GeForce 8300 GS (OEM) vs GeForce 8400 GS 512MB

Intro

Compare that to the GeForce 8400 GS 512MB, which features a core clock frequency of 650 MHz and a DDR2 memory speed of 400 MHz. It also makes use of a 64-bit memory bus, and makes use of a 80 nm design. It is made up of 16 SPUs, 8 TAUs, and 4 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Both cards have the same power consumption.

Memory Bandwidth

Both cards have exactly the same memory bandwidth, so theoretically they should perform the same. (explain)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 8400 GS 512MB should be a lot (approximately 189%) more effective at anisotropic filtering than the GeForce 8300 GS (OEM). (explain)

GeForce 8400 GS 512MB		5200 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8300 GS (OEM)		1800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 3400 (189%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 8400 GS 512MB should be a lot (more or less 189%) better at FSAA than the GeForce 8300 GS (OEM), and able to handle higher resolutions without losing too much performance. (explain)

GeForce 8400 GS 512MB		2600 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8300 GS (OEM)		900 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 1700 (189%)

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 (measured in MB per second) that can be transported over the external memory interface within a second. It's worked out by multiplying the card's bus width by its memory clock speed. If it uses DDR RAM, the result should be multiplied by 2 again. If DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, High Dynamic Range and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum texture map elements (texels) that can be processed in one second. This figure is worked out by multiplying the total amount of texture units by the core clock speed of the chip. The better this number, the better the video card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels per second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of pixels the graphics card could possibly record to the 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 filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel fill rate is also dependant on quite a few other factors, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the maximum fill rate.