GeForce 8400M GS vs GT 540M

Place in the ranking	1044	1357
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	2.44	1.63
Architecture	Fermi (2010−2014)	Tesla (2006−2010)
GPU code name	GF108	G86
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Release date	5 January 2011 (14 years ago)	9 May 2007 (17 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$14.99

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	96	16
Core clock speed	672 MHz	400 MHz
Number of transistors	585 million	210 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	80 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	11 Watt
Texture fill rate	10.75	3.200
Floating-point processing power	0.258 TFLOPS	0.0256 TFLOPS
ROPs	4	4
TMUs	16	8

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop size	large	no data
Interface	MXM-A (3.0)	MXM-I

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	DDR3	DDR2
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	256 MB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	64 Bit
Memory clock speed	900 MHz	400 MHz
Memory bandwidth	28.8 GB/s	6.4 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors

No outputs

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

3D Blu-Ray	+	-
3D Gaming	+	-
Optimus	+	-

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 API	11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model	5.1	4.0
OpenGL	4.5	3.3
OpenCL	1.1	1.1
Vulkan	N/A	N/A
CUDA	+	1.1

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GT 540M 1.24
+377%

8400M GS 0.26

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GT 540M 477
+377%

8400M GS 100

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p	16 +433%	3−4 −433%
Full HD	20 +400%	4−5 −400%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

no data

3.75

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	9−10 +12.5%	8−9 −12.5%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Elden Ring	0−1	0−1

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	1−2	0−1
Counter-Strike 2	9−10 +12.5%	8−9 −12.5%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Forza Horizon 4	8−9 +60%	5−6 −60%
Red Dead Redemption 2	6−7 +50%	4−5 −50%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	1−2	0−1
Counter-Strike 2	9−10 +12.5%	8−9 −12.5%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Dota 2	1−2	0−1
Elden Ring	0−1	0−1
Far Cry 5	10−11 +66.7%	6−7 −66.7%
Fortnite	5−6 +400%	1−2 −400%
Forza Horizon 4	8−9 +60%	5−6 −60%
Grand Theft Auto V	1−2	0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	14−16 +133%	6−7 −133%
Red Dead Redemption 2	6−7 +50%	4−5 −50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	7−8 +75%	4−5 −75%
World of Tanks	27−30 +125%	12−14 −125%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	1−2	0−1
Counter-Strike 2	9−10 +12.5%	8−9 −12.5%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Dota 2	1−2	0−1
Far Cry 5	10−11 +66.7%	6−7 −66.7%
Forza Horizon 4	8−9 +60%	5−6 −60%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	14−16 +133%	6−7 −133%

1440p
High Preset

PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	7−8 +600%	1−2 −600%
Red Dead Redemption 2	0−1	0−1
World of Tanks	7−8 +600%	1−2 −600%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Far Cry 5	5−6 +25%	4−5 −25%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Valorant	6−7 +50%	4−5 −50%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2	16−18 +6.7%	14−16 −6.7%
Grand Theft Auto V	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	3−4	0−1
Red Dead Redemption 2	0−1	0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	1−2	0−1
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%
Dota 2	16−18 +6.7%	14−16 −6.7%
Far Cry 5	0−1	0−1
Valorant	1−2	0−1

This is how GT 540M and 8400M GS compete in popular games:

GT 540M is 433% faster in 900p
GT 540M is 400% faster in 1080p

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS, with 1440p resolution and the High Preset, the GT 540M is 600% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

GT 540M is ahead in 24 tests (80%)
there's a draw in 6 tests (20%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.24	0.26
Recency	5 January 2011	9 May 2007
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	256 MB
Chip lithography	40 nm	80 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	11 Watt

GT 540M has a 376.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 700% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 100% more advanced lithography process.

8400M GS, on the other hand, has 218.2% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GT 540M is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 8400M GS in performance tests.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.