Leadtek announces WinFast® PX8400 GS TDH

[Darksaber]

Taipei, Taiwan, June 20th, 2007-- Leadtek Research Inc., known globally for extreme visual graphics technology development, today launched a brand new entry-level graphics card, the WinFast® PX8400 GS TDH. This new card, featuring vivid image quality and a friendly price, again hits a bull eye for extreme value and advanced performance boosted by H.264 hardware decoding.


Based on new 80nm technology and powered by NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400 GS graphics processing units, the WinFast PX8400 GS TDH comes with 256MB of video memory, DDR2 and a GPU/Memory clock with a memory setting of 450/800 MHz.. Besides, it provides Microsoft® DirectX® 10 with full Shader Model 4.0 support to deliver unparalleled levels of graphics realism and film-quality effects.

As one of the cards most expected features, the WinFast PX8400 GS TDH’s H.264 hardware decoding plays an important role among USPs (Unique Selling Points). It speedily delivers high definition image quality on any display but with minimal CPU usage. More to the point, WinFast PX8400 GS TDH takes NVIDIA® PureVideo™ HD technology to unprecedented levels of picture clarity, smooth video, accurate color, and attractive image scaling for movies and videos. And going for HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) support, PX8400 GS TDH allows for playback of encrypted movie content, providing lifelike images when connected to HDCP-compliant displays.

The new card also complies with the NVIDIA® Lumenex™ Engine to offer stunning image quality and floating point accuracy at ultra-fast frame rates. When it comes to state-of-the-art high dynamic range (HDR) lighting, it enables complex effects for cinematic reality, bringing environments to life for a quite incredible and ultra-realistic experience.

WinFast PX8400 GS TDH struts powerful multimedia appeal and supports TurboCache™ technology to share the capacity and bandwidth of dedicated video memory and dynamically available system memory for larger total graphics memory. With NVIDIA® Quantum Effects™ technology, physics effects are taken to a new level of simulation and rendering on the GPU. The card’s GigaThread™ technology massively supports thousands of independent, simultaneous threads, maximizing GPU utilization to provide extreme processing efficiency in advanced, next generation shader programs.

Built for the hottest operating system “Windows Vista™”, WinFast PX8400 GS TDH guarantees 3D acceleration for the general graphical user interface with high-end results. When it comes to competitive pricing, a major concern for users, the WinFast PX8400 GS TDH again comes out on tops. For an entry-level graphics card all these high quality function add up to its being a “real little giant.”

For further information about Leadtek or our products, please visit our website at http://www.leadtek.com

Editor's note:

Specifications of the PX8400 GS

• GPU Clock: 450 MHz
• Memory Data Rate: 800 MHz
• Memory Size: 256MB GDDR2
• Memory Interface: 64 bit
• RAMDACs: 400MHz
• Stream Processors: 8
• DirectX® Support: DirectX® 10.0 Shader Model 4.0
• Output: Single-Link DVI-I, D-Sub, HDTV

Source: Leadtek

[tkpenalty]

Sometimes I REALLY wonder what is the point of these products...still good for a HTPC though

[Bret]

So its an 8600 GT with half the memory bus.

[Kasparz]

Originally Posted by tkpenalty

Sometimes I REALLY wonder what is the point of these products...still good for a HTPC though

Entry level gaming.

[WarEagleAU]

While it seems these offerings have no point, as most games wont look good with these types of cards, ATI and Nvidia are catering to all consumers. Some folks just cant afford the really great cards due to price.

[mdm-adph]

Ick -- they still make 64-bit cards? :P

Look for the 8400 LE 32-bit version soon.

[DBH]

Think office computer graphics card where little to no 3D is done. Ala photoshop.

[jydie]

Originally Posted by mdm-adph

Ick -- they still make 64-bit cards? :P

Look for the 8400 LE 32-bit version soon.

I would have to agree... I picked up a Leadtek 6200 with a 128bit memory bus for $30 at Newegg, and it ran every bit as fast as a standard 6600. Any card with 64bit (or 32 bit) memory bus speed is SEVERLY handicapped and could very well get beaten in benchmarks by lower end cards with a 128bit memory bus.

Besides the 6200 example, Leadtek also makes an extreme 7300GT that is 128bit... and it can beat a 7600GS in benchmarks. it really pays to do as much research as possible before buying a video card... even the low end cards.

As for this card... I would have to see benchmarks and prices before I gave my opinion.

[Mussels]

Half-height, x.264 decoding, tiny cooler - THAT is a media PC card.

Also look a little backwards, and it should be able to run CSS, BF2 and titles from the same era - its not powerful but it should also cost damned little! (I can get an 8500GT for $99 aussie, plus shipping - this thing should be dirt cheap)

[jydie]

I have always wanted to know the answer to this question and was hoping one of you knew for sure. Is there a difference in idle/load temperatures of similar cards when the only difference is the memory bus speed... so basically, do 64bit cards run a little cooler then 128bit cards? That could be an advantage if you want to use a card like this in a home theater system.

[mdm-adph]

Originally Posted by DBH

Think office computer graphics card where little to no 3D is done. Ala photoshop.

Aye, but does discrete graphics when used for 2D acceleration alone really improve performance that much over say, integrated video? Know of any benchmarks?

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by jydie

I have always wanted to know the answer to this question and was hoping one of you knew for sure. Is there a difference in idle/load temperatures of similar cards when the only difference is the memory bus speed... so basically, do 64bit cards run a little cooler then 128bit cards? That could be an advantage if you want to use a card like this in a home theater system.

Not that i'm aware of. As the GPU is the same and only the memory itself is different, the main heat source (GPU) doesnt change. Lower amounts of memory (256MB vs. 512MB) can be slightly lower, by all of 10W at most (usually i'd say even less than that on low end hardware)

[Pinchy]

Originally Posted by Mussels

I can get an 8500GT for $99 aussie, plus shipping - this thing should be dirt cheap

I know! How cheap are these things gonna be ?