GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2 vs GeForce GTX 460

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GTX 460, which comes with a clock speed of 675 MHz and a GDDR5 memory frequency of 900 MHz. It also uses a 192-bit bus, and makes use of a 40 nm design. It is comprised of 336 SPUs, 56 TAUs, and 24 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2		47 Watts
GeForce GTX 460		150 Watts
	Difference: 103 Watts (219%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically, the GeForce GTX 460 should perform a lot faster than the GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2 overall. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460		86400 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 73600 (575%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 is a lot (more or less 338%) better at texture filtering than the GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460		37800 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 29160 (338%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 should be much (more or less 275%) faster with regards to anti-aliasing than the GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2, and will be capable of handling higher resolutions more effectively. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460		16200 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 11880 (275%)

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 maximum amount of data (in units of MB per second) that can be moved over the external memory interface in one second. It is worked out by multiplying the bus width by its memory clock speed. In the case of DDR RAM, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The higher the memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, HDR and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum texture map elements (texels) that are processed in one second. This number is worked out by multiplying the total texture units by the core speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the video card will be at 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 that the graphics card could possibly write to its local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is worked out by multiplying the amount of ROPs by the the card's clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel fill rate is also dependant on many other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the potential to get to the maximum fill rate.