GeForce 9400 GT 256MB vs GeForce GT 130

Intro

Compare that to the GeForce GT 130, which makes use of a 55 nm design. nVidia has set the core speed at 500 MHz. The DDR2 memory works at a frequency of 250 MHz on this particular model. It features 48 SPUs along with 24 TAUs and 16 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		50 Watts
GeForce GT 130		75 Watts
	Difference: 25 Watts (50%)

Memory Bandwidth

Performance-wise, the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB should theoretically be a little bit better than the GeForce GT 130 in general. (explain)

GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		12800 MB/sec
GeForce GT 130		12000 MB/sec
	Difference: 800 (7%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 130 should be quite a bit (more or less 173%) more effective at AF than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB. (explain)

GeForce GT 130		12000 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		4400 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 7600 (173%)

Pixel Rate

If running with lots of anti-aliasing is important to you, then the GeForce GT 130 is a better choice, by a large margin. (explain)

GeForce GT 130		8000 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		2200 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 5800 (264%)

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 data (counted in MB per second) that can be transported over the external memory interface in a second. It is worked out by multiplying the interface width by its memory clock speed. If the card has DDR type memory, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The higher the bandwidth is, 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 number is worked out by multiplying the total amount of texture units of the card by the core clock speed of the chip. The higher the texel rate, the better the graphics card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels processed per second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the most pixels the graphics card could possibly record to its local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is calculated by multiplying the amount of ROPs by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel fill rate also depends on lots of other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the max fill rate.