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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).

GeForce 9400M Series

GeForce 9400M (G) / ION (LE) 16 @ 0.45 GHz
GeForce 9400M GeForceBoost compare 24 64 Bit
CodenameMCP79MX
Pipelines16 - unified
Core Speed450 MHz
Shader Speed1100 MHz
Shared Memoryyes
APIDirectX 10.0, Shader 4.0
Power Consumption12 Watt
Transistor Count282 Million
technology65 nm
FeaturesPureVideo HD VP3
Date of Announcement14.10.2008
Link to Manufacturer Pagewww.nvidia.com

Benchmarks

3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +
3DMark 2001SE - 3DMark 2001 - Standard
min: 5439     avg: 8199     median: 6427 (7%)     max: 13845 Points
3DMark 05 - 3DMark 05 - Standard
min: 2143     avg: 3002     median: 2807 (3%)     max: 3930 Points
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +
3DMark 06
min: 1118     avg: 1348     median: 1157 (2%)     max: 2000 Points
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x800 +
3DMark 06
min: 1916     avg: 2092     median: 2113.5 (3%)     max: 2207 Points
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x720 +
3DMark 06
1999 Points (3%)
3DMark 06 - Standard 1366x768 +
3DMark 06
1240 points (2%)
Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) +
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit)
min: 939     avg: 2231     median: 2326.5 (2%)     max: 4402 points
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

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 detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Anno 1404

Anno 1404

2009
low 1024x768
15.8 17 19.1 42 ~ 23 fps    + Compare
ultra 1280x1024
6.2  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Sims 3

Sims 3

2009
low 800x600
43 77 ~ 60 fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
10 28 ~ 19 fps    + Compare
high 1280x1024
2  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
F.E.A.R. 2

F.E.A.R. 2

2009
low 800x600
19 20.7 44 ~ 28 fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
27  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead

2008
low 640x480
64  fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
14.7 23 ~ 19 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Racedriver: GRID

Racedriver: GRID

2008
low 800x600
17 60 ~ 39 fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
11 17 ~ 14 fps    + Compare
high 1280x1024
9  fps    + Compare
» With most tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare

Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare

2007
low 800x600
33.1 70.5 ~ 52 fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
27.1  fps    + Compare
» With most tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Supreme Commander - FA Bench

Supreme Commander - FA Bench

2007
med. 1024x768
12.1  fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
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 1024x768
22.8 30.4 32 ~ 28 fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
11  fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
6.3  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
High 800x600
8.9
Low 0xAF 0xAA 800x600
28.8
Med 0xAF 0xAA 800x600
15.1
Medium 1366x768
8.7
Low 1366x768
17.7
High 1366x768
4.9
Crysis - CPU Benchmark

Crysis - CPU Benchmark

2007
low 1024x768
21.4 28.3 30 ~ 27 fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
10.5 11.3 ~ 11 fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
5.4 5.8 ~ 6 fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
Med 0xAF 0xAA 800x600
14.2
Low 0xAF 0xAA 800x600
29.3
High 0xAF 0xAA 800x600
7.9
Low 1366x768
17.6
Medium 1366x768
8.7
High 1366x768
4.7
World in Conflict - Benchmark

World in Conflict - Benchmark

2007
med. 1024x768
15  fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
5  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Call of Juarez Benchmark

Call of Juarez Benchmark

2006
high 1024x768
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
F.E.A.R.

F.E.A.R.

2005
low 640x480
95 188 222 ~ 168 fps    + Compare
med. 800x600
39 53 60 ~ 51 fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
10 15 27 ~ 17 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Quake 4

Quake 4

2005
low 640x480
61  fps    + Compare
med. 800x600
56  fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
45  fps    + Compare
ultra 1024x768
39  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft

2005
low 800x600
54 136.9 ~ 95 fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
41 43 ~ 42 fps    + Compare
high 1280x1024
11  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Counter-Strike Source

Counter-Strike Source

2004
high 1024x768
35 44 ~ 40 fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
» With most tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Doom 3

Doom 3

2004
low 640x480
86.3  fps    + Compare
med. 640x480
83.6  fps    + Compare
high 800x600
84.1  fps    + Compare
ultra 1024x768
83.3  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo

Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo

1999
high 1024x768
93.7 199.7 240 ~ 178 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
lowmed.highultraQHD4K
Anno 1404236.2
Sims 360192
F.E.A.R. 22827
Left 4 Dead6419
Far Cry 23611.9
Racedriver: GRID39149
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare5227.1
Supreme Commander - FA Bench12.18.9
Crysis - GPU Benchmark2811.026.32
Crysis - CPU Benchmark27116
World in Conflict - Benchmark155
Call of Juarez Benchmark3.3
Half Life 2 - Lost Coast Benchmark42
F.E.A.R.1685117
Quake 461564539
World of Warcraft954211
Counter-Strike Source40
Doom 386.383.684.183.3
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo178
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps
4
3
5
1
8
3
1
11
3
1
1
1
1
1






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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

 

