GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 vs GeForce GT 220 GDDR3

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GT 220 GDDR3, which makes use of a 40 nm design. nVidia has clocked the core speed at 625 MHz. The GDDR3 RAM works at a frequency of 1012 MHz on this model. It features 48 SPUs along with 16 TAUs and 8 Rasterization Operator 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% faster than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 overall, because of its greater data rate. (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 bit (more or less 16%) more effective at texture filtering 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 will be a small bit (more or less 16%) faster with regards to anti-aliasing than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2, and also should be capable of handling higher resolutions more effectively. (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 (counted in MB per second) that can be transferred past the external memory interface in one second. It is worked out by multiplying the card's interface width by its memory speed. In the case of DDR memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better the memory bandwidth, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, HDR and higher screen resolutions.

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

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