GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3 vs GeForce GTX 580

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GTX 580, which features a GPU core clock speed of 772 MHz, and 1536 MB of GDDR5 RAM running at 1002 MHz through a 384-bit bus. It also is comprised of 512 SPUs, 64 TAUs, and 48 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3		47 Watts
GeForce GTX 580		244 Watts
	Difference: 197 Watts (419%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce GTX 580 should be 759% quicker than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3 overall, due to its higher data rate. (explain)

GeForce GTX 580		192384 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3		22400 MB/sec
	Difference: 169984 (759%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 580 will be quite a bit (more or less 472%) faster with regards to texture filtering than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce GTX 580		49408 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 40768 (472%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 580 is quite a bit (about 758%) faster with regards to full screen anti-aliasing than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3, and also will be capable of handling higher resolutions better. (explain)

GeForce GTX 580		37056 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 32736 (758%)

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 data (counted in MB per second) that can be transferred past the external memory interface in a second. The number is calculated by multiplying the bus width by its memory clock speed. In the case of DDR type RAM, it must be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better the bandwidth is, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, 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 worked out by multiplying the total texture units of the card by the core speed of the chip. The higher the texel rate, the better the video card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels applied in one second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the most pixels that the graphics chip could possibly record to the local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is worked out by multiplying the number of colour ROPs by the the card's clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel rate is also dependant on lots of other factors, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the max fill rate.