GeForce GTX 285 1GB vs GeForce GTX 460 1GB

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GTX 460 1GB, which has GPU core speed of 675 MHz, and 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory running at 900 MHz through a 256-bit bus. It also is comprised of 336 Stream Processors, 56 TAUs, and 32 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTX 460 1GB		160 Watts
GeForce GTX 285 1GB		204 Watts
	Difference: 44 Watts (28%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the GeForce GTX 285 1GB should be a lot faster than the GeForce GTX 460 1GB in general. (explain)

GeForce GTX 285 1GB		158976 MB/sec
GeForce GTX 460 1GB		115200 MB/sec
	Difference: 43776 (38%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 285 1GB should be much (approximately 37%) faster with regards to texture filtering than the GeForce GTX 460 1GB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 285 1GB		51840 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTX 460 1GB		37800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 14040 (37%)

Pixel Rate

If running with lots of anti-aliasing is important to you, then the GeForce GTX 460 1GB is the winner, not by a very large margin though. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 1GB		21600 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTX 285 1GB		20736 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 864 (4%)

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 data (counted in megabytes per second) that can be transported across the external memory interface in one second. The number is worked out by multiplying the interface width by the speed of its memory. In the case of DDR memory, 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 anti-aliasing, HDR and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum texture map elements (texels) that are processed per second. This figure is worked out by multiplying the total amount of texture units by the core speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the graphics 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 number of pixels the graphics card 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 Render Output Units by the clock speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also called Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel output rate also depends on many other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the potential to get to the maximum fill rate.