GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3 vs GeForce GTX 460 (OEM)

Intro

Compare all of that to the GeForce GTX 460 (OEM), which makes use of a 40 nm design. nVidia has set the core frequency at 650 MHz. The GDDR5 RAM works at a frequency of 850 MHz on this specific model. It features 336 SPUs along with 56 TAUs and 32 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3		47 Watts
GeForce GTX 460 (OEM)		150 Watts
	Difference: 103 Watts (219%)

Memory Bandwidth

Performance-wise, the GeForce GTX 460 (OEM) should theoretically be quite a bit superior to the GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3 in general. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 (OEM)		108800 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3		22400 MB/sec
	Difference: 86400 (386%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 (OEM) will be quite a bit (approximately 321%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 (OEM)		36400 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 27760 (321%)

Pixel Rate

If running with a high resolution is important to you, then the GeForce GTX 460 (OEM) is superior to the GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3, by far. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 (OEM)		20800 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 16480 (381%)

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 largest amount of information (counted in megabytes per second) that can be transported across the external memory interface in one second. It is worked out by multiplying the interface width by its memory speed. If it uses DDR type RAM, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the bandwidth is, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, HDR and high resolutions.

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

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of pixels the graphics card can possibly record to the local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is worked out by multiplying the number of colour ROPs by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for outputting the pixels (image) to the screen. The actual pixel output rate also depends on lots of other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the potential to get to the maximum fill rate.