GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3 vs GeForce 920M

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce 920M, which features GPU core speed of 954 MHz, and 2048 MB of DDR3 memory running at 900 MHz through a 64-bit bus. It also is comprised of 384 SPUs, 32 TAUs, and 8 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Memory Bandwidth

Performance-wise, the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3 should theoretically be much superior to the GeForce 920M in general. (explain)

GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3		22400 MB/sec
GeForce 920M		14400 MB/sec
	Difference: 8000 (56%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 920M is a lot (about 253%) more effective at texture filtering than the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce 920M		30528 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 21888 (253%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 920M is quite a bit (more or less 77%) better at anti-aliasing than the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3, and will be capable of handling higher screen resolutions while still performing well. (explain)

GeForce 920M		7632 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 3312 (77%)

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 max amount of data (counted in megabytes per second) that can be moved across the external memory interface within a second. It's worked out by multiplying the card's interface width by its memory clock speed. In the case of DDR type RAM, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better the bandwidth is, the better 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 are processed in one second. This is worked out by multiplying the total amount of texture units of the card by the core clock speed of the chip. The better this number, the better the video card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels in a second.

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