GeForce 8300 GS vs Radeon HD 4200

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce 8300 GS vs Radeon HD 4200 FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce 8300 GS vs Radeon HD 4200: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce 8300 GS

2014

Why buy it

✅Draws 33W instead of 190W, a 157W reduction.
✅More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2014 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌16900% longer card at 170mm vs 1mm.

Radeon HD 4200

2009

Why buy it

✅Measures 1mm instead of 170mm, a 169mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌2009 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌475.8% higher power demand at 190W vs 33W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

GeForce 8300 GS is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2.7% in PassMark G3D (115 vs 112), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce 8300 GS is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 55nm and a newer 2014 generation instead of 2009. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce 8300 GS makes the most sense to buy today. It is priced the same on MSRP at $50 vs $50, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 2.7% (2.3 vs 2.2), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

GeForce 8300 GS vs Radeon HD 4200 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

GeForce 8300 GS

The GeForce 8300 GS is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in July 22 2014. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1082 MHz to 1150 MHz. It has 256 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 33W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 115 points.

Radeon HD 4200

The Radeon HD 4200 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 2 2009. It features the TeraScale architecture. The core clock speed is 850 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 190W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 112 points. Launch price was $249.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce 8300 GS scores 115 and the Radeon HD 4200 reaches 112 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 8300 GS is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 4200 uses TeraScale, both on 28 nm vs 55 nm. Shader units: 256 (GeForce 8300 GS) vs 800 (Radeon HD 4200). Raw compute: 0.5888 TFLOPS (GeForce 8300 GS) vs 1.36 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 4200).

Feature	GeForce 8300 GS	Radeon HD 4200
G3D Mark Score	115+3%	112
Architecture	Maxwell	TeraScale
Process Node	28 nm	55 nm
Shading Units	256	800+213%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.5888 TFLOPS	1.36 TFLOPS+131%
ROPs	8	16+100%
TMUs	16	40+150%
L1 Cache	128 KB	160 KB+25%
L2 Cache	1 MB+300%	0.25 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 8300 GS gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 4200 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce 8300 GS	Radeon HD 4200
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 8300 GS and 64-bit on the Radeon HD 4200. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 8300 GS) vs 0.25 MB (Radeon HD 4200) — the GeForce 8300 GS has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce 8300 GS	Radeon HD 4200
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit+100%	64-bit
L2 Cache	1 MB+300%	0.25 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.0 (GeForce 8300 GS) vs 10.1 (Radeon HD 4200). Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

Feature	GeForce 8300 GS	Radeon HD 4200
DirectX	10.0	10.1
Max Displays	2	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (GeForce 8300 GS) vs UVD 2 (Radeon HD 4200). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP2 vs UVD 2.

Feature	GeForce 8300 GS	Radeon HD 4200
Encoder	No	UVD 2
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP2	UVD 2
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264	—

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 8300 GS draws 33W versus the Radeon HD 4200's 190W — a 140.8% difference. The GeForce 8300 GS is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 8300 GS) vs 350W (Radeon HD 4200). Power connectors: Legacy vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 170mm vs 1mm, occupying 1 vs 0 slots.

Feature	GeForce 8300 GS	Radeon HD 4200
TDP	33W-83%	190W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	Legacy	1x 6-pin
Length	170mm	1mm
Height	106mm	—
Slots	1	0-100%
Temp (Load)	65°C	—
Perf/Watt	3.5+483%	0.6

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 8300 GS came in at $50, while the Radeon HD 4200 launched at $50. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 2.3 (GeForce 8300 GS) vs 2.2 (Radeon HD 4200) — the GeForce 8300 GS offers 4.5% better value. The newer card here is GeForce 8300 GS (2014 vs 2009).

Feature	GeForce 8300 GS	Radeon HD 4200
MSRP	$50	$50
Performance per Dollar	2.3+5%	2.2
Codename	GM108	RV790
Release	July 22 2014	April 2 2009
Ranking	#832	#762

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