A 256MB version dedicated to light gamers

Jan 17, 2008 11:24 GMT  ·  By

Looking for an extremely nice graphics card to play some more of the incredibly exciting Luxor 3? Then this video card could be the perfect match! Well, maybe I was a little too ironic, but Zotac's GeForce 8400GS is dedicated especially to those who use to play this kind of arcade games, although it comes with 256Mb of GDDR3.

Zotac's graphics card is somewhat different, as it is designed with a low profile and comes with a interchangeable I/O metal backboard. Although it is built on the G98 GPU, Nvidia decided that it should stay in the old GeForce 8 series. Since it is built on the 65-nanometer process technology, it is less appealing to professional gamers and mostly addresses to HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer) users.

However, the GPU comes with the PV3 engine built-in hardware and can fully decode H.264 and VC-1 without bothering the CPU with additional load. The card comes with 256MB 1.2ns GDDR3 memory and, thanks to the TurboCache technology, it can be upgraded to 1 Gigabyte, although this may seem a little waste.

Initially, the card comes with a HDMI output on fastened on the bracket, which allows it to serve a high-definition content to a HD television set, for instance. However, Zotac let its final destination up to the user and the graphics card has been rigged with a configurable black plate. You can simply remove the DVI and the HDMI ports in order to replace them with VGA or S-video. In fact, the card supports any combination between DVI, VGA and HDMI, and it's up to the user which combination they use.

Zotac has been quite innovative lately. The manufacturer was the first to release a DisplayPort-enabled version of GeForce 8800 GT video card. Moreover, it was the first producer to push a GeForce 8800GT GPU over the 700 MHz limit in their Supercharged AMP! version of 8800 GTS.

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HDMI and DVI...
...morphed into VGA and S-video
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