GeForce GTS 250 512MB vs GeForce GTX 460 1GB

Intro

Compare all of that to the GeForce GTX 460 1GB, which has GPU core speed of 675 MHz, and 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory set to run at 900 MHz through a 256-bit bus. It also features 336 SPUs, 56 TAUs, and 32 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTS 250 512MB		145 Watts
GeForce GTX 460 1GB		160 Watts
	Difference: 15 Watts (10%)

Memory Bandwidth

Performance-wise, the GeForce GTX 460 1GB should theoretically be quite a bit superior to the GeForce GTS 250 512MB overall. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 1GB		115200 MB/sec
GeForce GTS 250 512MB		70400 MB/sec
	Difference: 44800 (64%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTS 250 512MB is quite a bit (approximately 25%) faster with regards to texture filtering than the GeForce GTX 460 1GB. (explain)

GeForce GTS 250 512MB		47232 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTX 460 1GB		37800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 9432 (25%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 1GB should be much (about 83%) more effective at AA than the GeForce GTS 250 512MB, and also able to handle higher screen resolutions without losing too much performance. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 1GB		21600 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTS 250 512MB		11808 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 9792 (83%)

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 information (counted in megabytes per second) that can be transported past the external memory interface in a second. It's worked out by multiplying the bus width by its memory speed. If it uses DDR type memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the card's memory bandwidth, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, High Dynamic Range and high resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum amount of texture map elements (texels) that can be processed in one second. This figure is worked out by multiplying the total number of texture units by the core clock speed of the chip. The higher the texel rate, the better the card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels applied in a second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the most pixels the video card could possibly record to its local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. Pixel rate is worked out by multiplying the number of ROPs by the the core speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel rate also depends on many 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.