GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3 vs GeForce GTX 580 3GB

Intro

Compare all that to the GeForce GTX 580 3GB, which features a core clock frequency of 772 MHz and a GDDR5 memory speed of 1002 MHz. It also uses a 384-bit memory bus, and makes use of a 40 nm design. It is made up of 512 SPUs, 64 TAUs, and 48 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		50 Watts
GeForce GTX 580 3GB		244 Watts
	Difference: 194 Watts (388%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically, the GeForce GTX 580 3GB should perform a lot faster than the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3 overall. (explain)

GeForce GTX 580 3GB		192384 MB/sec
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		25600 MB/sec
	Difference: 166784 (652%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 580 3GB will be a lot (more or less 461%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce GTX 580 3GB		49408 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		8800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 40608 (461%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 580 3GB will be quite a bit (approximately 742%) faster with regards to AA than the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3, and should be capable of handling higher screen resolutions without losing too much performance. (explain)

GeForce GTX 580 3GB		37056 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		4400 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 32656 (742%)

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 largest amount of information (counted in MB per second) that can be moved past the external memory interface in one second. It is calculated by multiplying the bus width by its memory speed. If it uses DDR type RAM, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better the 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 amount of texture map elements (texels) that are applied in one 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 graphics 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 maximum number of pixels the video card can possibly record to its local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is calculated by multiplying the amount of ROPs by the clock speed of the card. 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 output rate also depends on quite a few other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the potential to get to the max fill rate.