GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 vs GeForce RTX 3090

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce RTX 3090, which makes use of a 8 nm design. nVidia has set the core speed at 1395 MHz. The GDDR6X RAM runs at a speed of 1219 MHz on this model. It features 10496 SPUs along with 328 TAUs and 112 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		47 Watts
GeForce RTX 3090		350 Watts
	Difference: 303 Watts (645%)

Memory Bandwidth

The GeForce RTX 3090 should theoretically be much faster than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 in general. (explain)

GeForce RTX 3090		958668 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 945868 (7390%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce RTX 3090 is quite a bit (approximately 5196%) better at AF than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2. (explain)

GeForce RTX 3090		457560 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 448920 (5196%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce RTX 3090 is quite a bit (more or less 3517%) better at full screen anti-aliasing than the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2, and will be capable of handling higher resolutions while still performing well. (explain)

GeForce RTX 3090		156240 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 151920 (3517%)

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 (in units of MB per second) that can be transported past the external memory interface within a second. It is calculated by multiplying the interface width by its memory speed. If it uses DDR type memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The higher the card's memory bandwidth, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, HDR and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum texture map elements (texels) that can be applied in one second. This figure is calculated 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 texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels per second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels the graphics card can possibly write to the local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. Pixel rate is calculated by multiplying the amount of Raster Operations Pipelines by the the core speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also sometimes called Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel fill rate also depends on lots of other factors, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the max fill rate.