GeForce 9400M G vs Mobility Radeon HD 3430

NVIDIA

GeForce 9400M G

2015Core: 1072 MHzBoost: 1176 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 3430

2009Core: 550 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce 9400M G vs Mobility Radeon HD 3430 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 9400M G vs Mobility Radeon HD 3430: 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 9400M G

2015

Why buy it

  • More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 2015 hardware with 256 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 2% HIGHER MSRP
    $50 MSRPvs$49 MSRP

Mobility Radeon HD 3430

2009

Why buy it

  • Costs $1 less on MSRP ($49 MSRP vs $50 MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • 2009 hardware with 256 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Mobility Radeon HD 3430 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 4.3% in PassMark G3D (98 vs 94), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce 9400M G is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 55nm and a newer 2015 generation instead of 2009. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Mobility Radeon HD 3430 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $1 cheaper on MSRP at $49 vs $50, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 6.4% (2.0 vs 1.9), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Mobility Radeon HD 3430 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce 9400M G has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 9400M G vs Mobility Radeon HD 3430 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce 9400M G

The GeForce 9400M G is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 13 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1072 MHz to 1176 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 33W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 94 points.

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 3430

The Mobility Radeon HD 3430 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 9 2009. It features the TeraScale architecture. The core clock speed is 550 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 30W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 98 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 9400M G scores 94 and the Mobility Radeon HD 3430 reaches 98 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 4.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 9400M G is built on Maxwell while the Mobility Radeon HD 3430 uses TeraScale, both on 28 nm vs 55 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce 9400M G) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 3430). Raw compute: 0.9032 TFLOPS (GeForce 9400M G) vs 0.88 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 3430).

FeatureGeForce 9400M GMobility Radeon HD 3430
G3D Mark Score
94
98+4%
Architecture
Maxwell
TeraScale
Process Node
28 nm
55 nm
Shading Units
384
800+108%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.9032 TFLOPS+3%
0.88 TFLOPS
ROPs
8
16+100%
TMUs
24
40+67%
L1 Cache
192 KB+20%
160 KB
L2 Cache
1 MB+300%
0.25 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 9400M G gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon HD 3430 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 9400M GMobility Radeon HD 3430
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 256 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 9400M G and 64-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 3430. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 9400M G) vs 0.25 MB (Mobility Radeon HD 3430) — the GeForce 9400M G has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce 9400M GMobility Radeon HD 3430
VRAM Capacity
0.25 GB
0.25 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: 11.1 (10_0) (GeForce 9400M G) vs 10.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 3430). OpenGL: 3.3 vs 3.3. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

FeatureGeForce 9400M GMobility Radeon HD 3430
DirectX
11.1 (10_0)+10%
10.1
OpenGL
3.3
3.3
Max Displays
2
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: None (GeForce 9400M G) vs Avivo HD (Mobility Radeon HD 3430). Decoder: PureVideo HD (VP3) vs UVD. Supported codecs: H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (GeForce 9400M G) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Mobility Radeon HD 3430).

FeatureGeForce 9400M GMobility Radeon HD 3430
Encoder
None
Avivo HD
Decoder
PureVideo HD (VP3)
UVD
Codecs
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 9400M G draws 33W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 3430's 30W — a 9.5% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 3430 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 9400M G) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 3430). Power connectors: Legacy vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureGeForce 9400M GMobility Radeon HD 3430
TDP
33W
30W-9%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
PCIe-powered
Length
0mm
Height
0mm
Slots
0-100%
1
Temp (Load)
75
Perf/Watt
2.8
3.3+18%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 9400M G came in at $50, while the Mobility Radeon HD 3430 launched at $49. On MSRP, Mobility Radeon HD 3430 was 2% cheaper ($1 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 1.9 (GeForce 9400M G) vs 2.0 (Mobility Radeon HD 3430) — the Mobility Radeon HD 3430 offers 5.3% better value. The newer card here is GeForce 9400M G (2015 vs 2009).

FeatureGeForce 9400M GMobility Radeon HD 3430
MSRP
$50
$49-2%
Performance per Dollar
1.9
2.0+5%
Codename
GM108
M98
Release
March 13 2015
January 9 2009
Ranking
#847
#927

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