GeForce 8600 GT 1GB DDR2 vs GeForce GTX 460 2GB

Intro

Compare all of that to the GeForce GTX 460 2GB, which comes with GPU core speed of 675 MHz, and 2048 MB of GDDR5 memory running at 900 MHz through a 256-bit bus. It also is made up of 336 Stream Processors, 56 TAUs, and 32 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 1GB DDR2		47 Watts
GeForce GTX 460 2GB		160 Watts
	Difference: 113 Watts (240%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the GeForce GTX 460 2GB should be 800% faster than the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB DDR2 overall, due to its greater data rate. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 2GB		115200 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 1GB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 102400 (800%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 2GB will be much (about 338%) better at texture filtering than the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB DDR2. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 2GB		37800 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 1GB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 29160 (338%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 460 2GB is a lot (more or less 400%) faster with regards to AA than the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB DDR2, and also able to handle higher screen resolutions better. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 2GB		21600 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 1GB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 17280 (400%)

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. It's worked out by multiplying the interface width by the speed of its memory. In the case of DDR type RAM, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the card's memory bandwidth, the faster 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 applied per second. This number is calculated by multiplying the total texture units of the card by the core clock speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the graphics card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels processed in one second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels the graphics card can possibly record to its local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is worked out by multiplying the amount of colour ROPs by the the card's clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - sometimes also referred to as Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel fill rate is also dependant on quite a few other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the max fill rate.