Nvidia Release the 405M, again?

Yesterday Nvidia quietly published a new GPU, the GeForce 405M. Also released yesterday was the awesome GeForce GTX 670.

Naturally the GTX 670 got all the attention, while the low end GeForce 405M didn't even make the official announcements. During our routine data review we noticed something about the 405M that we wanted to share with you. Let's take a look...

GeForce 405M

Architecture: GT218

CUDA Cores: 16

Graphics Clock: 606MHz

Processor Clock: 1212MHz

Memory Clock: 800MHz

Memory: Up to 512MB

Memory Interface: DDR3/GDDR3

Memory Interface Width: 64 Bits

Die Size: 40 nm

Shader: 5.0

OpenGL: 4.1

DirectX: 10.1

Now let's take a look at the GeForce 315M part of the 300M Series which was released by NVIDIA in 2010

GeForce 315M

Architecture: GT218

CUDA Cores: 16

Graphics Clock: 606MHz

Processor Clock: 1212MHz

Memory Clock: 800MHz

Memory: Up to 512MB

Memory Interface: DDR3/GDDR3

Memory Interface Width: 64 Bits

Die Size: 40 nm

Shader: 5.0

OpenGL: 4.1

DirectX: 10.1

Yes, they are. There figures all seem exactly the same. The GeForce 405M is indeed a renamed GeForce 315M with absolutely nothing visibly new.

So what can we say about GeForce 405M?

GeForce 405M is an integrated, entry level GPU with dedicated video memory. It's equiped with only 16 Pipelines/CUDA Cores and a 64 bits bus, paired with either DDR3 or GDDR3 memory types which results in very limited performance, making the most demanding games unplayable, even at the lowest settings. Modern games like Crysis 2 or Skyrim V might require very reduced settings to be played smoothly. Due to the limited memory size, even less demanding games will have to be played at reduced resolutions to achieve smooth FPS. The GeForce 405M's real strength lies in its exceptionally low power consumption. 

The thing about entry level GPUs is that they stand in a very awkward position. They are supposed to deliver better performance than Intel’s CPU embedded graphics solutions, like the HD 3000 Graphics and still have very low energy consumption. However, in reality, they still often seem to deliver very limited performance and the extra performance does not compensate for the extra power consumption and so it will not satisfy those who want
a) average (or above) gaming performance.
b) very good battery longevity.

So who are the low end dedicated graphics solutions aimed at?

It’s hard to tell really. People that want very good battery longevity often buy a laptop equipped with a simple CPU that features integrated graphics.

GeForce 405M also features the Optimus technology, which seems rather redundant when used by the 405M. Optimus switches a laptop's graphic solution between a dedicated GPU, when it needs performance, over to the CPU integrated solution, when it needs to save power. This is useful when laptops are equipped with powerful GPUs, such as the GeForce GTX 580M that have huge power consumption but deliver great performance. When there is little performance difference between the dedicated GPU and the CPU integrated graphics solution, then there is little to no need for the dedicated GPU or the Optimus technology.

Overall: The GeFore 405M is not bad by itself. The specifications are well balanced and don’t come with bottlenecks. The problem is, the current market already offers very low power consumption CPU integrated graphics and now with the latest Ivy Bridge CPUs it does not leave much room for cards like the 405M

P.P