GeForce 8400 GS 512MB vs GeForce GT 440 3GB

Intro

Compare all of that to the GeForce GT 440 3GB, which features a clock frequency of 594 MHz and a GDDR3 memory speed of 900 MHz. It also features a 192-bit bus, and uses a 40 nm design. It is comprised of 144 SPUs, 24 Texture Address Units, and 24 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8400 GS 512MB		40 Watts
GeForce GT 440 3GB		56 Watts
	Difference: 16 Watts (40%)

Memory Bandwidth

As far as performance goes, the GeForce GT 440 3GB should theoretically be a lot better than the GeForce 8400 GS 512MB overall. (explain)

GeForce GT 440 3GB		43200 MB/sec
GeForce 8400 GS 512MB		6400 MB/sec
	Difference: 36800 (575%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 440 3GB will be much (approximately 174%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce 8400 GS 512MB. (explain)

GeForce GT 440 3GB		14256 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8400 GS 512MB		5200 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 9056 (174%)

Pixel Rate

If using a high resolution is important to you, then the GeForce GT 440 3GB is a better choice, and very much so. (explain)

GeForce GT 440 3GB		14256 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8400 GS 512MB		2600 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 11656 (448%)

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 information (measured in MB per second) that can be transported over the external memory interface within a second. It's worked out by multiplying the bus width by its memory speed. If it uses DDR type RAM, the result should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the card's memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, HDR and higher screen resolutions.

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

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels the video card can possibly record to the local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is worked out by multiplying the number of Raster Operations Pipelines by the the card's clock speed. 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 lots of other factors, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the potential to get to the maximum fill rate.