GeForce GTX 580 3GB vs GeForce GTX 980

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GTX 980, which comes with GPU core speed of 1126 MHz, and 4096 MB of GDDR5 memory running at 1750 MHz through a 256-bit bus. It also is comprised of 2048 SPUs, 128 TAUs, and 64 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTX 980		165 Watts
GeForce GTX 580 3GB		244 Watts
	Difference: 79 Watts (48%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically, the GeForce GTX 980 should be a little bit faster than the GeForce GTX 580 3GB overall. (explain)

GeForce GTX 980		224000 MB/sec
GeForce GTX 580 3GB		192384 MB/sec
	Difference: 31616 (16%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 980 is quite a bit (more or less 192%) more effective at texture filtering than the GeForce GTX 580 3GB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 980		144128 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTX 580 3GB		49408 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 94720 (192%)

Pixel Rate

If using a high screen resolution is important to you, then the GeForce GTX 980 is superior to the GeForce GTX 580 3GB, by far. (explain)

GeForce GTX 980		72064 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTX 580 3GB		37056 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 35008 (94%)

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: Bandwidth is the maximum amount of information (counted in MB per second) that can be transferred over the external memory interface within a second. It's calculated by multiplying the bus width by the speed of its memory. In the case of DDR type RAM, it must be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the bandwidth is, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, High Dynamic Range and high resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum amount of texture map elements (texels) that are applied in one second. This figure is worked out by multiplying the total texture units of the card by the core speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the 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 maximum amount of pixels that the graphics chip can possibly record to the local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is worked out by multiplying the number of 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 is also dependant on quite a few other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the potential to get to the maximum fill rate.