GeForce 8800 GT 512MB vs GeForce GT 320

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GT 320, which uses a 40 nm design. nVidia has set the core frequency at 540 MHz. The GDDR3 memory is set to run at a frequency of 790 MHz on this particular card. It features 72 SPUs as well as 24 TAUs 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 512MB		105 Watts
	Difference: 62 Watts (144%)

Memory Bandwidth

The GeForce 8800 GT 512MB, in theory, should perform quite a bit faster than the GeForce GT 320 overall. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 512MB		57600 MB/sec
GeForce GT 320		25280 MB/sec
	Difference: 32320 (128%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 8800 GT 512MB should be quite a bit (approximately 159%) better at texture filtering than the GeForce GT 320. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 512MB		33600 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GT 320		12960 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 20640 (159%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 8800 GT 512MB will be much (about 122%) better at AA than the GeForce GT 320, and should be capable of handling higher resolutions more effectively. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 512MB		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: Bandwidth is the max amount of information (measured in megabytes per second) that can be moved over the external memory interface in one second. It's worked out by multiplying the bus width by the speed of its memory. If it uses DDR RAM, the result should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better the memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, High Dynamic Range and high resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum amount of texture map elements (texels) that can be processed per second. This is calculated by multiplying the total number of texture units by the core clock speed of the chip. The better this number, the better the 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 the video card could possibly record to the local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. Pixel rate is calculated by multiplying the amount of colour ROPs by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also sometimes called 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 bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the maximum fill rate.