128MB 8400M GT Question

i've got a question about the 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT. I'm not sure if this is a good card and I'm not sure what I can expect from this card.

Is this card able to run games (for example Shadowrun or Guildwars or WoW on the best quality)

Is this card better then a Nvidia Geforce GO 7600? Or go 7400?

Is this card able to run Photoshop, Flash 8 and 3d studio MAX at the SAME time?

What is your opinion about this card?




I hope you can give me answer to these questions

THX in advance, Gideon

 

Its probably on par with an Nvidia Go7600 although this cannot be confirmed yet due to lack of benchmarks.

Yes. Make sure you get 2GB of system RAM with whatever machine you get.

 

1. Yes, it is. Wow and Guildwars should run at "best quality". Shadowrun will not, but will propably run at "low to medium quality".
2. There's no benchmarks yet. But it is said that it propably performs about the same as go 7600. It's most certainly faster than go 7400.
3. Running several applications at the same time is more dependant of the CPU type and speed than GPU power. Well, most latest laptops comes with fast dual core CPU anyway, so no worries on that part. Memory is the second important. 3d studio MAX is the only one of those three apps that really benefits from GPU speed.
4. I think there's no reason to get this card over older generation cards (go 7600/7700 etc.). It has not enough power to really benefit from DX10. Also note that it's good to have atleast 256MB of dedicated video memory if you plan to do some gaming.

 

well, it's about the Sony Vaio FZ11E

short specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7100 1.8 GHz
1024MB (2x512MB)
120 GB 5400rpm
Double Layer DVD+/-RW
X-Black LCD 15.4" TFT 1280x800 WXGA
128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT
Wireless LAN

with the nice price of €1100,-
Thats $1479.28

I think it's a nice laptop if you look at the performance/price

But if I take 2Gb of system ram, It cost me more then €400,- extra... And since I'm not very rich i can't afford that much But do you have a better suggestion for a same priced laptop, with better a better performance?

gideon

 

You could always upgrade the memory after-market. I'm not sure what Sony's policy is on RAM upgrades - but 2x1GB sticks shouldn't cost more than $80...

 

For that amount of money I would suggest looking at a Zepto - try the 6625W. It has a 15.4" display, Core 2 Duo (Santa Rosa), and 8600M-GT.
http://www.zepto.com/Shop/Notebook.aspx?notebookid=636

 

GPU memory isn't always a good indicator of GPU performance.

 

But in GPUs that can use it, it gives a performance boost. See for example the x1600 128MB and x1600 256MB in the Macbook Pro. Both 128bit, same clocks. Only difference? Memory size. The 256MB performs better, since the GPU can actually use all of that memory. However, if it's, say a x1400, the extra memory is just a marketing ploy.

 

Geforce 8400M GT is not 128MB is 256MB

8400M G = 128MB vram and 256 max.
8400M GS = 128MB vram and 256 max.
8400M GT = 256MB vram and 512 max

 

Not all. The Sony Vaio VGN-FZ11S has a 8400M GT with 128MB ram and the Sony Vaio VGN-FZ11Z a 8400M GT with 256MB.

 

Thanks for all the fast responses, i appriciate it a lot

@chaz, that looks like a great deal! I think I order a Zepto instead of a vaio, because 2gb memory is just €64 more, even though i've never heard of the brand... Is it a good brand?

 

It's actually only 40€ (exl. BTW) more: http://www.zepto.nl/Default.aspx?page=Configurator&configurationid=RsT2T42xFR
Zepto is propably not too much differing from any other brand... Check the Zepto section here in NBR for more information. If there's something I like in Zepto is that they have actually personnel following popular forums in the internet and answering questions conserning about their products.

 

There are quite a few Zepto owners on the forums. Zepto ships internationally and they're pretty well known.

 

From the specs, the Go 7600 is a marginally faster version of the desktop 7300 GT, and the 8400M GT is a marginally faster version of the desktop 8500 GT.

From the real world benchmarks, the 7300 GT and the 8500 GT take turns being the leader, switching with each game. So yea, for all intents and purposes, the 8400M GT is a 7600 with DX10 capabilities.