GeForce 9600 GSO ASUS 512 vs GeForce 9600 GT 512MB

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB, which features a core clock speed of 650 MHz and a GDDR3 memory speed of 900 MHz. It also features a 256-bit memory bus, and uses a 65/55 nm design. It features 64 SPUs, 32 TAUs, and 16 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9600 GSO ASUS 512		84 Watts
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		95 Watts
	Difference: 11 Watts (13%)

Memory Bandwidth

As far as performance goes, the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB should theoretically be a lot superior to the GeForce 9600 GSO ASUS 512 overall. (explain)

GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		57600 MB/sec
GeForce 9600 GSO ASUS 512		16000 MB/sec
	Difference: 41600 (260%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 9600 GSO ASUS 512 will be quite a bit (about 27%) better at texture filtering than the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB. (explain)

GeForce 9600 GSO ASUS 512		26400 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		20800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 5600 (27%)

Pixel Rate

If using high levels of AA is important to you, then the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB is superior to the GeForce 9600 GSO ASUS 512, by far. (explain)

GeForce 9600 GT 512MB		10400 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9600 GSO ASUS 512		6600 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 3800 (58%)

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 information (measured in megabytes per second) that can be transported past the external memory interface in a second. It is calculated by multiplying the bus width by its memory speed. If it uses DDR memory, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better the bandwidth is, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, High Dynamic Range and higher screen resolutions.

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

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels the video card can possibly record to its local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is worked out by multiplying the amount of Raster Operations Pipelines by the the core speed of the card. 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 output rate also depends on quite a few other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the max fill rate.