GeForce 8400 GS 512MB vs GeForce 8600 GS (OEM)

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce 8600 GS (OEM), which makes use of a 80 nm design. nVidia has clocked the core frequency at 540 MHz. The DDR2 memory works at a speed of 400 MHz on this specific model. It features 32 SPUs as well as 16 TAUs and 8 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8400 GS 512MB		40 Watts
GeForce 8600 GS (OEM)		47 Watts
	Difference: 7 Watts (18%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the GeForce 8600 GS (OEM) will be 100% quicker than the GeForce 8400 GS 512MB overall, because of its greater data rate. (explain)

GeForce 8600 GS (OEM)		12800 MB/sec
GeForce 8400 GS 512MB		6400 MB/sec
	Difference: 6400 (100%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 8600 GS (OEM) is a lot (more or less 66%) more effective at texture filtering than the GeForce 8400 GS 512MB. (explain)

GeForce 8600 GS (OEM)		8640 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8400 GS 512MB		5200 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 3440 (66%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 8600 GS (OEM) will be much (about 66%) faster with regards to AA than the GeForce 8400 GS 512MB, and also should be capable of handling higher screen resolutions more effectively. (explain)

GeForce 8600 GS (OEM)		4320 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8400 GS 512MB		2600 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 1720 (66%)

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 transferred past the external memory interface within a second. The number is worked out by multiplying the card's bus width by its memory clock speed. If the card has DDR type memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the memory bandwidth, the better 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 amount of texture map elements (texels) that can be applied per second. This is calculated by multiplying the total number of texture units by the core speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the graphics card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels in one second.

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