GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3 vs GeForce GT 1030

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GT 1030, which features GPU core speed of 1265 MHz, and 2048 MB of GDDR5 RAM running at 1502 MHz through a 64-bit bus. It also is made up of 384 Stream Processors, 32 TAUs, and 16 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GT 1030		30 Watts
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3		47 Watts
	Difference: 17 Watts (57%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the GeForce GT 1030 will be 119% faster than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3 in general, because of its higher data rate. (explain)

GeForce GT 1030		49152 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3		22400 MB/sec
	Difference: 26752 (119%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 1030 is a lot (approximately 369%) more effective at AF than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce GT 1030		40480 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 31840 (369%)

Pixel Rate

If using lots of anti-aliasing is important to you, then the GeForce GT 1030 is superior to the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3, by far. (explain)

GeForce GT 1030		20240 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB GDDR3		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 15920 (369%)

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 information (measured in megabytes per second) that can be transferred across the external memory interface within a second. It is worked out by multiplying the card's interface width by the speed of its memory. If it uses DDR RAM, it should be multiplied by 2 once again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The higher 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 amount of texture map elements (texels) that can be applied in one second. This number is worked out by multiplying the total amount of texture units by the core speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the graphics card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels processed in one second.

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