GeForce GTX 460 1GB vs GeForce GTX 970

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GTX 970, which comes with GPU clock speed of 1050 MHz, and 4096 MB of GDDR5 RAM set to run at 1750 MHz through a 256-bit bus. It also is comprised of 1664 SPUs, 104 TAUs, and 64 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTX 970		145 Watts
GeForce GTX 460 1GB		160 Watts
	Difference: 15 Watts (10%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce GTX 970 should be much faster than the GeForce GTX 460 1GB in general. (explain)

GeForce GTX 970		224000 MB/sec
GeForce GTX 460 1GB		115200 MB/sec
	Difference: 108800 (94%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 970 is much (about 189%) better at texture filtering than the GeForce GTX 460 1GB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 970		109200 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTX 460 1GB		37800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 71400 (189%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 970 should be much (about 211%) faster with regards to FSAA than the GeForce GTX 460 1GB, and will be able to handle higher resolutions without losing too much performance. (explain)

GeForce GTX 970		67200 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTX 460 1GB		21600 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 45600 (211%)

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 (counted in megabytes per second) that can be transported across the external memory interface within a second. The number is calculated by multiplying the bus width by its memory clock speed. If it uses DDR type memory, it must be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the 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 texture map elements (texels) that are processed in one second. This is calculated by multiplying the total amount of texture units of the card by the core speed of the chip. The higher the texel rate, the better the graphics card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels processed in a second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of pixels that the graphics card can possibly write to its local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is calculated by multiplying the amount of colour ROPs by the the card's clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel rate also depends on many other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the potential to reach the maximum fill rate.