GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2 vs GeForce GTX 560 Ti

Intro

Compare all that to the GeForce GTX 560 Ti, which comes with GPU core speed of 822 MHz, and 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory running at 1002 MHz through a 256-bit bus. It also is comprised of 384 Stream Processors, 64 Texture Address Units, and 32 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2		47 Watts
GeForce GTX 560 Ti		170 Watts
	Difference: 123 Watts (262%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce GTX 560 Ti is 902% quicker than the GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2 in general, because of its greater data rate. (explain)

GeForce GTX 560 Ti		128256 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 115456 (902%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 560 Ti is much (approximately 509%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2. (explain)

GeForce GTX 560 Ti		52608 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 43968 (509%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 560 Ti will be a lot (about 509%) faster with regards to AA than the GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2, and should be capable of handling higher screen resolutions better. (explain)

GeForce GTX 560 Ti		26304 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 21984 (509%)

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: Bandwidth is the maximum amount of information (measured in MB per second) that can be transferred past the external memory interface in a second. It is worked out by multiplying the card's interface width by its memory speed. If it uses DDR type memory, it should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the card's memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, HDR and high resolutions.

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

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the most pixels the video card could possibly record to its local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number 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 output 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 potential to get to the maximum fill rate.