GeForce 9400 GT 256MB vs GeForce GT 340 1GB

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GT 340 1GB, which makes use of a 40 nm design. nVidia has set the core frequency at 550 MHz. The GDDR5 memory works at a speed of 850 MHz on this specific model. It features 96 SPUs as well as 32 TAUs and 8 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		50 Watts
GeForce GT 340 1GB		69 Watts
	Difference: 19 Watts (38%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce GT 340 1GB should be much faster than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB overall. (explain)

GeForce GT 340 1GB		54400 MB/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 41600 (325%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 340 1GB should be quite a bit (about 300%) better at AF than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB. (explain)

GeForce GT 340 1GB		17600 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		4400 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 13200 (300%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GT 340 1GB should be much (more or less 100%) better at AA than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB, and also will be capable of handling higher resolutions without slowing down too much. (explain)

GeForce GT 340 1GB		4400 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		2200 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 2200 (100%)

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 information (in units of MB per second) that can be transferred past the external memory interface in a second. It is calculated by multiplying the card's interface width by its memory speed. In the case of DDR type memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the card's 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 applied in one second. This number is worked out by multiplying the total amount of texture units of the card by the core clock speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the video 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 most pixels the graphics card could possibly write to its local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. Pixel rate is worked out by multiplying the amount of ROPs by the the core speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also sometimes called Render Output Units) are responsible for outputting the pixels (image) to the screen. The actual pixel output rate is also dependant on lots of other factors, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the max fill rate.