GeForce GTX 280M vs 940M
Aggregate performance score
We've compared GeForce 940M and GeForce GTX 280M, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
GeForce 940M outperforms GTX 280M by an impressive 95% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
Place in performance ranking | 748 | 935 |
Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.13 | 0.17 |
Architecture | Maxwell (2014−2018) | G9x (2007−2010) |
GPU code name | N16S-GT-S/B | N10E-GTX |
Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
Release date | 12 March 2015 (9 years ago) | 2 March 2009 (15 years ago) |
Current price | $879 | $140 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
GTX 280M has 31% better value for money than GeForce 940M.
Detailed specifications
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 | 128 |
CUDA cores | no data | 128 |
Core clock speed | 1072 MHz | 585 MHz |
Boost clock speed | 1176 MHz | no data |
Number of transistors | 1,870 million | 754 million |
Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 55 nm |
Power consumption (TDP) | 75 Watt | 75 Watt |
Texture fill rate | 28.22 | 38 billion/sec |
Floating-point performance | 903.2 gflops | 374.5 gflops |
Gigaflops | no data | 562 |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on GeForce 940M and GeForce GTX 280M compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. 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 | large |
Bus support | PCI Express 3.0 | PCI-E 2.0 |
Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | MXM-IV |
SLI options | no data | + |
MXM Type | no data | MXM 3.0 Type-B |
VRAM capacity and type
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 | GDDR3 |
Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 1 GB |
Memory bus width | 64 Bit | 256 Bit |
Memory clock speed | 2000 MHz | Up to 950 MHz |
Memory bandwidth | 14.4 GB/s | 61 GB/s |
Shared memory | - | - |
Connectivity and outputs
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 | HDMIDual Link DVISingle Link DVIDisplayPortLVDSVGA |
HDMI | no data | + |
Maximum VGA resolution | no data | 2048x1536 |
Audio input for HDMI | no data | S/PDIF |
Supported 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 |
Power management | no data | 8.0 |
API compatibility
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
DirectX | 12 (11_0) | 11.1 (10_0) |
Shader Model | 5.1 | 4.0 |
OpenGL | 4.5 | 2.1 |
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.
940M outperforms GTX 280M by 95% based on our aggregate 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%
940M outperforms GTX 280M by 95% 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%
940M outperforms GTX 280M by 13% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.
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:
Full HD | 22
+120%
| 10−12
−120%
|
1440p | 96
+113%
| 45−50
−113%
|
4K | 20
+100%
| 10−12
−100%
|
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
+50%
|
4−5
−50%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 6−7
+200%
|
2−3
−200%
|
Battlefield 5 | 15
+114%
|
7−8
−114%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 10
+150%
|
4−5
−150%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
+50%
|
4−5
−50%
|
Far Cry 5 | 12
+500%
|
2−3
−500%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 15
+275%
|
4−5
−275%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 12−14
+200%
|
4−5
−200%
|
Hitman 3 | 6−7
+100%
|
3−4
−100%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 18−20
+35.7%
|
14−16
−35.7%
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 14
+600%
|
2−3
−600%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 12−14
+33.3%
|
9−10
−33.3%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 16−18
+33.3%
|
12−14
−33.3%
|
Full HD
High Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 6−7
+200%
|
2−3
−200%
|
Battlefield 5 | 5−6
+150%
|
2−3
−150%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 7−8
+75%
|
4−5
−75%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
+50%
|
4−5
−50%
|
Far Cry 5 | 10
+400%
|
2−3
−400%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 8−9
+100%
|
4−5
−100%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 34
+750%
|
4−5
−750%
|
Hitman 3 | 6−7
+100%
|
3−4
−100%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 18−20
+35.7%
|
14−16
−35.7%
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 11
+450%
|
2−3
−450%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 12−14
+33.3%
|
9−10
−33.3%
|
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 10
+100%
|
5−6
−100%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 16−18
+33.3%
|
12−14
−33.3%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 6−7
+200%
|
2−3
−200%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 7−8
+75%
|
4−5
−75%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
+50%
|
4−5
−50%
|
Far Cry 5 | 8
+300%
|
2−3
−300%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 12−14
+200%
|
4−5
−200%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 18−20
+35.7%
|
14−16
−35.7%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 12−14
+33.3%
|
9−10
−33.3%
|
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 6
+20%
|
5−6
−20%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 16−18
+33.3%
|
12−14
−33.3%
|
Full HD
Epic Preset
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 10
+400%
|
2−3
−400%
|
1440p
High Preset
Battlefield 5 | 5−6
+150%
|
2−3
−150%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 3−4
+200%
|
1−2
−200%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 5−6
+25%
|
4−5
−25%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 1−2
+0%
|
1−2
+0%
|
Far Cry 5 | 4−5
+100%
|
2−3
−100%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 4−5
+300%
|
1−2
−300%
|
Hitman 3 | 8−9
+14.3%
|
7−8
−14.3%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 8−9
+60%
|
5−6
−60%
|
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 1−2 | 0−1 |
1440p
Epic Preset
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 6−7
+50%
|
4−5
−50%
|
4K
High Preset
Battlefield 5 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
Far Cry New Dawn | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 3−4
+200%
|
1−2
−200%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 1−2 | 0−1 |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 1−2 | 0−1 |
Far Cry 5 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
Forza Horizon 4 | 0−1 | 0−1 |
Horizon Zero Dawn | 3−4
+200%
|
1−2
−200%
|
Metro Exodus | 5−6
+25%
|
4−5
−25%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 0−1 | 0−1 |
4K
Epic Preset
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
This is how GeForce 940M and GTX 280M compete in popular games:
- GeForce 940M is 120% faster in 1080p
- GeForce 940M is 113% faster in 1440p
- GeForce 940M is 100% faster in 4K
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Forza Horizon 4, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GeForce 940M is 750% faster.
All in all, in popular games:
- GeForce 940M is ahead in 49 tests (96%)
- there's a draw in 2 tests (4%)
Pros & cons summary
Performance score | 2.91 | 1.49 |
Recency | 12 March 2015 | 2 March 2009 |
Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 1 GB |
Chip lithography | 28 nm | 55 nm |
The GeForce 940M is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 280M in performance tests.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.