Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
GeForce GTS 450 vs 940M
Aggregated performance score
GeForce 940M
2015
4 GB DDR3
2.90
GTS 450
2010
1024 MB GDDR5
3.42
+17.9%
GTS 450 outperforms 940M by 18% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
General info
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 744 | 689 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Value for money | 0.12 | 0.31 |
| Architecture | Maxwell (2014−2018) | Fermi (2010−2014) |
| GPU code name | N16S-GT-S/B | GF106 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop |
| Release date | 12 March 2015 (9 years old) | 13 September 2010 (13 years old) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $129 |
| Current price | $879 | $127 (1x MSRP) |
Value for money
GTS 450 has 158% better value for money than GeForce 940M.
Technical specs
General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 384 | 192 |
| CUDA cores | no data | 192 |
| Core clock speed | 1072 MHz | 783 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1176 MHz | no data |
| Number of transistors | 1,870 million | 1,170 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 75 Watt | 106 Watt |
| Maximum GPU temperature | no data | 100 °C |
| Texture fill rate | 28.22 | 25.1 billion/sec |
| Floating-point performance | 903.2 gflops | 601.3 gflops |
Size and compatibility
Information on GeForce 940M and GeForce GTS 450 compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.
| Laptop size | medium sized | no data |
| Bus support | PCI Express 3.0 | PCI-E 2.0 x 16 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
| Length | no data | 8.25" (210 mm) (21 cm) |
| Height | no data | 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm) |
| Width | no data | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | no data | 6-pin |
| SLI options | no data | + |
Memory
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
| Memory type | DDR3 | GDDR5 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 1 GB |
| Memory bus width | 64 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 2000 MHz | 1804 (3608 data rate) MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 14.4 GB/s | 57.7 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | no data |
Video outputs and ports
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | No outputs | Mini HDMITwo Dual Link DVI |
| HDMI | no data | + |
| Maximum VGA resolution | no data | 2048x1536 |
| Audio input for HDMI | no data | Internal |
Technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| GPU Boost | 2.0 | no data |
| Optimus | + | no data |
| GameWorks | + | no data |
API support
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (11_0) | 12 (11_0) |
| Shader Model | 5.1 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 | 4.2 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Vulkan | 1.1.126 | N/A |
| CUDA | + | + |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
GTS 450 outperforms 940M by 18% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.
Benchmark coverage: 25%
GTS 450 outperforms 940M by 18% in Passmark.
3DMark Vantage Performance
3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
GTS 450 outperforms 940M by 30% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.
3DMark 11 Performance GPU
3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
940M outperforms GTS 450 by 27% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.
3DMark Fire Strike Graphics
Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.
Benchmark coverage: 14%
940M outperforms GTS 450 by 5% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.
3DMark Cloud Gate GPU
Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.
Benchmark coverage: 14%
GTS 450 outperforms 940M by 41% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.
GeekBench 5 OpenCL
Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.
Benchmark coverage: 9%
940M outperforms GTS 450 by 18% in GeekBench 5 OpenCL.
Octane Render OctaneBench
This is a special benchmark measuring graphics card performance in OctaneRender, which is a realistic GPU rendering engine by OTOY Inc., available either as a standalone program, or as a plugin for 3DS Max, Cinema 4D and many other apps. It renders four different static scenes, then compares render times with a reference GPU which is currently GeForce GTX 980. This benchmark has nothing to do with gaming and is aimed at professional 3D graphics artists.
Benchmark coverage: 4%
GTS 450 outperforms 940M by 36% in Octane Render OctaneBench.
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Average FPS across all PC games
Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:
| 900p | 21−24
−33.3%
| 28
+33.3%
|
| Full HD | 19
−100%
| 38
+100%
|
| 1200p | 21−24
−28.6%
| 27
+28.6%
|
| 1440p | 96
−14.6%
| 110−120
+14.6%
|
| 4K | 20
−5%
| 21−24
+5%
|
Performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 4−5
−25%
|
5−6
+25%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 17
+113%
|
8−9
−113%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 12−14
−8.3%
|
12−14
+8.3%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 11
+83.3%
|
6−7
−83.3%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 11
+83.3%
|
6−7
−83.3%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 7−8
−42.9%
|
10−11
+42.9%
|
| Hitman 3 | 6−7
−16.7%
|
7−8
+16.7%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 5−6
−20%
|
6−7
+20%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 6−7
−16.7%
|
7−8
+16.7%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 10
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 2−3
−50%
|
3−4
+50%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 4−5
−25%
|
5−6
+25%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 13
+62.5%
|
8−9
−62.5%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 12−14
−8.3%
|
12−14
+8.3%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 10
+66.7%
|
6−7
−66.7%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 4−5
−50%
|
6−7
+50%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 7−8
−42.9%
|
10−11
+42.9%
|
| Hitman 3 | 6−7
−16.7%
|
7−8
+16.7%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 5−6
−20%
|
6−7
+20%
|
| Metro Exodus | 2
−150%
|
5−6
+150%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 6−7
−16.7%
|
7−8
+16.7%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 9−10
−11.1%
|
10−11
+11.1%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 10
+25%
|
8−9
−25%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 2−3
−50%
|
3−4
+50%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 4−5
−25%
|
5−6
+25%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 11
+37.5%
|
8−9
−37.5%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 10
+66.7%
|
6−7
−66.7%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 4−5
−50%
|
6−7
+50%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 7−8
−42.9%
|
10−11
+42.9%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 6
−33.3%
|
8−9
+33.3%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 2−3
−50%
|
3−4
+50%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 5−6
−20%
|
6−7
+20%
|
| Hitman 3 | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 1−2
−100%
|
2−3
+100%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 1−2
−100%
|
2−3
+100%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 6−7
−16.7%
|
7−8
+16.7%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 0−1 | 1−2 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 4−5
−25%
|
5−6
+25%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 1−2
−200%
|
3−4
+200%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 3−4
+0%
|
3−4
+0%
|
4K
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 2−3
−50%
|
3−4
+50%
|
| Hitman 3 | 3−4
+0%
|
3−4
+0%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 7−8
+0%
|
7−8
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 1−2
−100%
|
2−3
+100%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 1−2
+0%
|
1−2
+0%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 1−2
+0%
|
1−2
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| Far Cry 5 | 2
−100%
|
4−5
+100%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
This is how GeForce 940M and GTS 450 compete in popular games:
900p resolution:
- GTS 450 is 33.3% faster than GeForce 940M
1080p resolution:
- GTS 450 is 100% faster than GeForce 940M
1200p resolution:
- GTS 450 is 28.6% faster than GeForce 940M
1440p resolution:
- GTS 450 is 14.6% faster than GeForce 940M
4K resolution:
- GTS 450 is 5% faster than GeForce 940M
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Battlefield 5, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the GeForce 940M is 113% faster than the GTS 450.
- in Forza Horizon 4, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTS 450 is 200% faster than the GeForce 940M.
All in all, in popular games:
- GeForce 940M is ahead in 8 tests (15%)
- GTS 450 is ahead in 31 test (58%)
- there's a draw in 14 tests (26%)
Advantages and disadvantages
| Performance score | 2.90 | 3.42 |
| Recency | 12 March 2015 | 13 September 2010 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 1 GB |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 75 Watt | 106 Watt |
The GeForce GTS 450 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 940M in performance tests.
Be aware that GeForce 940M is a notebook card while GeForce GTS 450 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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