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The GeForce 9400 mGPU is based on the GeForce 9300 chipset, which we reviewed in the fall of 2008. It is based on the G86 core (GeForce 8400 GS), which means that there are 16 unified shaders. The only difference between the GeForce 9300 and the 9400 is clock speed: there is a 450 MHz core clock and 1,200 MHz shader clock for the GeForce 9300 mGPU, while the 9400 speeds up to 540 MHz core and 1,400 MHz for the shaders. Needless to say, this is sufficient horsepower to translate into a nice advantage over Intel’s offering.
Chipset Features
Although Intel’s G45 consists of the classic two-chip layout (northbridge and southbridge) and Nvidia decided to build a single-chip solution, their technical characteristics are similar. Bus speeds of up to FSB1333 are supported, as are all Core 2 processors including the Extreme Editions this time. Once again, these have to be supported by the particular motherboard, due to the high power requirements.
One x16 PCI Express slot will accept a gamer’s dedicated graphics board if he or she gets tired of the integrated unit’s performance. Other features, including 12 USB 2.0 ports, 6 SATA/300 drives with AHCI and NCQ plus RAID support, five 32-bit PCI 2.3 slots, HD audio, and Gigabit networking, can be found on any product starting at the lower mainstream.
Nvidia Features
There are some good reasons why some users might prefer the Nvidia GeForce 9400 chipset over the G45, despite Intel’s tradition of providing reliable and stable platforms. On the one hand, there is GeForce Boost, which allows plugging in an additional GeForce 8400 GS or 8500, and running it in Hybrid SLI mode, teamed up with the on-board solution. Hybrid Power, which is supposed to shut down graphics cards that aren’t used, didn’t work on our test sample, and it was mentioned as “only available in select designs” in Nvidia reviewer’s guide (Ed.: It's worth noting that this feature is, for lack of a better word, dead following the release of Nvidia's more energy-efficient GeForce GTX 260 and 280 GPUs).
On the other hand, there is the option to utilize Nvidia’s 16 unified shaders and their floating point performance to accelerate applications that were adjusted to take advantage of CUDA or PhysX. CUDA is Nvidia’s effort to bring parallel processing to mainstream applications, while PhysX is very much self-explanatory: it is about delivering more realistic physical environments in games and other simulations of reality, by utilizing the GPUs’ processing power in games optimized for the API.
PureVideo HD
Nvidia claims that 100% of the decoding workload (HDCP and video) can be offloaded to its GPUs, which we found to be very close to correct. Although we used quad-core processors, the CPU load was well below 10% at all times. Intel’s chipset showed increased CPU load on the slower test CPU, while the systems running the GeForce 9400 mGPU remained almost at the same level.
The only really confusing thing was our attempt to download the latest drivers, which can be found neither in the GeForce nor nForce 8/9 sections. Instead, you have to select nForce—which alone may be impossible for someone who is not familiar with the Nvidia portfolio—check nForce 7 series and then select nForce 730i/GeForce 9400/9300.
- HTPC: Benefits of Integrated? [Motherboards & Memory]
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- Need advice on audio for future HTPC build [Homebuilt Systems]
- Why Integrated for HTPC? [Homebuilt Systems]
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lol lame comparison. I don't think people doubted the 9400 mGPU would trounce the G45 in every aspect. I would have liked to see a 790GX comparison.
i know but lets face it amd chipsets own. i know some intel users would kill for a 790gx.
how do the raid controllers on these mobos compare?
oh ... Intel IGP again huh ...... the benchmark just show that Intel IGP are piece of crap , lol XD
I find the tests kind of lame. How about testing other chipset features like network performance, audio quality, video decoding quality, USB transfer speeds, RAID or storage performance. The review centered on the feature where everyone knew what the outcome would be. Boring!
Now compare both companies' entire lineups with the price, consumption, and performance ratios of an AMD 780G.
what a BS article...lazy lazy
You have two charts marked "PCMark Vantage Gaming Suite" with different results.
BTW, 9400 beats 790GX on AnandTech's by about 25% (might be other review site). I also don't remember the power consumption result but it should be close.
