NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (G) / ION (LE)

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (G) / ION (LE)

The Nvidia GeForce 9400M G is an integrated (onboard) graphics card for laptops without dedicated graphics memory. The card was introduced in October 2008 in conjunction with the new Apple MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air products (called only 9400M). At the time of announcement it was the fastest mGPU (motherboard GPU) on the market.

The 9400M G graphics core is used in the MCP79 laptop chipset and in the ION platform for netbooks (which is essentially the same). The ION LE uses the same graphics core, but the DirectX support is limited to 9 (instead of 10). The clock rates of all thre platforms is identical.

The performance of the 9400M G is comparable to current entry level GPUs with dedicated graphics memory (like the GeForce 9300M GS).Therefore, the graphics adapater is able to display older games (like Doom3) in high details fluently and new (not too demanding games) in low details fluently. Warhammer Online should for example run on the 2.4 GHz MacBook fluently. Compared to the predecessor in the MacBook, the Intel GMA X3100, the GeForce 9400M should perform 5x better.

Because of the shared memory (the memory is reserved from the main memory), the graphics adapter performs significantly better with DDR3 main memory than with DDR2 (up to 33% more performance).

The current consumption of the mGPU is with a maximum of 12 Watt TDP (for the whole chipset (north- and southbridge are integrated) on par with the current Intel GMA X4500MHD (Centrino 2).

The chipset supports Hybrid-SLI (HybridPower) in conjunction with some GeForce 9x00M cards like the 9600M GT. HybridPower is a technique to choose between the integrated and dedicated graphics core, if performance or battery runtime is needed. Up to now the user has to use a tool to switch between the GPUs. (in Windows Vista, XP is not supported and MacOs needs a reboot according to Nvidia - at time of announcement). GeForceBoost to boost the performance (using SLI) is not supported in the MacBook Pro.

As the 9500M G, the 9400M features 16 stream processors that do the work of the former dedicated pixel- and vertex-shaders. The unified shaders of Nvidia are 1-dimensional (AMD has 5-dimensional shaders which leads to the higher number of shaders).

The MCP79MX (codename of the GeForce 9400M) can help the CPU in decoding HD videos. It features the PureVideo HD engine (VP3 video processor). Furthermore, the chip can be programmed using CUDA and can accellerate some operations in Photoshop CS4.

At the same time the desktop 9300 and 9400 mGPU was presented, which should perform simillarly (the laptop chipset 9400M should perform a bit lower than the 9300).

ManufacturerNVIDIA
GeForce 9400M Series

GeForce 9400M (G) / ION (LE) 16@450MHz

GeForce 9400M GeForceBoost 24@MHz

CodenameMCP79MX
Pipelines16 - unified
Core Speed *450 MHz
Shader Speed *1100 MHz
Memory Speed *
Memory Bus Width
Memory Type
Shared Memoryyes
256 MB (Apple)
DirectXDirectX 10.0, Shader 4.0
Current Consumption12 Watt
Transistors282 Million
technology65 nm
FeaturesPureVideo HD VP3
Notebook Sizesmall and light
Date of Announcement14.10.2008
Link to Manufacturer Pagehttp://www.nvidia.com/object/product_gef...
* The specified clock rates are only guidelines for the manufacturer and can be altered by them.

