GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3 vs GeForce GT 1030

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GT 1030, which comes with a clock frequency of 1265 MHz and a GDDR5 memory speed of 1502 MHz. It also uses a 64-bit bus, and uses a 16 nm design. It features 384 SPUs, 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 1GB GDDR3		47 Watts
	Difference: 17 Watts (57%)

Memory Bandwidth

Performance-wise, the GeForce GT 1030 should in theory be quite a bit better than the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3 in general. (explain)

GeForce GT 1030		49152 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3		22400 MB/sec
	Difference: 26752 (119%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 1030 is much (more or less 369%) better at anisotropic filtering than the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce GT 1030		40480 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 31840 (369%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GT 1030 is much (approximately 369%) better at AA than the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3, and also capable of handling higher screen resolutions without losing too much performance. (explain)

GeForce GT 1030		20240 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 1GB 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 largest amount of data (in units of MB per second) that can be transported across the external memory interface in one second. The number is calculated by multiplying the interface width by its memory clock speed. If it uses DDR type memory, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses 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 number of texture map elements (texels) that are applied per second. This number is worked out by multiplying the total texture units of the card by the core clock 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 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 one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is calculated by multiplying the number of Raster Operations Pipelines by the the core clock speed. 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 fill rate is also dependant on many other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the potential to reach the maximum fill rate.