GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 vs GeForce GTX 1050 3GB

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GTX 1050 3GB, which makes use of a 14 nm design. nVidia has clocked the core frequency at 1392 MHz. The GDDR5 memory runs at a frequency of 1750 MHz on this particular card. It features 768 SPUs along with 48 Texture Address Units and 24 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 1050 3GB		75 Watts
	Difference: 28 Watts (60%)

Memory Bandwidth

As far as performance goes, the GeForce GTX 1050 3GB should theoretically be a lot better than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 in general. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1050 3GB		86016 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 73216 (572%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 1050 3GB is much (about 673%) better at texture filtering than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1050 3GB		66816 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 58176 (673%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 1050 3GB will be much (approximately 673%) faster with regards to AA than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2, and also will be capable of handling higher screen resolutions while still performing well. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1050 3GB		33408 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 29088 (673%)

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: Memory bandwidth is the largest amount of data (measured in megabytes per second) that can be transported past the external memory interface in one second. The number is calculated by multiplying the card's interface width by its memory speed. In the case of DDR memory, it should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the memory bandwidth, 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 can be applied in one second. This number is worked out by multiplying the total number of texture units 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 processed in one second.

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