Review MSI Wind Top AE2220 All in One Touch PC

Touch me.The AE2220 is a display-PC for under 800 Euro. Behind the white 21.5-inch frame lies hardware to the tune of an Nvidia Ion combined with a Core 2 Duo T...
Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (G) / ION (LE) | 21.50" | 8.8 kg
 

Review Lenovo IdeaPad S12 ION Netbook

The small, white one. Stylishness is a must for all netbooks, because those who buy these mini PCs are not always computer experts who need a secondary computer...
Intel Atom N270 | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (G) / ION (LE) | 12.00" | 1.6 kg
 

Review Asus Eee PC 1201N Ion-Notebook

Ion meets Eee. As far as netbooks are concerned, Asus has always taken pride in its pioneer role in the various fields. Asus has, however, surprisingly allowed ...
Intel Atom 330 | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (G) / ION (LE) | 12.10" | 1.5 kg
 

Review Apple MacBook 10-2009 Notebook

Plastics Unibody After the latest revision of the cheapest Apple notebooks, a stable Unibody case is now also used in Cupertino. The small White could convince ...
Intel Core 2 Duo P7550 | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (G) / ION (LE) | 13.30" | 2.1 kg
 

Review Samsung N510 Ion Netbook

Pocket Player. Nvidia's ION chip set has already provided for a sensation for quite a time and it now finds its way into the Samsung N510 netbook. The combinati...
Intel Atom N270 | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (G) / ION (LE) | 11.60" | 1.4 kg

Apple MacBook Air 13 inch 2009-06 MC234*/A: Intel Core 2 Duo SL9600, 13.30", 1.3 kg
  Review » Review Apple MacBook Air - Mid 2009 (MC234*/A)

Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch 2009-06: Intel Core 2 Duo P8700, 13.30", 2 kg
  Review » Review Apple MacBook Pro 13 Mid 2009 2.53 GHz

Apple MacBook White 2009-05: Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, 13.30", 2.2 kg
  Review » Review Apple MacBook White 5.2 Mid 2009

Apple MacBook Aluminium: Intel Core 2 Duo P7350, 13.30", 2.1 kg
  Review » Review Apple MacBook Aluminum 2.0 GHz (Unibody, 13", 9400M, P7350)

  Review » Review Update Apple MacBook Aluminium (Unibody, 13", 9400M)

  Review » Review Apple MacBook Aluminium (Unibody, 13", 9400M)

Fusion Garage joojoo: Intel Atom N270, 12.00", 1.1 kg
  External Review » Fusion Garage joojoo

ASRock G22: Intel Celeron M 330, 12.10", 2.6 kg
  External Review » ASRock G22

HP Mini 311-1000: Intel Atom N270, 11.60", 1.5 kg
  External Review » HP Mini 311-1000

Asus Eee PC 1201N: Intel Atom 330, 12.10", 1.5 kg
  External Review » Asus Eee PC 1201N

Apple MacBook White 2009-10 MC207D: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, 13.30", 2.3 kg
  External Review » Apple MacBook White Late 2009

Samsung N510 black: Intel Atom N270, 11.60", 1.4 kg
  External Review » Samsung N510 black

HP Mini 311: Intel Atom N280, 11.60", 1.5 kg
  External Review » HP Mini 311

Apple MacBook Air 13 inch 2009-06 MC234*/A: Intel Core 2 Duo SL9600, 13.30", 1.3 kg
  External Review » Apple MacBook Air 2009-06 2.1 GHz MC234*/A

Asus F50GX: Intel Core 2 Duo T6400, 16.00", 2.9 kg
  External Review » Asus F50GX

Dell Studio XPS 1340: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, 13.30", 2.4 kg
  External Review » Dell Studio XPS X1340

Lenovo IdeaPad S12: Intel Atom N270, 12.00", 1.6 kg
  External Review » Lenovo IdeaPad S12

Axiotron Modbook: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 13.30", 2.5 kg
  External Review » Axiotron Modbook

Apple MacBook White 2009-05: Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, 13.30", 2.2 kg
  External Review » Apple MacBook White 2009/05

Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch 2009-06: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, 13.30", 2.1 kg
  External Review » Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch (06/09)

MSI Megabook VR705: Intel Core 2 Duo T5800, 17.00", 3.5 kg
  External Review » MSI Megabook VR705

Apple MacBook White 2009-03: Intel Core 2 Duo P7350, 13.30", 2.3 kg
  External Review » Apple MacBook White 2009-03

Dell Studio XPS SX13-163B: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, 13.30", 2.6 kg
  External Review » Dell Studio XPS SX13-163B

MSI X-Slim X320: Intel Atom Z530, 13.40", 1.7 kg
  External Review » MSI X-Slim X320

Apple MacBook Aluminium: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, 13.30", 2 kg
  External Review » Apple Macbook Aluminium

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Class 0

Arc A380

Class 1

Class 2

Radeon PRO W6600M *

Class 3

UHD Graphics 32EUs
UHD Graphics 750

Class 4

Class 5

* Approximate position of the graphics adapter