GeForce 8400 vs Radeon HD 3200

NVIDIA

GeForce 8400

2014Core: 1029 MHzBoost: 1124 MHz
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 3200

2011Core: 750 MHz
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GeForce 8400 vs Radeon HD 3200 Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

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 8400 vs Radeon HD 3200 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 8400 vs Radeon HD 3200: 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 8400

2014

Why buy it

  • Costs $5 less on MSRP ($45 MSRP vs $50 MSRP).
  • Draws 33W instead of 186W, a 153W reduction.
  • More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 3200 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 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 3200

2011

Why buy it

  • 2.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Measures 1mm instead of 170mm, a 169mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • 2011 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 11.1% HIGHER MSRP
    $50 MSRPvs$45 MSRP
  • 463.6% higher power demand at 186W vs 33W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon HD 3200 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 2.0% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.2% in PassMark G3D (82 vs 81), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce 8400 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2014 generation instead of 2011. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce 8400 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $5 cheaper on MSRP at $45 vs $50, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 9.8% (1.8 vs 1.6), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon HD 3200 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce 8400 vs Radeon HD 3200 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce 8400

The GeForce 8400 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 17 2014. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1029 MHz to 1124 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 33W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 81 points.

AMD

Radeon HD 3200

The Radeon HD 3200 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in December 1 2011. It features the TeraScale 3 architecture. The core clock speed is 750 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 186W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 82 points. Launch price was $180.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 8400 scores 81 and the Radeon HD 3200 reaches 82 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 8400 is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 3200 uses TeraScale 3, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce 8400) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD 3200). Raw compute: 0.8632 TFLOPS (GeForce 8400) vs 1.92 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 3200).

FeatureGeForce 8400Radeon HD 3200
G3D Mark Score
81
82+1%
Architecture
Maxwell
TeraScale 3
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
384
1280+233%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.8632 TFLOPS
1.92 TFLOPS+122%
ROPs
8
32+300%
TMUs
16
80+400%
L1 Cache
192 KB
320 KB+67%
L2 Cache
1 MB+100%
0.5 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 8400 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 3200 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 8400Radeon HD 3200
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 8400 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 3200. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 8400) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 3200) — the GeForce 8400 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce 8400Radeon HD 3200
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
1 MB+100%
0.5 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.0 (GeForce 8400) vs 10.0 (Radeon HD 3200). Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

FeatureGeForce 8400Radeon HD 3200
DirectX
10.0
10.0
Max Displays
2
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (GeForce 8400) vs UVD (Radeon HD 3200). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP2 vs UVD.

FeatureGeForce 8400Radeon HD 3200
Encoder
No
UVD
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP2
UVD
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 8400 draws 33W versus the Radeon HD 3200's 186W — a 139.7% difference. The GeForce 8400 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 8400) vs 350W (Radeon HD 3200). Power connectors: Legacy vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 170mm vs 1mm, occupying 1 vs 0 slots.

FeatureGeForce 8400Radeon HD 3200
TDP
33W-82%
186W
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
2.5+525%
0.4
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 8400 came in at $45, while the Radeon HD 3200 launched at $50. On MSRP, GeForce 8400 was 10% cheaper ($5 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 1.8 (GeForce 8400) vs 1.6 (Radeon HD 3200) — the GeForce 8400 offers 12.5% better value. The newer card here is GeForce 8400 (2014 vs 2011).

FeatureGeForce 8400Radeon HD 3200
MSRP
$45-10%
$50
Performance per Dollar
1.8+12%
1.6
Codename
GM108
Cayman
Release
March 17 2014
December 1 2011
Ranking
#850
#598

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