GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 vs GeForce GT 430 (OEM)

Intro

Compare all that to the GeForce GT 430 (OEM), which has GPU clock speed of 700 MHz, and 2048 MB of GDDR3 RAM running at 900 MHz through a 128-bit bus. It also features 96 SPUs, 16 TAUs, and 4 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		47 Watts
GeForce GT 430 (OEM)		60 Watts
	Difference: 13 Watts (28%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce GT 430 (OEM) should be much faster than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 in general. (explain)

GeForce GT 430 (OEM)		28800 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 16000 (125%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 430 (OEM) will be a lot (approximately 30%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2. (explain)

GeForce GT 430 (OEM)		11200 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 2560 (30%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 should be a lot (approximately 54%) more effective at AA than the GeForce GT 430 (OEM), and should be able to handle higher screen resolutions while still performing well. (explain)

GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GT 430 (OEM)		2800 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 1520 (54%)

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 largest amount of data (in units of megabytes per second) that can be transferred across the external memory interface in a second. It is worked out by multiplying the interface width by its memory clock speed. In the case of DDR type memory, it should be multiplied by 2 once again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the memory bandwidth, the better 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 are applied in one second. This figure is calculated by multiplying the total texture units of the card by the core clock 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 in one second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels the graphics 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 amount of Render Output Units 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 rate also depends on many other factors, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the potential to get to the max fill rate.