GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3 vs GeForce 9500 GT 1GB GDDR3

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce 9500 GT 1GB GDDR3, which has a clock speed of 550 MHz and a GDDR3 memory frequency of 800 MHz. It also makes use of a 128-bit memory bus, and makes use of a 55 nm design. It features 32 SPUs, 16 TAUs, and 8 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3		47 Watts
GeForce 9500 GT 1GB GDDR3		50 Watts
	Difference: 3 Watts (6%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce 9500 GT 1GB GDDR3 is 14% faster than the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3 in general, due to its higher data rate. (explain)

GeForce 9500 GT 1GB GDDR3		25600 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3		22400 MB/sec
	Difference: 3200 (14%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 9500 GT 1GB GDDR3 should be a little bit (more or less 2%) more effective at anisotropic filtering than the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce 9500 GT 1GB GDDR3		8800 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 160 (2%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 9500 GT 1GB GDDR3 will be a small bit (more or less 2%) more effective at AA than the GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3, and will be capable of handling higher resolutions while still performing well. (explain)

GeForce 9500 GT 1GB GDDR3		4400 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 1GB GDDR3		4320 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 80 (2%)

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: Bandwidth is the largest amount of data (counted in megabytes per second) that can be transferred across the external memory interface in a second. The number is calculated by multiplying the interface width by the speed of its memory. If the card has DDR memory, it must be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the memory bandwidth, 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 amount of texture map elements (texels) that can be processed in one second. This figure is calculated by multiplying the total amount of texture units by the core 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 per second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the most pixels that the graphics card can possibly write to the local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is calculated by multiplying the amount of colour ROPs by the the core speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel output rate is also dependant on quite a few other factors, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the maximum fill rate.