GeForce GTX 1050 vs GeForce GTX 260

Intro

Compare all that to the GeForce GTX 260, which comes with a core clock frequency of 576 MHz and a GDDR3 memory frequency of 999 MHz. It also makes use of a 448-bit bus, and uses a 65 nm design. It is comprised of 192 SPUs, 64 TAUs, and 28 ROPs.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTX 1050		75 Watts
GeForce GTX 260		182 Watts
	Difference: 107 Watts (143%)

Memory Bandwidth

The GeForce GTX 1050 should theoretically perform just a bit faster than the GeForce GTX 260 overall. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1050		114688 MB/sec
GeForce GTX 260		111888 MB/sec
	Difference: 2800 (3%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 1050 will be quite a bit (approximately 47%) more effective at AF than the GeForce GTX 260. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1050		54160 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTX 260		36864 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 17296 (47%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 1050 is a lot (about 169%) more effective at FSAA than the GeForce GTX 260, and should be able to handle higher screen resolutions better. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1050		43328 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTX 260		16128 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 27200 (169%)

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 (measured in MB per second) that can be moved across the external memory interface in a second. It is calculated by multiplying the card's bus width by its memory speed. If it uses DDR memory, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher 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 per second. This number is worked out 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 applied in one 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. The figure is worked out by multiplying the number of Render Output Units by the the core 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 is also dependant on quite a few other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the potential to reach the max fill rate.