Benchmarks

3DMark 2001SE - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 5439     avg: 8199.1 (13%)     max: 13845 Points
3DMark 03 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 3385     avg: 4132.1 (4%)     max: 5759 Points
3DMark 05 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 2143     avg: 3001.8 (9%)     max: 3930 Points
3DMark 06
0% 100%
min: 1118     avg: 1733.3 (7%)     max: 2207 Points
PCMark Vantage - Gaming Score 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 1149     avg: 2424.7 (11%)     max: 3668 Points
Windows Vista Experience Index - GPU
0% 100%
min: 4.8     avg: 5.3 (78%)     max: 5.7 Points
Windows Vista Experience Index - GPU Games
0% 100%
min: 5.1     avg: 5.2 (77%)     max: 5.3 Points
Cinebench R10 - Shading 32Bit
0% 100%
min: 939     avg: 2230.8 (21%)     max: 4402 Points
3DMark Vantage - P Result no PhysX 1280x1024
0% 100%
min: 607     avg: 607 (2%)     max: 607 Points
3DMark Vantage - P GPU no PhysX 1280x1024
0% 100%
min: 465     avg: 465 (1%)     max: 465 Points
Windows 7 Experience Index - Graphics
0% 100%
min: 3.9     avg: 4.3 (55%)     max: 4.8 points
Windows 7 Experience Index - Gaming graphics
0% 100%
min: 5.1     avg: 5.3 (67%)     max: 5.4 points
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailled information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Anno 1404
Anno 1404 (2009)
low:
15.8 17 19.1 42 ~ 23 fps      Compare
ultra:
6.2  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Sims 3
Sims 3 (2009)
low:
43 77 ~ 60 fps      Compare
med.:
10 28 ~ 19 fps      Compare
high:
2  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
F.E.A.R. 2
F.E.A.R. 2 (2009)
low:
19 20.7 44 ~ 28 fps      Compare
med.:
27  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
GTA IV - Grand Theft Auto (2008): Not playable with a weaker graphics card. - more...
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead (2008)
low:
64  fps      Compare
high:
14.7 23 ~ 19 fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Far Cry 2
Far Cry 2 (2008)
low:
36  fps      Compare
high:
11.9  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Crysis Warhead (2008): Not playable with a weaker graphics card. - more...
Racedriver: GRID
Racedriver: GRID (2008)
low:
17 60 ~ 39 fps      Compare
med.:
11 17 ~ 14 fps      Compare
high:
9  fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Trackmania Nations Forever (2008): Not playable with a weaker graphics card. - more...
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare (2007)
low:
33.1 70.5 ~ 52 fps      Compare
med.:
27.1  fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Supreme Commander - FA Bench
Supreme Commander - FA Bench (2007)
med.:
12.1  fps      Compare
high:
8.9  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Crysis - GPU Benchmark
Crysis - GPU Benchmark (2007)
low:
22.8 30.4 32 ~ 28 fps      Compare
med.:
11  fps      Compare
high:
6.3  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Crysis - CPU Benchmark
Crysis - CPU Benchmark (2007)
low:
21.4 28.3 30 ~ 27 fps      Compare
med.:
10.5 11.3 ~ 11 fps      Compare
high:
5.4 5.8 ~ 6 fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
World in Conflict - Benchmark
World in Conflict - Benchmark (2007)
med.:
15  fps      Compare
high:
5  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Command and Conquer III (2007): Not playable with a weaker graphics card. - more...
Call of Juarez Benchmark
Call of Juarez Benchmark (2006)
high:
3.3  fps      Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Half Life 2 - Lost Coast Benchmark
Half Life 2 - Lost Coast Benchmark (2005)
high:
42  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. (2005)
low:
95 188 222 ~ 168 fps      Compare
med.:
39 53 60 ~ 51 fps      Compare
high:
10 15 27 ~ 17 fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Quake 4
Quake 4 (2005)
low:
61  fps      Compare
med.:
56  fps      Compare
high:
45  fps      Compare
ultra:
39  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft (2005)
low:
54 136.9 ~ 95 fps      Compare
med.:
41 43 ~ 42 fps      Compare
high:
11  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Counter-Strike Source
Counter-Strike Source (2004)
high:
35 44 ~ 40 fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Doom 3
Doom 3 (2004)
low:
86.3  fps      Compare
med.:
83.6  fps      Compare
high:
84.1  fps      Compare
ultra:
83.3  fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo (1999)
high:
93.7 199.7 240 ~ 178 fps      Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.

For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List

Game Performance

The following benchmarks should give a rough impression on the gaming capabilities of the 9400M graphics card. The values can vary according to the used CPU and main memory (especially using DDR2 instead of DDR3 main memory).

