GeForce 8800 GT 256MB vs GeForce GT 440 3GB

Intro

Compare all that to the GeForce GT 440 3GB, which features GPU core speed of 594 MHz, and 3072 MB of GDDR3 memory set to run at 900 MHz through a 192-bit bus. It also is comprised of 144 SPUs, 24 TAUs, and 24 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GT 440 3GB		56 Watts
GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		105 Watts
	Difference: 49 Watts (88%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce 8800 GT 256MB should be 4% quicker than the GeForce GT 440 3GB in general, due to its greater data rate. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		44800 MB/sec
GeForce GT 440 3GB		43200 MB/sec
	Difference: 1600 (4%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 8800 GT 256MB is much (more or less 136%) faster with regards to anisotropic filtering than the GeForce GT 440 3GB. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		33600 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GT 440 3GB		14256 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 19344 (136%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GT 440 3GB is quite a bit (more or less 49%) faster with regards to anti-aliasing than the GeForce 8800 GT 256MB, and also should be capable of handling higher screen resolutions while still performing well. (explain)

GeForce GT 440 3GB		14256 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		9600 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 4656 (49%)

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 max amount of information (in units of megabytes per second) that can be transported across the external memory interface within a second. It is calculated by multiplying the bus width by its memory speed. In the case of DDR memory, it must be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the card's memory bandwidth, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, HDR and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum texture map elements (texels) that can be applied per second. This number is calculated by multiplying the total amount of texture units by the core speed of the chip. The better this number, the better the video 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 most pixels that the graphics card could possibly write to its local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is calculated by multiplying the amount of Render Output Units 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 fill rate is also dependant on lots of other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the maximum fill rate.