GeForce 8800 GT 256MB vs GeForce GT 230

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GT 230, which comes with clock speeds of 550 MHz on the GPU, and 800 MHz on the 1536 MB of DDR3 memory. It features 32 SPUs as well as 16 TAUs and 8 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GT 230		65 Watts
GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		105 Watts
	Difference: 40 Watts (62%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically, the GeForce 8800 GT 256MB should be a small bit faster than the GeForce GT 230 in general. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		44800 MB/sec
GeForce GT 230		38400 MB/sec
	Difference: 6400 (17%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 8800 GT 256MB is quite a bit (about 282%) more effective at AF than the GeForce GT 230. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		33600 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GT 230		8800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 24800 (282%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 8800 GT 256MB is much (approximately 118%) faster with regards to full screen anti-aliasing than the GeForce GT 230, and capable of handling higher screen resolutions while still performing well. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GT 256MB		9600 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GT 230		4400 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 5200 (118%)

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 (measured in megabytes per second) that can be transferred across the external memory interface in one second. It's calculated by multiplying the interface width by its memory clock speed. In the case of DDR memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the card's memory bandwidth, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, HDR and high resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum amount of texture map elements (texels) that can be applied in one second. This is worked out by multiplying the total number of texture units of the card by the core clock speed of the chip. The better this number, 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 number of pixels the video card could possibly record to the local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is calculated by multiplying the amount of Render Output Units by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for outputting the pixels (image) to the screen. The actual pixel fill rate is also dependant 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.