GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 vs GeForce GT 220 GDDR3

Intro

Compare all of that to the GeForce GT 220 GDDR3, which has a clock frequency of 625 MHz and a GDDR3 memory frequency of 1012 MHz. It also uses a 128-bit memory bus, and makes use of a 40 nm design. It features 48 SPUs, 16 TAUs, and 8 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		47 Watts
GeForce GT 220 GDDR3		58 Watts
	Difference: 11 Watts (23%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the GeForce GT 220 GDDR3 should be 153% quicker than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 overall, due to its higher bandwidth. (explain)

GeForce GT 220 GDDR3		32384 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 19584 (153%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 220 GDDR3 should be a small bit (about 16%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2. (explain)

GeForce GT 220 GDDR3		10000 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 1360 (16%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GT 220 GDDR3 is just a bit (more or less 16%) faster with regards to anti-aliasing than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2, and will be capable of handling higher screen resolutions without slowing down too much. (explain)

GeForce GT 220 GDDR3		5000 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 680 (16%)

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 information (measured in MB per second) that can be moved past the external memory interface in one second. The number is worked out by multiplying the bus width by the speed of its memory. If it uses DDR type RAM, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The higher the memory bandwidth, the faster 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 amount of texture map elements (texels) that can be processed in one second. This figure is calculated by multiplying the total number of texture units of the card by the core speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the graphics card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels applied in one second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the most pixels the video card could possibly record to the local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is worked out by multiplying the amount of Render Output Units by the clock speed of the card. 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 fill rate is also dependant on lots of other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the max fill rate.