GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 vs GeForce GTX 285 1GB

Intro

Compare that to the GeForce GTX 285 1GB, which features a GPU core clock speed of 648 MHz, and 1024 MB of GDDR3 RAM set to run at 1242 MHz through a 512-bit bus. It also is comprised of 240 Stream Processors, 80 TAUs, and 32 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		47 Watts
GeForce GTX 285 1GB		204 Watts
	Difference: 157 Watts (334%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically, the GeForce GTX 285 1GB should be much faster than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 in general. (explain)

GeForce GTX 285 1GB		158976 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 146176 (1142%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 285 1GB will be quite a bit (approximately 500%) more effective at texture filtering than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2. (explain)

GeForce GTX 285 1GB		51840 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 43200 (500%)

Pixel Rate

If using a high screen resolution is important to you, then the GeForce GTX 285 1GB is superior to the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2, and very much so. (explain)

GeForce GTX 285 1GB		20736 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 16416 (380%)

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 (measured in megabytes per second) that can be transported over the external memory interface in one second. It's worked out by multiplying the interface width by the speed of its memory. In the case of DDR type memory, it should be multiplied by 2 once again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the memory bandwidth, the faster 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 processed in one second. This number is worked out by multiplying the total number 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 processed in one second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels the graphics card could possibly write to the local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is worked out by multiplying the amount of colour ROPs by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also sometimes called Render Output Units) are responsible for outputting the pixels (image) to the screen. The actual pixel output rate also depends on quite a few other factors, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the maximum fill rate.