Lets face it, I knew Intel would lose, but if I was just using my computer for searching the web and other kinds of office work I would buy integrated graphics, and I would get them from Intel. I never worry about leaving my mom and dad to use my old computer which is a 865G, because the thing is stable as a rock. I have had 2 experiences with a Nvidia chipsets (680i, and one of the 7 series ones) and they haven't been good. System restarting due to heat issues, etc. I don't know about the new ones like this one tested here but I would be a little leary of it.
WoW would have been a good test for these integrated solutions.
I think the item of note this article points out is that the Nvidia solution not only (expectedly) trounces the bejesus out of the Intel IGP but also does so while consuming less power, and this with a 4 phase motherboard. Not too shabby at all. Before reading this I would have assumed the the Nvidia chipset would consume notably more power than the Intel one.
I can't disagree with the comments that it could have been more thorough in going over feature comparisons such as raid performance etc., but it doesn't mean the article is worthless.
I have the 9300 (Asus P5n7a-VM) and it plays WOW at 30fps at medium settings at 1400x700. Is the 9300/9400 worth it? Maybe. It provides an alternative to 790/780 and G45, and yeah it provides better 3D performance, but nothing that could satisfy the casual gamer to hardcore gamer. IGP still have a ways to go. WOW plays fine on it as well as 3-4 year old games. The good news is that 790gx has a competitor now and its a Core2Duo platform. I think this is a good alternative for C2D platform to be able to build a low profile HTPC for those who may have a Conroe and DDR2 laying around (like me).
I am most satisified with the HTPC performance. A HDMI interface that can do 1080p/24 and 7.1 LPCM @ 192 KHz sampling rate onto my Denon 889. And occasional gaming with Half-Life 2, Eposide 1,2 and Team Fortress, some WOW, all on my 100 inch projection screen. It wakes from sleep almost flawlessly everytime.
The Video playback test would have been more meaningful if a lower C2D or Pentium dual core was used.
Where is the overclocking? Where are the game benchmarks - synthetics are all well and good but how about some COD4 benchmarks for example?
how about comparing all integrated video platforms from all companies for use in HTPC systems that's really what this boils down to someone looking for high end intergrated video would be for that use,,perhaps show power useage & maybe some game & app use,,but also perhaps something that shows how well they play the HD video (jaggies test, smoothness, etc) because it don't mean crap if it can't do it well.
I too was wondering how come the AMD Phenom and ATI 790gx were not in this work-up.
It is nice to see what is up in Intel Land, but how does the Geforce 9400 solution compare to ATI 790gx? that is the question.
How about running a comparison withe the ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 DDR3 AMD 790GX or the the DFI LP JR 790GX-M2RS AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX
they keep mentioning CUDA and Nvidia's "floating point power" but dont use a single CUDA app...lame. All they had to do was get CS4 on there and do a few runs
Both boards seem to accelerate a single H.264 playback under Windows. Any thoughts on how Linux driver support is for video playback acceleration. Also, can the acceleration support two concurrent playbacks (under either Linux or Windows)?
[This also applies to drivers: even though Intel had a pretty rough start with its G45 platform, the driver support has been steady]
I have a motherboard with Intel ICH5, and it does not works with XP installation, unless there is a PATA HD to be used as swap during isntallation. (and you can't remove it, even if you install windows on SATA disk).
It is a Intel driver fault. Intel does not provides an updated ICH5 driver, because it "is included in Windows XP", which is buggy.
On another side, Intel allows simultaneous RAID 0 and RAID 1 in different partitions, and have higher performance RAID.
- I would like to see the integrated chipset benchmark as an additional PhysX processor when the main videocard is ATI or a discrete Nvidia.
You guys need to spend a little less time in the lab and a little more time on your vendors websites.
"Hybrid Power, which is supposed to shut down graphics cards that aren’t used, didn’t work on our test sample, and it was mentioned as “only available in select designs” in Nvidia reviewer’s guide."
Hybrid Power does NOT work on Intel platforms.
Period.
End of Story.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/hybrid_sli_desktop.html
Scroll down and look at the "Hybrid SLI Enabled Motherboards" section.
If you want Hybrid Power, you have to go with an AMD Board.
Makes perfect sense right?