GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 vs GeForce 9600 GT 512MB

Intro

Compare that to the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB, which uses a 65/55 nm design. nVidia has set the core frequency at 650 MHz. The GDDR3 RAM runs at a frequency of 900 MHz on this particular card. It features 64 SPUs as well as 32 TAUs and 16 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		47 Watts
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		95 Watts
	Difference: 48 Watts (102%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB should be 350% faster than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 overall, due to its higher data rate. (explain)

GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		57600 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 44800 (350%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 9600 GT 512MB should be a lot (more or less 141%) more effective at texture filtering than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2. (explain)

GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		20800 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 12160 (141%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 9600 GT 512MB should be much (more or less 141%) more effective at full screen anti-aliasing than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2, and also will be capable of handling higher resolutions more effectively. (explain)

GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		10400 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 6080 (141%)

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 max amount of data (in units of MB per second) that can be moved across the external memory interface within a second. The number is calculated by multiplying the card's interface width by its memory clock speed. If the card has DDR memory, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better the memory bandwidth, 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 number of texture map elements (texels) that can be processed per second. This figure is calculated by multiplying the total number of texture units by the core speed of the chip. The higher the texel rate, 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 most pixels the video card can possibly record to its local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is calculated by multiplying the number of ROPs by the clock speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also sometimes called Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel output rate is also dependant on quite a few other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the max fill rate.