Benchmark results for NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS (willandjenny)

[willandjenny]

Equipment: Pavilion DV2500t / core 2 duo 7250 (2GHz) / 2 Gigs G-Skill PC-5300 ram

Laptop Hooked to External HP w2207 (1680x1050) Monitor via HDMI

Windows XP Pro

NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS Driver 6.14.11.5666

[Pasted from 3DMark03 Basic]

Description NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS

Manufacturer NVIDIA

Total Local Video Memory 256 MB

Total Local Texture Memory 256 MB

Total AGP Memory 256 MB

Driver File nv4_disp.dll

Driver Version [MULTIPLE DRIVERS & TESTS = SEE BELOW]

Driver Date 9-28-2007

Driver WHQL Certified false

Max Texture Width 8192 px

Max Texture Height 8192 px

Max User Clipping Planes 6

Max Active Hardware Lights 8

Max Texture Blending Stages 8

Fixed Function Textures In Single Pass 8

Vertex Shader Version 3.0

Pixel Shader Version 3.0

Max Vertex Blend Matrices 0

Max Texture Coordinates 8

VGA Memory Clock 0.0 Hz

VGA Core Clock 0.0 Hz

Best News First: Laptopvideo2Go's nVidia 156.66 download w/ Modded Driver is BY FAR THE BEST I HAVE FOUND!!!!! The result are not even close. In fact, the results seem to come from two different computers.

The Process:

I uninstalled every tweaking program that I had installed. All tests were run without any modification, without any changes to the default settings, and without overclocking. Between each test, I uninstalled (via add/remove programs) the nvidia drivers. I rebooted and then ran "Driver Cleaner Pro." I flushed the recycling bin and rebooted again. I turned off my antivirus, then installed the next driver. After installation, I rebooted, turned off my antivirus again, and then ran 3DMark03 - basic (free) edition.

Drivers Tested:----------------------- Results:

v. 163.76--------------------------------- 3710

_________________________________

v. 156.66--------------------------------- 6119

_________________________________

v. 163.67--------------------------------- 5058

_________________________________

v. 101.29 -------------------------------- 4346

_________________________________

Because 156.66 scored significantly higher, I reinstalled and ran it again.

v. 156.66 (2nd Install & Test Cycle): 6121

After installing, uninstalling and reinstalling these drivers, the 3DMark03 score from 156.66 varied a mere 2 points, scoring 6119 and 6121. 156.66 Is a clear winner on my system.

Hope this info helps someone!

Will

10/22/07 UPDATE:

v.163.76: once again, stock configuration - no tweaks. 3Dmark03 Score: 6227

See attached file in 7th post for full specs & detailed report.

Edited October 22, 2007 by willandjenny

[Guest Thank YOU]

THANKS MAN.

This info was very helpful.

I've been struggling with drivers for the past week now and have finally realized that NO drivers are overclockable in XP 32 bit

except for the 10xx series drivers which come stock on my dell vostro 1500.

So, now I'm looking for the best driver I can get without overclocking.

By any chance have you/can you do some more testing with the 16xx drivers? (163.76, 163.75, 163.74)?

I'm gonna do some testing of my own with 3dmark05

[Guest Jon]

THANKS MAN.

This info was very helpful.

I've been struggling with drivers for the past week now and have finally realized that NO drivers are overclockable in XP 32 bit

except for the 10xx series drivers which come stock on my dell vostro 1500.

So, now I'm looking for the best driver I can get without overclocking.

By any chance have you/can you do some more testing with the 16xx drivers? (163.76, 163.75, 163.74)?

I'm gonna do some testing of my own with 3dmark05

Sorry I typed the wrong drivers...

I meant 158.22

[Guest Jon]

Dude I'm definitely not getting the increases you are getting from the 156.66

WARNING TO ALL XP USERS:

You Cannot overclock if you upgrade to any of the 15xx or 16xx series drivers without flashing Bios. In my opinion it is better to stick with the stock 10xx drivers and overclock, than it is to upgrade to newer drivers without overclocking:

3DMark05 Scores:

158.22 - 2576

156.66 - 2587

163.16 - 2579

163.76 - 2642

101.28 (stock) overclocked from 400/400 to 425/460 (barely any overclocking) - 2722

I'm not sure if the overclocking problem applies to everyone on XP, but I know it applies to most people based on extensive forum research on my part.

If anyone has found a newer driver thats overclockable please let me know.

