GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 vs GeForce GT 1030

Intro

Compare all that to the GeForce GT 1030, which has a clock frequency of 1265 MHz and a GDDR5 memory frequency of 1502 MHz. It also features a 64-bit memory bus, and makes use of a 16 nm design. It is comprised of 384 SPUs, 32 TAUs, and 16 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GT 1030		30 Watts
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		47 Watts
	Difference: 17 Watts (57%)

Memory Bandwidth

Performance-wise, the GeForce GT 1030 should in theory be quite a bit better than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 in general. (explain)

GeForce GT 1030		49152 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 36352 (284%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 1030 should be much (more or less 369%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2. (explain)

GeForce GT 1030		40480 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 31840 (369%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GT 1030 should be quite a bit (more or less 369%) faster with regards to FSAA than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2, and also able to handle higher resolutions more effectively. (explain)

GeForce GT 1030		20240 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 15920 (369%)

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 (in units of MB per second) that can be transported across the external memory interface in a second. It's calculated by multiplying the interface width by the speed of its memory. In the case of DDR RAM, it must be multiplied by 2 again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better the bandwidth is, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, HDR and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum texture map elements (texels) that can be processed per second. This is calculated 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 texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels in a second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of pixels the video card can possibly record to its local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. Pixel rate is worked out by multiplying the amount of Render Output Units by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also called Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel fill rate is also dependant on many other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the max fill rate.