GeForce 9600 GT 512MB vs GeForce GTS 450

Intro

Compare all of that to the GeForce GTS 450, which comes with a core clock speed of 783 MHz and a GDDR5 memory speed of 902 MHz. It also uses a 128-bit bus, and makes use of a 40 nm design. It is comprised of 192 SPUs, 32 TAUs, and 16 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		95 Watts
GeForce GTS 450		106 Watts
	Difference: 11 Watts (12%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically, the GeForce GTS 450 should be just a bit faster than the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB overall. (explain)

GeForce GTS 450		57728 MB/sec
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		57600 MB/sec
	Difference: 128 (0%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTS 450 is a little bit (approximately 20%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB. (explain)

GeForce GTS 450		25056 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		20800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 4256 (20%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTS 450 should be a small bit (more or less 20%) faster with regards to FSAA than the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB, and also will be able to handle higher resolutions better. (explain)

GeForce GTS 450		12528 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		10400 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 2128 (20%)

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 max amount of data (in units of MB per second) that can be moved across the external memory interface in one second. It's worked out by multiplying the card's bus width by its memory speed. If the card has DDR type memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, High Dynamic Range and high resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum number of texture map elements (texels) that are applied in one second. This number is worked out by multiplying the total amount of texture units by the core clock 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 in a second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels that the graphics card could possibly write to the local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is calculated by multiplying the amount of ROPs by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - sometimes also referred to as Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel output rate is also dependant on quite a few other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the max fill rate.