GeForce 9600 GT 512MB vs GeForce GTX 460 1GB

Intro

Compare that to the GeForce GTX 460 1GB, which makes use of a 40 nm design. nVidia has set the core frequency at 675 MHz. The GDDR5 memory works at a speed of 900 MHz on this specific card. It features 336 SPUs as well as 56 TAUs and 32 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		95 Watts
GeForce GTX 460 1GB		160 Watts
	Difference: 65 Watts (68%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the GeForce GTX 460 1GB is 100% quicker than the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB overall, due to its greater data rate. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 1GB		115200 MB/sec
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		57600 MB/sec
	Difference: 57600 (100%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 1GB is quite a bit (approximately 82%) better at texture filtering than the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 1GB		37800 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		20800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 17000 (82%)

Pixel Rate

If using high levels of AA is important to you, then the GeForce GTX 460 1GB is the winner, by far. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 1GB		21600 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		10400 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 11200 (108%)

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 (measured in MB per second) that can be transferred across the external memory interface in one second. The number is calculated by multiplying the card's interface width by its memory clock speed. In the case of DDR memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better 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 amount of texture map elements (texels) that are applied in one second. This is calculated by multiplying the total amount of texture units of the card by the core clock speed of the chip. The higher this number, 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 video card can possibly write to its local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is worked out by multiplying the amount of ROPs by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for outputting the pixels (image) to the screen. The actual pixel rate is also dependant on many other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the potential to reach the maximum fill rate.