Crysis: 1024x768, med: 13 fps -> not playable
World in Conflict: 1024x768, med: 11 fps -> not playable (with min. details playable)
Warhammer Online: according to a YouTube video fluently playable with good details
Spore: 1280x800, max -> many pop-ins, in lower detailsettings playable

Notebook reviews with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (G) / ION (LE) graphics card

Apple MacBook 2009-10 (Intel Core 2 Duo P7550, 13.3")
» Review Apple MacBook 10-2009 Notebook - Review

Apple MacBook Air 13 inch 2009-06 MC234*/A (Intel Core 2 Duo SL9600, 13.3")
» Review Apple MacBook Air - Mid 2009 (MC234*/A) - Review
» Apple MacBook Air 2009-06 2.1 GHz MC234*/A - External Review

Apple MacBook Aluminium (Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, 13.3")
» Review Apple MacBook Aluminium (Unibody, 13", 9400M) - Review
» Review Update Apple MacBook Aluminium (Unibody, 13", 9400M) - Review
» Review Apple MacBook Aluminum 2.0 GHz (Unibody, 13", 9400M, P7350) - Review
» Apple Macbook Aluminium - External Review

Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch 2009-06 (Intel Core 2 Duo P8700, 13.3")
» Review Apple MacBook Pro 13 Mid 2009 2.53 GHz - Review
» Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch (06/09) - External Review

Apple MacBook White 2009-03 (Intel Core 2 Duo P7350, 13.3")
» Apple MacBook White 2009-03 - External Review

Apple MacBook White 2009-05 (Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, 13.3")
» Review Apple MacBook White 5.2 Mid 2009 - Review
» Apple MacBook White 2009/05 - External Review

Apple MacBook White 2009-10 MC207D (Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, 13.3")
» Apple MacBook White Late 2009 - External Review

ASRock G22 (Intel Celeron M 330, 12.1")
» ASRock G22 - External Review

Asus Eee PC 1201N (Intel Atom 330, 12.1")
» Review Asus Eee PC 1201N Ion-Notebook - Review
» Asus Eee PC 1201N - External Review

Asus F50GX (Intel Core 2 Duo T6400, 16.0")
» Asus F50GX - External Review

Axiotron Modbook (Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 13.3")
» Axiotron Modbook - External Review

Dell Studio XPS 1340 (Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, 13.3")
» Dell Studio XPS X1340 - External Review

Dell Studio XPS SX13-163B (Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, 13.3")
» Dell Studio XPS SX13-163B - External Review

Fusion Garage joojoo (Intel Atom N270, 12.0")
» Fusion Garage joojoo - External Review

HP Mini 311 (Intel Atom N280, 11.6")
» HP Mini 311 - External Review

HP Mini 311-1000 (Intel Atom N270, 11.6")
» HP Mini 311-1000 - External Review

Lenovo IdeaPad S12 (Intel Atom N270, 12.0")
» Review Lenovo IdeaPad S12 ION Netbook - Review
» Lenovo IdeaPad S12 - External Review

MSI Megabook VR705 (Intel Core 2 Duo T5800, 17.0")
» MSI Megabook VR705 - External Review

MSI Wind Top AE2220 (Intel Core 2 Duo T6600, 21.5")
» Review MSI Wind Top AE2220 All in One Touch PC - Review

MSI X-Slim X320 (Intel Atom Z530, 13.4")
» MSI X-Slim X320 - External Review

Samsung N510 black (Intel Atom N270, 11.6")
» Review Samsung N510 Ion Netbook - Review
» Samsung N510 black - External Review

» Comparison of GPUs
Detailled list of all laptop GPUs with a short description. Classified and sorted by performance.

» Benchmark List
Sortable and restrainable list of all GPUs with benchmarks (e.g. 3DMarks).

» Notebook Gaming List
Which game can be played with my graphics card.

Class 1
GeForce GTX 590
GeForce GTX 580
Radeon HD 6970
GeForce GTX 570
GeForce GTX 480
GeForce GTX 560 Ti
Radeon HD 6870
GeForce GTX 470
Radeon HD 5850
GeForce GTX 460 768MB
Radeon HD 6790
Radeon HD 5770
GeForce GTX 550 Ti
GeForce GTS 450
Radeon HD 4850
Radeon HD 5670
Class 2
GeForce GT 240
GeForce GT 430
7590M *
Radeon HD 5570
Radeon HD 6550D *
GeForce GT 220
Radeon HD 6450 GDDR5
Class 3
Radeon HD 4350
GeForce G 107M *
Chrome9HD *
Class 4
Class 5
Class 6
SGX543MP2 *
Mali-400 MP *
PowerVR SGX540 *
PowerVR SGX535
unknown *

* Approximate position of the graphics adapter

> Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News > FAQ / Tips / Technics > Comparison of Laptop Graphics Cards > NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (G)
Author: Klaus Hinum (Update: 2012-01-25)