GeForce 9400 GT 256MB vs GeForce GTX 460

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GTX 460, which features GPU clock speed of 675 MHz, and 768 MB of GDDR5 RAM running at 900 MHz through a 192-bit bus. It also is made up of 336 SPUs, 56 TAUs, and 24 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		50 Watts
GeForce GTX 460		150 Watts
	Difference: 100 Watts (200%)

Memory Bandwidth

Performance-wise, the GeForce GTX 460 should in theory be a lot better than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB overall. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460		86400 MB/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 73600 (575%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 will be a lot (approximately 759%) better at anisotropic filtering than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460		37800 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		4400 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 33400 (759%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 will be much (more or less 636%) more effective at anti-aliasing than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB, and should be able to handle higher resolutions more effectively. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460		16200 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		2200 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 14000 (636%)

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 data (in units of MB per second) that can be moved over the external memory interface in a second. The number 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 it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better 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 number of texture map elements (texels) that are processed in one second. This number is calculated by multiplying the total texture units by the core clock speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels in a second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels the video card can possibly record to the local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is worked out by multiplying the amount of Render Output Units by the the card's clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - sometimes also referred to as Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel rate also depends on quite a few other factors, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the maximum fill rate.