GeForce 9400 GT 256MB vs GeForce GTX 560

Intro

Compare that to the GeForce GTX 560, which has a clock frequency of 810 MHz and a GDDR5 memory speed of 1001 MHz. It also makes use of a 256-bit bus, and uses a 40 nm design. It features 336 SPUs, 56 TAUs, and 32 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		50 Watts
GeForce GTX 560		150 Watts
	Difference: 100 Watts (200%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the GeForce GTX 560 should be 901% faster than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB in general, because of its higher bandwidth. (explain)

GeForce GTX 560		128128 MB/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 115328 (901%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 560 should be a lot (more or less 931%) more effective at texture filtering than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 560		45360 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		4400 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 40960 (931%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 560 is a lot (approximately 1078%) more effective at AA than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB, and should be capable of handling higher resolutions better. (explain)

GeForce GTX 560		25920 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		2200 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 23720 (1078%)

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 largest amount of information (measured in MB per second) that can be transported over the external memory interface within a second. It is calculated by multiplying the interface width by its memory clock speed. If the card has DDR memory, it should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the memory bandwidth, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, High Dynamic Range and higher screen resolutions.

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

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels the graphics card can possibly record to its local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is worked out by multiplying the amount of ROPs by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also called Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel output rate also depends on lots of other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the maximum fill rate.