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

Intro

Compare all that to the GeForce GTX 460 2GB, which makes use of a 40 nm design. nVidia has clocked the core frequency at 675 MHz. The GDDR5 memory is set to run at a frequency of 900 MHz on this particular model. It features 336 SPUs as well as 56 TAUs and 32 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

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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

In theory, the GeForce GTX 460 2GB will be 800% faster than the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB DDR2 overall, due to its higher 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 quite a bit (about 338%) better at AF 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

If running with lots of anti-aliasing is important to you, then the GeForce GTX 460 2GB is superior to the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB DDR2, by a large margin. (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 maximum amount of data (in units of MB per second) that can be moved across the external memory interface within a second. The number is worked out by multiplying the interface width by its memory clock speed. In the case of DDR RAM, it must be multiplied by 2 once again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better the card's memory bandwidth, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, HDR and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum number of texture map elements (texels) that are applied in one second. This number is calculated by multiplying the total texture units by the core speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the video 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 most pixels the video card can possibly record to its local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. Pixel rate is worked out by multiplying the amount of ROPs by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also sometimes called Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel fill rate is also dependant on quite a few other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the max fill rate.