GeForce GTS 250 512MB vs GeForce GTX 460 (OEM)

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GTX 460 (OEM), which features core speeds of 650 MHz on the GPU, and 850 MHz on the 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory. It features 336 SPUs as well as 56 TAUs and 32 ROPs.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTS 250 512MB		145 Watts
GeForce GTX 460 (OEM)		150 Watts
	Difference: 5 Watts (3%)

Memory Bandwidth

As far as performance goes, the GeForce GTX 460 (OEM) should in theory be much better than the GeForce GTS 250 512MB overall. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 (OEM)		108800 MB/sec
GeForce GTS 250 512MB		70400 MB/sec
	Difference: 38400 (55%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTS 250 512MB is much (about 30%) faster with regards to texture filtering than the GeForce GTX 460 (OEM). (explain)

GeForce GTS 250 512MB		47232 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTX 460 (OEM)		36400 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 10832 (30%)

Pixel Rate

If running with a high resolution is important to you, then the GeForce GTX 460 (OEM) is superior to the GeForce GTS 250 512MB, by a large margin. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 (OEM)		20800 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTS 250 512MB		11808 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 8992 (76%)

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 largest amount of information (in units of MB per second) that can be transported over the external memory interface in one second. The number is calculated by multiplying the bus width by the speed of its memory. In the case of DDR memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, High Dynamic Range and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum texture map elements (texels) that are applied in one second. This figure is calculated by multiplying the total 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 processed in one second.

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