GeForce 8400M GS question

If I have 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 3GB RAM
would there be any noticeable difference between these two GPUs ?
Does the shared "up-to" memory improve gaming performance?
And if I add 1GB to system memory would that help when playing demanding games?
Geforce 8400M GS,128MB Dedicated (up to 1407MB)

GeForce 8400M GS 256MB Dedicated (up to 1535 MB)

Thank you.

 

From my experience, virtually no difference. Is this GDDR3 or DDR2 memory? Make sure BOTH are the same (both being DDR2 or GDDR3).

I personally don't think you would notice any difference, at all.

 

Yeah... there will be little to no difference with different RAM for that GPU. The GPU itself is weak, and the additional RAM couldn't make much of a difference, if at all! For newer games, you'd experience about the EXACT same performance.....

 

Check the 3dmark06 benchmarks.

Alot of people with 256mb got higher points than me.

 

That's obv gonna be the case, since it's synthetic benchmarks. But in real life gaming application, it's bound to make negligible difference.

 

well doesnt higher 3dmark points mean better gpu performance?

Since it does all intensive and comprehensive tests on your gpu this would be more accurate than comparing actual gaming application

does this also mean the 256mb 8600m GT isnt better than the 512mb version? If i remember correctly, they got higher points. but then again i dont own this card

 

Well, a GDDR3 card would outperform a GDDR2 card That would/should matter more than the actual physical RAM. Also, 3DMark is just synthetic benchmarking

 

Thanks.
So does it mean that extra memory is almost useless? If so would it be true that the shared (up to 1407MB) memory won't be used in any circumstances?

 

Well it all depends. "better" is subjective... if you're getting the higher RAM GPU for lesser, then why not If there's also a very minor difference in pricing, I'd still get the higher RAM GPU.
All in all, the 8400M was not meant for serious gaming anyway. In your original post, you've mentioned playing "demanding games".... so you'd be better off with a notebook having a 8600M GPU.

 

I have the 256 MB version and from my benchmarks it doesn't make alot of difference

 

Im only gettin around 1000-1200 with several lv2go drivers w/ no OC. Your getting 300-400 more points, which makes the 256mb significantly better...

Last OC'able driver for HP was 169.04 which im using..

 

Might be a bit better , im playing NFS Pro Street with all high settings , except smoke is at medium !
Even with the 169.04 i can't overclock , im trying to use RivaTuner and it doesn't keep the settings , alwas revert them back to default settings (400/400 i think) Did you do anything else for O/C ?

 

umm i used driversweeper on safemode to completely remove the old drivers and remnants of it

 

So you uninstall the old driver , reboot in safemode , run DriverSweeper , reboot and install the new driver .. that should allow me to O/C the card ?

 

OP, you should try the new 9xxx series , I personally think the 9500GS is the best buy since it outperforms the 8600gt by 12percent or 14? depends on what bench mark tests you see or read.

the 128mb version of the 8400 gs is usually GDDR3.

and the 256mb version of it is usally GDDR2.

at least all HP models are like this but I am not sure about ASUS or Sony models.