[willandjenny]

Dude I'm definitely not getting the increases you are getting from the 156.66

Make sure you compare my other system stats to yours. The difference could result from amount of ram and processing power. Additionally, consider what affect your antivirus program has on your system if you did not turn it off. Some antivirus programs are set automatically to scan every byte it reads, writes, or both. Other than that, I am sorry--I do not know know why I would be getting better numbers.

Will

[willandjenny]

I thought of a few more things to try. 1) When did you last defrag your system? 2) Have you used a quality registry cleaner lately? I use registry clean expert. 3) Have you run Disk Cleanup lately (both Disk Cleanup and Defrag are in Start Menu>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools) 4) Are you using Vista? I am using XP Pro. 5) Did you turn PowerMizer off? 6) If you still have your Windows installation disk, try this: click on Start Menu>Run>Type "sfc /scannow" without the quotes. This will check and make sure that none of your operating system files are corrupted. 7) Make sure all of you have the latest DirectX files installed. 8) Did you uninstall ALL of the tweaking software? Misconfigured settings will result in much worse performance than default settings.

Thats all I can thing of.

Edited October 24, 2007 by ®®®
Removed Full Quotation of Previous Post

[willandjenny]

10/22/07: Attached 3Dmark03 file

v. 163.76

163.76___score_6227.3dr

[Guest jon]

Hey, my system specs are very similar to yours, 1.6ghz core2duo, 2 gigs RAM, XP home.

Its a brand new dell Vostro 1500, so I doubt any of my windows files are corrupted, and I dont need to defrag.

As far as antivirus, I use Avast, and I turned off protection when running 3dmark05.

I did uninstall all tweaking programs as well.

But on the other hand...GREAT NEWS.

The new 167.26 drivers for XP allow overclocking!

Jump on it!! I'm gonna try them when i get home.

http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index....showtopic=15611

[Guest Dubesor]

Here are my scores:

3dmark05 Score = 2329 (1280x800)

(I ran this with all 3 Game Tests, 2 CPU Tests, 5 Feature Tests, and 6 Batch Size Tests selected. Does everyone else do the same?)

CPU Score = 6544

Game Test 1 = 9.7 fps

Game Test 2 = 7.8 fps

Game Test 3 = 10.7 fps

CPU Test 1 = 3.8 fps

CPU Test 2 = 5.0 fps

Fill Rate - Single-texturing = 667.9 MTexels/s

Fill Rate - Multi-texturing = 3056.7 MTexels/s

Pixel shader = 47.2 fps

Vertex shader - simple = 18.0 MVertices/s

Vertex shader - complex = 25.6 MVertices/s

8 Triangles = 8.6 MTriangles/s

32 Triangles = 33.8 MTriangles/s

128 Triangles = 57.6 MTriangles/s

512 Triangles = 60.4 MTriangles/s

2048 Triangles = 61.1 MTriangles/s

32768 Triangles = 61.3 MTriangles/s

3dmark06 Score = 1142 (1280x800)

sm 2.0 score = 520

hdr/sm3.0 score = 526

cpu score = 1393

System: Dell Vostro 1500, Core 2 Duo T5470, 1GB RAM, Windows XP

Video: 8400M GS running 167.26 XP 32-bit drivers, not overclocked or nTuned.

These scores seem super-low given that other people are getting ~1500 in 3dmark06 and as high as 4000 in 3dmark05. I have no idea why that is - I shut down most programs including the AntiVirus when I run these. Any tips?

[Guest Dubesor]

I see a definite improvement with 169.04 drivers compared to 167.26

3dmark05 is still not as high as I think it should be :)

3dmark05 Score = 2705

game test 1 = 11.5 fps

game test 2 = 9.0 fps

game test 3 = 12.2 fps

cpu = 5758

cpu1 = 2.9 fps

cpu2 = 5.0 fps

3dmark06 Score = 1674

sdm 2.0 = 594

hdr/sm 3.0 = 630

cpu = 1432

System: Dell Vostro 1500, Core 2 Duo T5470, 1GB RAM, Windows XP

Video: 8400M GS running 167.26 XP 32-bit drivers, not overclocked or nTuned.

[Guest jon]

@Dubesor, your lower scores are probably because you only have 1 gig of RAM versus most people having 2.

Good news that the 169 drivers give better results, I'll check it out when I get home.

Unfortunately, my dell vostro1500's 8400m gs maxes memory clocks at about 530 before going unstable, which is ridiculously lower than in the vostro1400's.

I'm running at about 630/520 clocks on the 167.26 driver, i forget what the 3dmark05 score was but I think it was around 3400.

