GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3 vs GeForce GT 430

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GT 430, which makes use of a 40 nm design. nVidia has clocked the core frequency at 700 MHz. The GDDR3 RAM runs at a frequency of 900 MHz on this specific model. It features 96 SPUs along with 16 Texture Address Units and 4 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		50 Watts
GeForce GT 430		60 Watts
	Difference: 10 Watts (20%)

Memory Bandwidth

The GeForce GT 430, in theory, should perform just a bit faster than the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3 in general. (explain)

GeForce GT 430		28800 MB/sec
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		25600 MB/sec
	Difference: 3200 (13%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 430 will be a lot (approximately 27%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce GT 430		11200 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		8800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 2400 (27%)

Pixel Rate

If using a high resolution is important to you, then the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3 is the winner, and very much so. (explain)

GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		4400 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GT 430		2800 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 1600 (57%)

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 max amount of information (in units of MB per second) that can be moved across the external memory interface in a second. It's worked out by multiplying the interface width by the speed of its memory. If it uses DDR type RAM, the result should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, High Dynamic Range and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum number of texture map elements (texels) that can be processed in one second. This 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 video card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels applied in one second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of pixels that the graphics card can possibly record to the local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is calculated by multiplying the amount of ROPs by the clock speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also called Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel output rate is also dependant on lots of other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the max fill rate.