45 chipset):

"NVIDIA's new GeForce 9400 and 9300 chipsets are a breath of fresh air in a world of integrated Intel platforms that have underperformed. With the exceptions of synthetic memory performance and some nagging issues with the tested motherboards BIOS, the GF9300 chipset was a success from every angle. The graphics performance is without a doubt a level of magnitude improvement over the G45 chipset and added benefits like CUDA, Hybrid SLI and the coming onslaught of multimedia applications accelerated by GPUs make motherboards based on the NVIDIA GeForce 9400/9300 chipsets an easy choice." [pcper.com | NVIDIA GeForce 9400/9300 Chipset Review: IGP for Intel ]

As soon as the Nvidia 9300 and 9400 motherboards are available in the retail market, builders will have a choice of IGP motherboards when building a rig based on the Intel processor. Judging from the above reviews, the Nvidia 9400/9300 MGPU is the better way to go.

IceRocket : 9300, 9400, g45, geforce, igp, intel, mgpu, nvidia

Budget Graphics Compared: GeForce 9400 GT vs. Radeon HD 4550

Two new budget graphics cards came into play recently. These are the GeForce 9400 GT from Nvidia, and the Radeon HD 4550 from ATI. Their specs are as follows:

GeForce 9400 GT (US$59):

• G96 Core Code
• 314 million Transistor Count
• 55nm Manufacturing Process
• 550MHz Core Clock
• 16 Stream processors
• 1400MHz Stream Processor Clock
• 16 Texture Mapping Units (TMU) or Texture Filtering (TF) units
• 8 Raster Operator units (ROP)
• 800MHz GDDR2 Memory Clock
• 128-bit DDR Memory Bus
• 12.8GB/s Memory Bandwidth
• PCIe ver 2.0 x16 interface
• no Multi GPU Technology support
• HDCP Output Support

Radeon HD 4550 ($45-55):

• RV710 Core Code
• 242 million Transistor Count
• 55nm Manufacturing Process
• 600MHz Core Clock
• 80 Stream processors
• 600MHz Stream Processor Clock
• 8 Texture Mapping Units (TMU) or Texture Filtering (TF) units
• 4 Raster Operator units (ROP)
• 1600MHz GDDR3 Memory Clock
• 64-bit DDR Memory Bus
• 12.8GB/s Memory Bandwidth
• PCIe ver 2.0 x16 interface
• CrossfireX Multi GPU Technology support
• HDCP Output Support

AnandTech compared the HD 4550 with HD 3650, GF 9500 GT, and HD 4670 cards:

"Anyway, the point is that with cards in this class, you can't expect gaming performance. And even still we have cards that absolutely blow away integrated graphics. This really does highlight just how how horrible the performance of integrated solutions really is in comparison to any modern add-in graphics part. But that doesn't mean these cards don't have some value. Not everyone needs 3D, and these cards are priced very well. And more importantly, these cards offer a real solution to a problem HTPC builders have been faced with for a long time. The Radeon 4350 and 4550 offer quiet or silent video acceleration for full resolution blu-ray playback with the option of enabling 8 channel LPCM audio playback over HDMI. If you want to build an HTPC, one of these cards would be a very good fit." [AnandTech | ATI Radeon HD 4350 and 4550: Great HTPC Solutions]

HardwareZone gave the GeForce 9400 GT a 3.5 stars rating, and gave the Radeon HD 4550 a 4 stars rating:

"... the GeForce 9400 GT needs some improvements to match the Radeon HD 4550. In terms of performance, the 4550 was always faster than the 9400 GT, though this margin varied from game to game. When it came to power consumption, the Radeon again had the advantage, albeit a rather slight one. Finally, if you're battling for the hearts and minds of HTPC enthusiasts, ATI has a rather significant advantage in being able to offer 7.1 channel HD audio through its DVI/HDMI outputs, something that NVIDIA cannot do, even with a S/PDIF cable. Then, there's the matter of VC-1 hardware acceleration, which ATI just does better (though the market does seem to be favoring H.264 in Blu-ray nowadays)." [HardwareZone | When Budget Graphics Clash: GeForce 9400 GT Meets Radeon HD 4550 ]

I agree with HardwareZone's suggestion of taking a good look at the older mainstream graphic cards such as the GeForce 8600 GT and Radeon HD 3650, before committing to buy a 9400 GT or HD 4550.

The HD 4550 seemed to perform better than the 9400 GT, despite the Radeon's 64-bit DDR Memory Bus. And if you need 7.1 channel HD audio, the HD 4550 card is the one to get, and a nice one if you are thinking of building and HTPC.

Technorati : 4550, 9400, budget, geforce, graphics, gt, hd, htpc, radeon, value