GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB vs GeForce GT 320

Intro

Compare that to the GeForce GT 320, which uses a 40 nm design. nVidia has set the core frequency at 540 MHz. The GDDR3 memory runs at a frequency of 790 MHz on this specific model. It features 72 SPUs as well as 24 Texture Address Units and 8 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GT 320		43 Watts
GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB		90 Watts
	Difference: 47 Watts (109%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically, the GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB should be a lot faster than the GeForce GT 320 overall. (explain)

GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB		57600 MB/sec
GeForce GT 320		25280 MB/sec
	Difference: 32320 (128%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB will be quite a bit (about 141%) better at AF than the GeForce GT 320. (explain)

GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB		31200 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GT 320		12960 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 18240 (141%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB should be a lot (approximately 141%) faster with regards to anti-aliasing than the GeForce GT 320, and should be capable of handling higher resolutions better. (explain)

GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB		10400 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GT 320		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 maximum amount of data (counted in MB per second) that can be moved across the external memory interface within a second. The number is calculated by multiplying the interface width by the speed of its memory. In the case of DDR memory, it must be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the card's memory bandwidth, the better 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 amount of texture map elements (texels) that are applied in one second. This figure is calculated by multiplying the total amount of texture units by the core speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the graphics card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels in one second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the most pixels the video card can possibly write to the local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is worked out by multiplying the amount of Raster Operations Pipelines by the clock speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - sometimes also referred to as Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel output rate is also dependant on many other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the maximum fill rate.