GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3 vs GeForce GT 320

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GT 320, which makes use of a 40 nm design. nVidia has clocked the core speed at 540 MHz. The GDDR3 memory works at a frequency of 790 MHz on this particular card. It features 72 SPUs as well as 24 Texture Address Units and 8 Rasterization Operator Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GT 320		43 Watts
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3		47 Watts
	Difference: 4 Watts (9%)

Memory Bandwidth

As far as performance goes, the GeForce GT 320 should in theory be just a bit better than the GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3 overall. (explain)

GeForce GT 320		25280 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3		22400 MB/sec
	Difference: 2880 (13%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 320 should be a lot (about 50%) more effective at AF than the GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce GT 320		12960 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3		8640 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 4320 (50%)

Pixel Rate

Both cards have the exact same pixel fill rate, so in theory they should be equally good at at FSAA, and be capable of handling the same screen resolutions. (explain)

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 megabytes per second) that can be transported past the external memory interface in a second. The number is worked out by multiplying the interface width by its memory clock speed. In the case of DDR type RAM, it should be multiplied by 2 again. If DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the memory bandwidth, the faster 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 texture map elements (texels) that can be processed per second. This figure is calculated by multiplying the total texture units by the core speed of the chip. The better the texel rate, the better the video card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels processed in one second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of pixels that the graphics chip could possibly write to its local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is calculated by multiplying the number of Raster Operations Pipelines by the the card's 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 lots of other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the potential to get to the maximum fill rate.