What's the use of low end GPU like 8400GS?

Hello, I just wonder why the company produces gpu like 7100gs, 7200gs, 8400gs? Just wonder who and what's the use of that gpu's? Anyway, we can't play any games with it, video decoding? I don't it will help much either. Is it better than vga onboard or just the same?

Thanks for anyone who relpy...

What do you mean you can't play games with them? You know there are still people playing BF1942 and older games don't you? Not everyone plays crysis.

BF1942? I see...

But which one is better between 8400GS with onboard vga?

Yeah those cards are pretty much the bare minimal that usually placed in PC's where the OEM has a decent motherboard (example35 chipset) without on-board video. You see them a lot in the higher-end HP and Dell machines, where the motherboard doesn't have an onboard graphics card. They are also useful for the fact that they have a DVI port, which a lot of LCD's use as a standard, not to mention they have TV-out also. It's sort of like the FX5200 or the Geforce 4 MX of yesteryear. Most OEM's will call them "Dedicated Hardware Graphics" or something like that to sucker the purchaser with the allure of being able to play games, only to complain that they can't play whatever new game that came out that they were interested in. I used to be a technician at a local computer shop and I can't tell you how many times customers have told me that they thought that they were getting the best of the best because they paid so much for their computer, only to find out that they are at least 3 generations behind as far as GPU's are concerned.

well i have an 8400gs for playing cs:source online, not bad i can play with all the settings up @ 1280x1024.. but then again its crap when playing current gen games. its twice as fast as my 5700 in 3dmark 03, though.

I've got a 7300LE. I've got processing power (Q6600 & 2GB DDR2-800) but, relatively speaking, no 3d power at all. =)

I had an 8800GTS but I'm not gonna be playing PC games for awhile so I sold it. Got the 7300LE for 20 bucks.

Now I'm looking at running linux from a thumbdrive so I can go low power and silent whenever I don't need lots of disk. I sometimes convert videos for other people's iPods.

I use one in a HP slimline PC, I use it as a HTPC, and have it connected to my tv, running it at 1920 x 1080i, with HD component out, wokrs pretty good for that, never tried playing any games with it, as I have my main PC for that, although I did try 3dmark 06, and got 1507 on it with a AMD x2 3800+ .

They are made mainly to replace a fried integrated GPU without replacing the mobo. They are also made for people like me who hate integrated graphics, but don't game. The main reason I hate integrated is you lose system ram (up to 256MB) just to run your monitor. Also, I like the fact they do come with a DVI port.

Yeah..maybe that's right...at least I think so...Thanks pals for giving all your opinion.

Yeah, for people with really low budget.

Thanks God i always had purchased the hardcore ones in every generation. !!!

Several price ranges indeed.

Secretely if you put a 120V (plug outlet) across the Voltage regulator it will outperform an 8800ULTRA triple SLI setup.

Another advantage, they fit in low profile cases, where others don't.

Unless you can find one of these:

http://www.galaxytech.com/Product_Details.asp?id=135

The are probably made to fool the uninformed computer buyer that they are getting a decent gaming rig.
Why else would the naming system be so complicated? XT,GS,GTS, SE, ....and on and on.

Unless you are a hardware geek like the one's that will be reading this post it's fuc*ing hard to keep up....

Video playback is infinitely better, and you are not stealing memory (that is a good reason).

Hmmm, No, 'sensible' is the first word that springs to my mind. Please be aware that some of the 512mb versions of the 8400GS have 256 on board and use 256 of system RAM, the XFX one that I'm using is one and I think the MSI one is the same.

Don't forget to use peanut butter for aftermarket paste. It's the only thing that can transfer the heat quick enough. If your rich you can even use Fluff, works even better.

Also these low-end cards a nice setteling ground for people who want to do light gaming/applications but don't want to spend over $100 for something they will never fully utilize. Integerated is really only good for very basic office use. A good example to show how weak IG is would be this one. I tried opening Age of Mythology, the RTS, and the IG on my friends board would not even load the game due to insufficient graphic support. Thats just sad considiring how new the mobo was and how old that game was. But with $50~$70 you can pack a little punch.

Thanks.

Source is a really good engine.

the 8400gs isnt really a bad card. Its small - good for fitting in smaller cases as well as good for gaming as long as your backed up with a decent processor. I play crysis and Far Cry 2 with mine, and it makes me happy.


Not everyone has a PCIe slot, and the 8400gs is a great replacement for onboard.

um.... i can play crysis on my very low end system with 8400GS

WTF? Please at least try using the 8400GS before judging it

I can play Crysis at 15-30FPs at 1440x900 Low-Meidum Settings (Physics at High)

That's pretty impressive for a 8400GS and to make it worse I only have 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a AMD Athlon x2 3800+ 2GHz, and nForce 430 Mainboard

Other GPU's can play Crysis at 10FPS-20FPS likewise the ATI Radeon 9800
It's not always about the graphics card its sometimes aoubt the game's engine and CryEngine has some of the best optimizations

you mean smack your lcd panel with it?