GeForce GTS 250 512MB vs GeForce GTX 960

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GTX 960, which features core clock speeds of 1127 MHz on the GPU, and 1750 MHz on the 2048 MB of GDDR5 memory. It features 1024 SPUs as well as 64 TAUs and 32 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTX 960		120 Watts
GeForce GTS 250 512MB		145 Watts
	Difference: 25 Watts (21%)

Memory Bandwidth

As far as performance goes, the GeForce GTX 960 should theoretically be quite a bit superior to the GeForce GTS 250 512MB in general. (explain)

GeForce GTX 960		112000 MB/sec
GeForce GTS 250 512MB		70400 MB/sec
	Difference: 41600 (59%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 960 will be quite a bit (more or less 53%) more effective at AF than the GeForce GTS 250 512MB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 960		72128 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTS 250 512MB		47232 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 24896 (53%)

Pixel Rate

If running with high levels of AA is important to you, then the GeForce GTX 960 is a better choice, and very much so. (explain)

GeForce GTX 960		36064 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTS 250 512MB		11808 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 24256 (205%)

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 maximum amount of data (counted in MB per second) that can be moved across the external memory interface within a second. It's calculated by multiplying the card's interface width by its memory speed. In the case of DDR RAM, it must be multiplied by 2 once again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the bandwidth is, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, High Dynamic Range and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum texture map elements (texels) that can be processed per second. This figure is calculated by multiplying the total amount of texture units of the card by the core speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the video card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels in one second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels that the graphics chip can possibly record to the local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. Pixel rate is calculated by multiplying the amount of Raster Operations Pipelines by the clock speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also called Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel fill rate also depends on many other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the potential to reach the maximum fill rate.