GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 vs GeForce GTX 1080

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GTX 1080, which makes use of a 16 nm design. nVidia has set the core frequency at 1607 MHz. The GDDR5X memory runs at a frequency of 1251 MHz on this model. It features 2560 SPUs as well as 160 Texture Address Units and 64 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		47 Watts
GeForce GTX 1080		180 Watts
	Difference: 133 Watts (283%)

Memory Bandwidth

Performance-wise, the GeForce GTX 1080 should in theory be a lot better than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 in general. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1080		327680 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 314880 (2460%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 1080 should be a lot (approximately 2876%) better at texture filtering than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1080		257120 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 248480 (2876%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 1080 is quite a bit (about 2281%) faster with regards to anti-aliasing than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2, and also capable of handling higher resolutions better. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1080		102848 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 98528 (2281%)

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 max amount of data (counted in megabytes per second) that can be transferred across the external memory interface within a second. The number is worked out by multiplying the interface width by its memory speed. If it uses DDR memory, it should 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 texture map elements (texels) that are processed in one second. This is worked out by multiplying the total amount of 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 per second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of pixels the video card could possibly write to its local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. Pixel rate is calculated by multiplying the amount of Render Output Units by the the card's clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also sometimes called Render Output Units) are responsible for outputting the pixels (image) to the screen. The actual pixel rate also depends on lots of other factors, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the potential to get to the maximum fill rate.