Published in Reviews

Zotac 8400GS, the cheapest DX10 card

by on22 June 2007

Index

 

Testing and 3DMarks

Geforce 8400GS is currently the cheapest DirectX 10 card. The ATI HD 2400PRO might end up cheaper, but final price is not yet confirmed. Geforce 8400GS will have to fight that card in the low-end part of market. First results show that ATI is slower, but we will leave our conclusion to when HD 2400PRO comes out. Cheaper usually also means slower, and today we will see how slower the 8400GS really is when compared to a Geforce 8500GT.

Because of the already mentioned technical difficulties with our test monitor we couldn't do the tests on quality of multimedia content. This card is the one of the rare that can transfer both video and digital audio signal over DVI port. So you can get the entire multimedia content to your TV without additional audio cables.

In our standard test we have 3DMarks, while the game testing is done mostly without filters like Anisotropic Filter and Antialiasing. Geforce 8400GS is meant for multimedia and not gaming, but in spite of that you can play games, naturally on lower resolutions and with minimal settings.

3DMarks

 

Composite Figures 3Dmark 03

3DMark 03

Game2

Game3

Game4

Zotac 8400GS 459/800MHz

5991

40.7

35.9

39.1

8500GT reference 450/800MHz

8328

61.4

51.0

48.4

Zotac 8500GT 700/800MHz

10251

72.0

61.9

66.4

Asus EN8600GT 540/1400MHz

15247

105.5

88.7

107.0

 

 

 

 

 

Composite Figures 3Dmark 03

Single Texturinng

Multi Textur.

Vertex Shader

Pixel Shader 2.0

Zotac 8400GS 459/800MHz

630.0

2733.1

27.5

52.2

8500GT reference 450/800MHz

1324.4

2885.5

29.0

112.8

Zotac 8500GT 700/800MHz

1328.1

3988.9

38.3

127.9

Asus EN8600GT 540/1400MHz

2023.7

7028.5

55.1

168.2


In 3DMark 03 the card scores almost 6000 points, but it is still behind 8500GT by 2337 marks. The cards lack of power, caused by its 64bit memory interface, is mostly notable in Single Texturing and Pixel Shader 2.0 test.

All Geforce 8500 and 8600 cards have 128bit memory interface. Geforce 8500GT uses GDDR2, just like Geforce 8400GS, while Geforce 8600 cards come with GDDR3 memory. Geforce 8500GT is 39 per cent faster then Geforce 8400GS.

Composite Figures 3Dmark 05

3DMark 05

Game1

Game2

Game3

Zotac 8400GS 459/800MHz

3501

16.7

10.7

15.3

8500GT reference 450/800MHz

4725

22.5

14.4

20.9

Zotac 8500GT 700/800MHz

6125

28.8

19.1

27.2

Asus EN8600GT 540/1400MHz

8924

38.5

28.7

41.2

 

 

 

 

 

Composite Figures 3Dmark 05

Single Texturinng

Multi Textur.

Pixel Shader

VS/VS
complex

Zotac 8400GS 459/800MHz

705.1

2953.3

52.9

29.2/29.9

8500GT reference 450/800MHz

1464.0

3007.3

62.3

54.0/53.0

Zotac 8500GT 700/800MHz

1442.3

5347.8

83.7

54.0/59.9

Asus EN8600GT 540/1400MHz

2166.7

7399.2

140.1

63.0/95.1

 

 

 

 

 


Geforce 8400GS did 3501 marks in 3DMark 05 test, which is 1224 points or 35 per cent lower then Geforce 8500GT. Zotac 8500GT, with core that is clocked at 700MHz, is 2624 marks or 75 per cent faster then Geforce 8400GS. Weakness of the test card is still shown in Single Texturing and Vertex Shader simple/complex test, and the main cause of all this, if we assumed correctly, is the 64 bit memory interface.
 

Composite Figures 3Dmark 06

3DMark 06

 

 

 

Zotac 8400GS 459/800MHz

1612

 

 

 

8500GT referenc 450/800 MHz

2291

 

 

 

Zotac 8500GT 700/800 MHz

2936

 

 

 

Asus EN8600GT 540/1400MHz

4513

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SM2.0 Test

Score

GT1

GT2

 

Zotac 8400GS 459/800MHz

632

5.159

5.378

 

8500GT referenc 450/800 MHz

878

6.913

7.726

 

Zotac 8500GT 700/800 MHz

1158

9.279

10.015

 

Asus EN8600GT 540/1400MHz

1830

14.549

15.958

 

 

 

 

 

 

HDR/SM3.0 Test

Score

HDR1

HDR2

 

Zotac 8400GS 459/800MHz

506

4.324

5.794

 

8500GT referenc 450/800 MHz

765

6.562

8.748

 

Zotac 8500GT 700/800 MHz

981

8.614

11.004

 

Asus EN8600GT 540/1400MHz

1590

14.094

17.709

 

 

 

 

 

 

CPU Test

Score

CPU1

CPU2


« Prev Next

Last modified on 29 June 2007
Rate this item
(0 votes)