GeForce 8800 GT 256MB vs GeForce GT 320

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GT 320, which makes use of a 40 nm design. nVidia has clocked the core frequency at 540 MHz. The GDDR3 RAM works at a frequency of 790 MHz on this 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 8800 GT 256MB		105 Watts
	Difference: 62 Watts (144%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the GeForce 8800 GT 256MB is 77% quicker than the GeForce GT 320 in general, because of its higher data rate. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		44800 MB/sec
GeForce GT 320		25280 MB/sec
	Difference: 19520 (77%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 8800 GT 256MB will be a lot (more or less 159%) more effective at texture filtering than the GeForce GT 320. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		33600 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GT 320		12960 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 20640 (159%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 8800 GT 256MB will be much (about 122%) better at FSAA than the GeForce GT 320, and also should be able to handle higher resolutions more effectively. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		9600 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GT 320		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 5280 (122%)

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 (measured in megabytes per second) that can be moved past the external memory interface in a second. The number is worked out by multiplying the card's interface width by the speed of its memory. In the case of DDR type RAM, it should be multiplied by 2 once again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the card's memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, HDR and higher screen resolutions.

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

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of pixels the video card can possibly record to the local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is calculated by multiplying the number of colour ROPs by the the card's clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also called Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel fill rate is also dependant on lots of 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.