[koo]

I'm running Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit edition. I am getting about 733 on the 3DMark06 test. That is very very low. I even have the latest drivers 169.21. What could be the issue?

[Fhame Rashid]

Here are couple of 3DMark05 that I ran on my System

DELL XPS M1330

Intel Core2Duo T7500 2.2Ghz 800Mhz FSB

nVIDIA 8400M GS 128MD GDDR3

2GB RAM

160GB 7.2k rpm HDD

Windows Vista Home Premium x86 , Service Pack 1

3DMark05: Resolution 1024 x 768, NO AA, Optimal Filtering

Test 1

Driver:169.28

All Default

Score: (havnt downloaded the driver yet)

Test 2

Driver:169.25

All Default OC 450/600 OC 580/836

Score:3006 Score:3205 Score: 3237

Test 3

Driver:169.21

All Default

Score:2987

Test 4

Driver:169.09

All Default OC 580/836

Score:3552 Score: 4982

[Sebi]

Dell 1520 Inspiron 1,5 Core2Duo, 1Gb Ram with NB8M-GS 128Mb between 156.87, 156.83 (Dell), 169.28 and 169.17 in 3DMark06 v1.1.0 build oct07 default, but with no OC.

Is NB8M-GS a 8400mGS card?

156.87 - 1327 3Dmarks

156.82 - 1322 3Dmarks

169.28 - 1425 3Dmarks

169.17 - 1433 3Dmarks tested in COD4 and I got a boost in FPS, about 10, with the same settings I had with 169.28. Odd.

S-Video DOES NOT Work for me on either of these. Anybody got drivers that make S-Video work so I can test them 2. Maybe my laptop is flawed.

156.66 - 1181 3Dmarks

167.26 - 1446 3Dmarks

169.09 - 1435 3Dmarks

169.04 - 1445 3Dmarks

Edited December 25, 2007 by Sebi

[paddington]

how do you guys overclock so high? The highest I can go is 451/650, and when I test 3dmark5, it overheats and the screen goes out and i have to restart.

[Guest Faithless]

Just a quick test of my m1330 C2D@2200 T7500 2GB Ram Vista X86

3dM 2005

2949 169.09 @ 400 / 600

3521 169.09 @ 499 / 730

[voyezzz]

Hello

C2D T7300 2 Ghz 4Mo

8400M GS 128Mo DDR2

Factorie speed : GPU 360 Mem 400

This videocard is not so bad ...

I have tested differents driver:

169.28 , bad driver for my 8400 ---> Lag in GTA san Andreas 1280*800 medium quality :)

167.26 , good driver (no lag) but blue screen when stand-by ...

169.04, good driver (no lag) no bluescreen and GTA run at Maximum (without AA) ...

so i have tried to OC (with 169.04, and Riva tuner)

With Factorie clock ................Vista Aero / game :3.4 / 4.6 ...............3Dmark05:2488

GPU:433 Mem:451 ...............Vista ....................... ../.. .......+..........3DM05 : 2897

GPU :450 Mem:500 ................Vista ....................3.6 / 4.6 .............. 3DM05: 3177

GPU 475 Mem:550 ...............Vista ....................3.8 / 4.7 ................3DM05: 3473 (close to a 8400MGt at factories speed and +40% Vs 3DM05 with Factorie clock)

With 475/550 very very fews artefacts appears during 3DM05 running but temperatures seems very low :48°C Max during playing

So i will try other speeds (Faster Mem and Slower GPU or Faster GPU and slower Mem) ...

GPU:530 Mem:530 .......... Vista 3.8 4.8 ......................3DM05 3535 ....................T°C Max 52°C and no atefacts ...

Unfortunately it looks like that:

Unfortunately, my dell vostro1500's 8400m gs maxes memory clocks at about 530 before going unstable

It's pity concidering that memory speed is the bottle-neck of this video card (because of 64 bits)

Does someone knows how to enable powermizer controle (with vista)?

Update:

With need 4 speed pros street and 530/530 Ocing (+32.5%) average FPS increase by 41% (acording to fraps)

3DM05 seems to be very representative (3DM05 400/400 --->3DM05 530/530 =+42%)

performances increase faster than OC :

Perfs increasing = 1.26 OC

Great ...

However with 560/530 OCing there isn't any benefits in vista index and laptop freeze during 3DM05 despite low Temp: 55°C ...

Maybe a driver limit ...

Edited January 29, 2008 by voyezzz

[Guest Das_Saint]

how do you guys overclock so high? The highest I can go is 451/650, and when I test 3dmark5, it overheats and the screen goes out and i have to restart.

