GeForce 9400 GT 256MB vs GeForce GTX 560

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GTX 560, which has core speeds of 810 MHz on the GPU, and 1001 MHz on the 1024 MB of GDDR5 RAM. It features 336 SPUs along with 56 TAUs and 32 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		50 Watts
GeForce GTX 560		150 Watts
	Difference: 100 Watts (200%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the GeForce GTX 560 should perform a lot faster than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB in general. (explain)

GeForce GTX 560		128128 MB/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 115328 (901%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 560 should be quite a bit (approximately 931%) faster with regards to anisotropic filtering than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 560		45360 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		4400 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 40960 (931%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 560 will be a lot (about 1078%) better at full screen anti-aliasing than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB, and should be capable of handling higher resolutions while still performing well. (explain)

GeForce GTX 560		25920 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		2200 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 23720 (1078%)

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 largest amount of information (counted in megabytes per second) that can be transported 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 RAM, it should 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, High Dynamic Range and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum texture map elements (texels) that are applied per second. This is worked out by multiplying the total amount of texture units by the core speed of the chip. The better this number, the better the 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 that the graphics chip 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 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 many other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the max fill rate.