GeForce 8500 GT vs GeForce GT 430 1GB

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GT 430 1GB, which features GPU core speed of 700 MHz, and 1024 MB of GDDR3 memory running at 900 MHz through a 128-bit bus. It also features 96 SPUs, 16 TAUs, and 4 ROPs.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8500 GT		45 Watts
GeForce GT 430 1GB		60 Watts
	Difference: 15 Watts (33%)

Memory Bandwidth

The GeForce GT 430 1GB, in theory, should perform much faster than the GeForce 8500 GT in general. (explain)

GeForce GT 430 1GB		28800 MB/sec
GeForce 8500 GT		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 16000 (125%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 430 1GB should be a lot (about 211%) more effective at texture filtering than the GeForce 8500 GT. (explain)

GeForce GT 430 1GB		11200 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8500 GT		3600 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 7600 (211%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GT 430 1GB is quite a bit (approximately 56%) faster with regards to AA than the GeForce 8500 GT, and capable of handling higher resolutions without losing too much performance. (explain)

GeForce GT 430 1GB		2800 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8500 GT		1800 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 1000 (56%)

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 data (in units of megabytes per second) that can be transported past the external memory interface in a second. The number is worked out by multiplying the interface width by its memory clock speed. If the card has DDR memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the bandwidth is, 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 texture map elements (texels) that are applied in one second. This is worked out by multiplying the total number of texture units by the core speed of the chip. The better this number, the better the graphics card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels per second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels that the graphics chip could possibly record to the local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is calculated by multiplying the number of Raster Operations Pipelines by the clock speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - sometimes also referred to as 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 of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the potential to reach the max fill rate.