GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3 vs GeForce GTX 460

Intro

Compare all of that to the GeForce GTX 460, which comes with GPU core speed of 675 MHz, and 768 MB of GDDR5 RAM running at 900 MHz through a 192-bit bus. It also is comprised 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 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		50 Watts
GeForce GTX 460		150 Watts
	Difference: 100 Watts (200%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce GTX 460 should perform much faster than the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3 overall. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460		86400 MB/sec
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		25600 MB/sec
	Difference: 60800 (238%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 is much (more or less 330%) better at anisotropic filtering than the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460		37800 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		8800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 29000 (330%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 should be quite a bit (more or less 268%) better at AA than the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3, and also able to handle higher screen resolutions while still performing well. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460		16200 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		4400 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 11800 (268%)

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 maximum amount of data (in units of MB per second) that can be transported across the external memory interface within a second. The number is worked out by multiplying the bus width by its memory speed. If the card has DDR RAM, it must be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The higher the bandwidth is, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, High Dynamic Range and high resolutions.

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

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of pixels that the graphics chip can 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 colour ROPs by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also called Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel rate is also dependant on lots of other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the max fill rate.