GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3 vs GeForce GT 320

Intro

Compare those specs to the GeForce GT 320, which has core speeds of 540 MHz on the GPU, and 790 MHz on the 1024 MB of GDDR3 RAM. It features 72 SPUs along with 24 TAUs and 8 ROPs.

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

In theory, the GeForce GT 320 is 13% quicker than the GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3 in general, due to its greater data rate. (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 (approximately 50%) better 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 exactly the same pixel fill rate, so in theory they should be equally good at at AA, and be able to handle the same 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: Bandwidth is the max amount of information (counted in megabytes per second) that can be moved past the external memory interface within a second. The number is worked out by multiplying the card's bus width by the speed of its memory. In the case of DDR memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The better the bandwidth is, 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 processed in one second. This figure is worked out by multiplying the total number of texture units by the core speed of the chip. The higher the texel rate, the better the graphics card will be at 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. Pixel rate is worked out by multiplying the number of Render Output Units by the clock speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - sometimes also referred to as Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel output rate also depends on many other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the maximum fill rate.