GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 vs GeForce GT 440 1.5GB

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GT 440 1.5GB, which comes with a core clock frequency of 594 MHz and a GDDR3 memory speed of 900 MHz. It also uses a 192-bit memory bus, and makes use of a 40 nm design. It features 144 SPUs, 24 Texture Address Units, and 24 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 440 1.5GB		56 Watts
	Difference: 9 Watts (19%)

Memory Bandwidth

As far as performance goes, the GeForce GT 440 1.5GB should theoretically be quite a bit superior to the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 in general. (explain)

GeForce GT 440 1.5GB		43200 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 30400 (238%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 440 1.5GB is quite a bit (about 65%) better at AF than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2. (explain)

GeForce GT 440 1.5GB		14256 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 5616 (65%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GT 440 1.5GB should be a lot (approximately 230%) more effective at AA than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2, and also able to handle higher resolutions while still performing well. (explain)

GeForce GT 440 1.5GB		14256 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 9936 (230%)

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 information (in units of megabytes per second) that can be transported past the external memory interface in one second. It is worked out by multiplying the interface width by the speed of its memory. If it uses DDR type memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, High Dynamic Range and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum number of texture map elements (texels) that are processed in one second. This figure is calculated by multiplying the total number of texture units by the core clock speed of the chip. The better this number, the better the graphics card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels applied in a second.

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