GeForce GT 420 vs GeForce GTX 460 SE

Intro

Compare all of that to the GeForce GTX 460 SE, which comes with GPU core speed of 650 MHz, and 1024 MB of GDDR5 RAM set to run at 850 MHz through a 256-bit bus. It also is comprised of 288 Stream Processors, 48 Texture Address Units, and 32 ROPs.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GT 420		50 Watts
GeForce GTX 460 SE		150 Watts
	Difference: 100 Watts (200%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce GTX 460 SE should be quite a bit faster than the GeForce GT 420 overall. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 SE		108800 MB/sec
GeForce GT 420		28800 MB/sec
	Difference: 80000 (278%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 SE is a lot (approximately 457%) better at AF than the GeForce GT 420. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 SE		31200 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GT 420		5600 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 25600 (457%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 SE is a lot (approximately 643%) faster with regards to full screen anti-aliasing than the GeForce GT 420, and also should be capable of handling higher resolutions more effectively. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 SE		20800 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GT 420		2800 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 18000 (643%)

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 data (measured in megabytes per second) that can be moved past the external memory interface within a second. It's worked out by multiplying the bus width by its memory clock speed. If it uses DDR type RAM, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better the memory bandwidth, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, High Dynamic Range and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum number of texture map elements (texels) that can be processed per second. This number is calculated 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 handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels per second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels the video card can possibly record to its local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is worked out by multiplying the amount of ROPs by the the card's clock speed. 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 quite a few other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the max fill rate.