That's because some 8400M GS versions havd GDDR3 ram, whereas others have the cheaper, and slower DDR2 ram. I believe that yours has the latter, and that's why you can't overclock so high.

Although, your could probably overclock your GPU to 500-550 Mhz, if you leave the ram at around 490-500 Mhz. Good luck!

[Guest Ryan]

Here's the best I've benchmarked so far. If I OC the memory any higher, it locks up.

HP dv9700z

AMD Turion X2 TK-57 1.9ghz

2gb 667mhz DDR2

Vista Home Premium 32bit

Geforce 8400M GS DDR2

169.04

OC 509 core/475 memory (default 400/400)

3Dmark06 score: 2348

[Guest Ryan]

BTW, before overclocking, it was scoring about 1600 in 3Dmark06

[Guest justPi]

hei Ryan , this is actually the best result with 8400m gs ddr2 i have seen on the net ... i've been trying to pump the same video card on my Vostro 1500.

I bios overclocked it to 580 core clock / 1400 shader / 500 mem. and then some driver overclocking with RivaTuner to the final and i am now running @ 635/1600/530 ... using 169.04 ... and still ... gettin only 1850 in 3dMark 06 (my results without OC were about 1100 )... dunno how u did that results but cheers :)

u ran 3dMark at default resolution right ?

[tommeh]

DELL XPS M1330

Intel Core2Duo T7500 2.0Ghz 800Mhz FSB

nVIDIA 8400M GS 128MD GDDR3

2GB RAM

160GB 7.2k rpm HDD

Default clock

3DMark03

169.28 - 6148 3DMarks. Second run 6155 3DMarks.

169.04 - 6172 3DMarks. Second run

Edited January 26, 2008 by tommeh

[Guest Ryan]

hei Ryan , this is actually the best result with 8400m gs ddr2 i have seen on the net ... i've been trying to pump the same video card on my Vostro 1500.

I bios overclocked it to 580 core clock / 1400 shader / 500 mem. and then some driver overclocking with RivaTuner to the final and i am now running @ 635/1600/530 ... using 169.04 ... and still ... gettin only 1850 in 3dMark 06 (my results without OC were about 1100 )... dunno how u did that results but cheers :)

u ran 3dMark at default resolution right ?

my 1st tests were with the basic version of 3Dmark06, all default since you can't change the settings, and I had about 1600 without overclocking. my most recent test was with the upgraded version at default resolution and it scored 1593 overclocked. i wonder what the problem is. i was getting much higher. so disregard my high score, i must've been using different resolutions.

what do you use to overclock in the BIOS?

[Guest justPi]

my 1st tests were with the basic version of 3Dmark06, all default since you can't change the settings, and I had about 1600 without overclocking. my most recent test was with the upgraded version at default resolution and it scored 1593 overclocked. i wonder what the problem is. i was getting much higher. so disregard my high score, i must've been using different resolutions.

what do you use to overclock in the BIOS?

well actually it doesnt matter if u overclock via BIOS or RIVAtuner... its the same s*** ... anyway u can find some really usefl guides about bios overclockin like

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1633

or just type video bios flash in google ...

basicly im using nvflash to backup my video bios , then NiBiTor to edit my nVidia bios ... and finally nvflash again to flash my new bios ...

p.s. i think anyway if ur using a notebook its better using RivaTuner cause you can overclock when u need it not have ur card oc-ed all the time ... so u kinda save battery .. anyway...just my opinion ...

And how far do u overclock the core clock/shaders/memory ?

[Guest Ryan]

well actually it doesnt matter if u overclock via BIOS or RIVAtuner... its the same s*** ... anyway u can find some really usefl guides about bios overclockin like

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1633

or just type video bios flash in google ...

basicly im using nvflash to backup my video bios , then NiBiTor to edit my nVidia bios ... and finally nvflash again to flash my new bios ...

p.s. i think anyway if ur using a notebook its better using RivaTuner cause you can overclock when u need it not have ur card oc-ed all the time ... so u kinda save battery .. anyway...just my opinion ...

And how far do u overclock the core clock/shaders/memory ?

after several default 3Dmark06 runs, i had several odd scores yesterday. as high as 2022, as low as 908. i'm not sure what the trouble was, maybe temps getting too high? no artifacts during the testing though.

OC'ed to 509 core/1130 shaders/475 memory i ran with a score of 2076 today. core temp was 80 at its highest. not a terrible score i suppose.

thanks for the BIOS info. yea i'll probably just use RivaTuner like you said to do my tuning, so its not OC'ed all the time.