GeForce 9600 GT 512MB vs GeForce GTX 560

Intro

Compare all of that to the GeForce GTX 560, which has a GPU core clock speed of 810 MHz, and 1024 MB of GDDR5 RAM set to run at 1001 MHz through a 256-bit bus. It also features 336 SPUs, 56 TAUs, and 32 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		95 Watts
GeForce GTX 560		150 Watts
	Difference: 55 Watts (58%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically, the GeForce GTX 560 should perform much faster than the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB in general. (explain)

GeForce GTX 560		128128 MB/sec
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		57600 MB/sec
	Difference: 70528 (122%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 560 will be a lot (about 118%) faster with regards to anisotropic filtering than the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 560		45360 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		20800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 24560 (118%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 560 should be quite a bit (about 149%) better at anti-aliasing than the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB, and will be able to handle higher screen resolutions more effectively. (explain)

GeForce GTX 560		25920 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		10400 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 15520 (149%)

Please note that the above 'benchmarks' are all just theoretical - the results were calculated based on the card's specifications, and real-world performance may (and probably will) vary at least a bit.

Price Comparison

Specifications

Memory Bandwidth: Memory bandwidth is the max amount of data (in units of MB per second) that can be transported past the external memory interface within a second. It's worked out by multiplying the interface width by the speed of its memory. If the card has DDR type RAM, the result should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the card's memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, High Dynamic Range and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum amount of texture map elements (texels) that can be applied in one second. This number is worked out by multiplying the total texture units of the card by the core clock speed of the chip. The higher this number, the better the video card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels in one second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the most pixels that the graphics chip can possibly write to its local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. Pixel rate is worked out by multiplying the number of colour ROPs by the the card's clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also sometimes called Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel fill rate also depends on quite a few other factors, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the max fill rate.