The GeForce 9400 GT is a value chipset intended to replace the ageing GeForce 8400GS which has done a stellar job of keeping the entry-level segment firmly in NVIDlA's grasp.Anyone looking for a graphics card that can handle the demands of multimedia PC or an HTPC will definitely not want something costly. The GeForce 8400 GS can be had for as little as Rs 1,800. For a graphics card with DX 10 support. 16 SPs and 128 MB of dedicated video memory we feel this isn't a bad deal. The 9400 GT adds a little more performance to the 8400 GS while reducing the already miniscule power requirements. Although people interested in gaming should not look at these cards we reck- on they can handle most of the older games easily. In fact in case you play games like Team Fortress or Warcraft 3 online; you'll find this card can handle
such games easily. The fact that the 9400 GT can easily handle HD and Blu-Ray content speed up Vista's Aero interface are serious pluses.



Features

There were five 9400 GT based cards altogether; Gigabyte, POV, Sparkle, XFX and ZOTAC each sent us one. We were pleased to see all the vendors aside from XFX providing decent connec- tor bundles with their cards. Nobody provided any games.Only Gigabyte and ZOTAC pro- vide HDMI adapters which can be used to connect one of the two DVI ports to a large screen display - good for an HTPc.

Performance

All these cards came with their cores clocked at 550 MHz. Their memory was clocked at either 666 MHz or 800 MHz. What was interesting was that each card had a huge 512 MB of video RAM. Not that this does much, since a meagre 16 SPs cannot provide enough pixel crunching power to keep the memory subsystem busy. We figure a 256 MB version of these cards should suffice. In terms of raw performance the 9400 GT isn't too hot. Four fps in Crysis isn't exactly a garners dream. Equally unplayable was World In Conflict, while UT 3 is barely unplayable.