GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3 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 memory is set to run at a speed of 790 MHz on this card. It features 72 SPUs as well as 24 TAUs and 8 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GT 320		43 Watts
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		50 Watts
	Difference: 7 Watts (16%)

Memory Bandwidth

As far as performance goes, the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3 should theoretically be a small bit superior to the GeForce GT 320 overall. (explain)

GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		25600 MB/sec
GeForce GT 320		25280 MB/sec
	Difference: 320 (1%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 320 will be quite a bit (approximately 47%) better at AF than the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce GT 320		12960 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		8800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 4160 (47%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3 is just a bit (more or less 2%) more effective at anti-aliasing than the GeForce GT 320, and should be able to handle higher screen resolutions without losing too much performance. (explain)

GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		4400 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GT 320		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 80 (2%)

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 information (counted in megabytes per second) that can be moved past the external memory interface in one second. The number is worked out by multiplying the card's bus width by its memory speed. If the card has DDR type memory, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better the bandwidth is, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, HDR and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum texture map elements (texels) that can be applied in one second. This is calculated by multiplying the total texture units of the card by the core speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the video card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels in a second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels the graphics card could possibly record to the local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is worked out by multiplying the amount of ROPs by the the card's clock speed. 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 fill rate also depends on many other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the maximum fill rate.