GeForce 9800 GT 1GB vs GeForce GTX 460

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GTX 460, which makes use of a 40 nm design. nVidia has set the core speed at 675 MHz. The GDDR5 memory runs at a speed of 900 MHz on this particular model. It features 336 SPUs along with 56 TAUs and 24 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9800 GT 1GB		105 Watts
GeForce GTX 460		150 Watts
	Difference: 45 Watts (43%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically, the GeForce GTX 460 should be quite a bit faster than the GeForce 9800 GT 1GB overall. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460		86400 MB/sec
GeForce 9800 GT 1GB		57600 MB/sec
	Difference: 28800 (50%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 will be a bit (approximately 13%) faster with regards to texture filtering than the GeForce 9800 GT 1GB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460		37800 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9800 GT 1GB		33600 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 4200 (13%)

Pixel Rate

If running with a high resolution is important to you, then the GeForce GTX 460 is the winner, by far. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460		16200 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9800 GT 1GB		9600 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 6600 (69%)

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 max amount of data (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. If it uses DDR type RAM, the result should be multiplied by 2 again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the bandwidth is, the better 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 amount of texture map elements (texels) that are processed in one second. This figure is calculated by multiplying the total number of texture units by the core clock speed of the chip. The higher this number, the better the video 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 can possibly write to its 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 card's clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also sometimes called Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel output rate is also dependant on lots of other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the potential to reach the maximum fill rate.