After we had got properly familiar with GeForce 9500 GT model, there comes another GeForce "nine" which uses the same graphics processor - G96. GeForce 9400 GT uses a weaker version of this chip whose number of Stream Processors and TMU units has halved from 32/16 to 16/8, while the number of ROP units remained the same. The same recipe was applied for getting GeForce 8500 Gt card from GeForce 8600 GT, so it's clear that 9400 GT comes instead of the model GeForce 8500 GT, considering that 9500 GT is the successor of 8600.

We have considered several GeForce 9400 GT models and established that most of them use the PCB from more powerful 9500 GT models, which is one more way to reduce the costs of development and time required to introduce the cards on the market. But, we have also encountered several "low profile" models: cards with reduced PCB height.

For our test, we decided to go with the performance of the XFX. And we may gladly say that almost nothing has changed. The recognizable design of the package, the excellently measured "wealth" of accessories in the box and the look of the hardware itself remained on the equally high level.

The card itself is of "low profile" format, but the engineers of XFX managed to keep the 128-bit memory interface. The pretty small cooler is quiet and more than enough to cool G96 with the lack of functional SP and TMU units and GPU running at 550MHz, which is exactly the standard for GeForce 9400 GT models. Stream processors run at 1350MHz, while 512MB DDR2 memory is set at 800MHz. That is a quite standard specification for GeForce 9400 GT.

Yet, this specification is apparently pretty weak. When compared to a stronger model, GeForce 9400 GT proves to be a very weak card. During the testing of GeForce 9500 GT model, we established that NVIDIA's graphic chip  G96 is not exactly a master of speed, which was confirmed with its weaker version, too. In all tests, the performances of the newest GeForce 9 model turned out to be lower from 20 to 45% from already too weak figures which GeForce 9500 GT can offer.

Considering that we don't have such a great opinion on GeForce 9500 GT card either, it is obvious that GeForce 9400 GT won't get our praise. The options that the newest GeForce 9 has to offer are simply too small, at least when it comes to gaming.

The stronger side of the weakest GTs are good options when dealing with HD material and a quality HDMI port with HDCP, which can be enabled via HDMI adapter (XFX added one of these in the box). Still, most of the modern integrated chipsets can do that, such as AMD's 780G, NVIDIA's GeForce 8200 (and 9300, which will appear somewhere round New Year), Intel's G43 Express and G45 Express, etc. So, if you're buying a new computer, it's better to add 10-20 euros for a motherboard with these possibilities than to give twice as much for a graphic card which can do that, too.

According to previously mentioned, it is obvious that owning GeForce 9400 GT makes sense only if you have a board with PCI-Express slot and the intention to upgrade your computer with good multimedia options but still leaving the option open to ocasionaly play some modern video games. You won't satisfy your gaming appetites because you'll have to stick with 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768 resolutions, but at least you'll have a good hint of what the game should look like.

XGCDB team.