GeForce 8800 GT 256MB vs GeForce GT 430

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GT 430, which uses a 40 nm design. nVidia has set the core speed at 700 MHz. The GDDR3 memory works at a frequency of 900 MHz on this model. It features 96 SPUs as well as 16 Texture Address Units and 4 ROPs.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GT 430		60 Watts
GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		105 Watts
	Difference: 45 Watts (75%)

Memory Bandwidth

The GeForce 8800 GT 256MB should theoretically be much faster than the GeForce GT 430 in general. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		44800 MB/sec
GeForce GT 430		28800 MB/sec
	Difference: 16000 (56%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 8800 GT 256MB should be much (about 200%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce GT 430. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		33600 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GT 430		11200 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 22400 (200%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 8800 GT 256MB should be a lot (approximately 243%) more effective at FSAA than the GeForce GT 430, and able to handle higher resolutions without slowing down too much. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		9600 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GT 430		2800 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 6800 (243%)

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 maximum amount of data (measured in MB per second) that can be moved across the external memory interface in a second. It is calculated by multiplying the interface width by its memory clock speed. In the case of DDR memory, it must be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the card's 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 number of texture map elements (texels) that can be applied per second. This figure is worked out by multiplying the total texture units by the core clock speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, 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 number of pixels the graphics card can possibly record to its local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is worked out by multiplying the amount of colour 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 rate also depends on lots of other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the potential to reach the maximum fill rate.