GeForce 8800 GT 512MB vs GeForce GT 440 3GB

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GT 440 3GB, which features a clock frequency of 594 MHz and a GDDR3 memory frequency of 900 MHz. It also features a 192-bit memory bus, and uses a 40 nm design. It 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 512MB		105 Watts
	Difference: 49 Watts (88%)

Memory Bandwidth

As far as performance goes, the GeForce 8800 GT 512MB should in theory be quite a bit better than the GeForce GT 440 3GB in general. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 512MB		57600 MB/sec
GeForce GT 440 3GB		43200 MB/sec
	Difference: 14400 (33%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 8800 GT 512MB is a lot (approximately 136%) better at AF than the GeForce GT 440 3GB. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 512MB		33600 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GT 440 3GB		14256 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 19344 (136%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GT 440 3GB should be much (more or less 49%) faster with regards to anti-aliasing than the GeForce 8800 GT 512MB, and also should be capable of handling higher screen resolutions better. (explain)

GeForce GT 440 3GB		14256 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8800 GT 512MB		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 (counted in MB per second) that can be moved over the external memory interface in one second. It is worked out by multiplying the card's bus width by its memory clock speed. If it uses DDR memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 once again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, High Dynamic Range and high resolutions.

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

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels the video card can possibly write to the local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is worked out by multiplying the number of ROPs by the the core speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel output rate is also dependant on many other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the maximum fill rate.