GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 vs Radeon RX 480 4GB

Intro

Compare those specs to the Radeon RX 480 4GB, which features a core clock frequency of 1120 MHz and a GDDR5 memory frequency of 1750 MHz. It also features a 256-bit bus, and uses a 14 nm design. It is comprised of 2304 SPUs, 144 Texture Address Units, and 32 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		47 Watts
Radeon RX 480 4GB		150 Watts
	Difference: 103 Watts (219%)

Memory Bandwidth

The Radeon RX 480 4GB should theoretically be a lot faster than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 in general. (explain)

Radeon RX 480 4GB		229376 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 216576 (1692%)

Texel Rate

The Radeon RX 480 4GB will be much (about 1767%) faster with regards to texture filtering than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2. (explain)

Radeon RX 480 4GB		161280 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 152640 (1767%)

Pixel Rate

The Radeon RX 480 4GB should be quite a bit (approximately 730%) better at FSAA than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2, and will be capable of handling higher screen resolutions without slowing down too much. (explain)

Radeon RX 480 4GB		35840 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 31520 (730%)

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 (measured in MB per second) that can be transported across the external memory interface in a second. The number is worked out by multiplying the bus width by its memory clock speed. In the case of DDR type RAM, it must be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the memory bandwidth, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, High Dynamic Range and high resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum number of texture map elements (texels) that are processed in one second. This figure is calculated by multiplying the total number of texture units of the card by the core clock speed of the chip. The higher the texel rate, the better the card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels applied 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 Render Output Units by the clock speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel output rate is also dependant on lots of other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the maximum fill rate.