Bringing other OEMs into the mix
Although currently only available as part of Apple's premium-priced systems, NVIDIA expects the GeForce 9400M to be announced in products from various OEMs in the coming weeks and months. When announcements are made, however, they'll reference a GeForce 9400M G - the GeForce 9400M, it appears, is exclusive to Apple's MacBook.
Despite the additional nomenclature, the GeForce 9400M G should bring additional benefits when equipped in non-Apple systems. Although Apple was first to launch 9400M products, it could be argued that its MacBooks don't offer the best implementation.
At present, switching between the 9400M and a dedicated second GPU in a MacBook system requires the user to log off and on the Mac OS X operating system - a slight annoyance that we hope will be fixed with future software updates. Furthermore, the integrated chip and dedicated chip can't be used in unison, it's simply one or the other.
As other OEMs adopt NVIDIA's new chips, we'd expect to see better results. On-the-fly switching between the 9400M and a dedicated GPU should come as standard, and we may see SLI doubling-up in higher-end systems.
Those who've been following NVIDIA's recent woes in terms of faulty chips will be asking if the 9400M can be trusted. NVIDIA, as you'd expect, tells us it has learnt from its mistakes and ensured any identified problematic materials are no longer used in manufacturing.
One things for certain, with notebooks expected to outgrow desktops by 2012, NVIDIA has its sights set on keeping ahead of the competition in the mobile market and the GeForce 9400M is a promising start. Intel, meanwhile, promises to work hard at reclaiming the position of preferred mobile-graphics provider. Right now, that position is NVIDIA's to claim.
Official press release: NVIDIA INTRODUCES INDUSTRY-CHANGING, HIGHLY INTEGRATED GPU
Official product page: NVIDIA.com
