GeForce 8800 GTS (G80) 320MB vs GeForce GT 430

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GT 430, which has GPU core speed of 700 MHz, and 512 MB of GDDR3 memory running at 900 MHz through a 128-bit bus. It also is comprised of 96 SPUs, 16 TAUs, and 4 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GT 430		60 Watts
GeForce 8800 GTS (G80) 320MB		143 Watts
	Difference: 83 Watts (138%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce 8800 GTS (G80) 320MB should be 120% faster than the GeForce GT 430 overall, because of its greater bandwidth. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GTS (G80) 320MB		63360 MB/sec
GeForce GT 430		28800 MB/sec
	Difference: 34560 (120%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 8800 GTS (G80) 320MB is much (more or less 120%) more effective at anisotropic filtering than the GeForce GT 430. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GTS (G80) 320MB		24624 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GT 430		11200 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 13424 (120%)

Pixel Rate

If running with a high resolution is important to you, then the GeForce 8800 GTS (G80) 320MB is the winner, by far. (explain)

GeForce 8800 GTS (G80) 320MB		10260 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GT 430		2800 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 7460 (266%)

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 (in units of MB per second) that can be transferred across the external memory interface in a second. It is calculated by multiplying the card's bus width by its memory speed. In the case of DDR type RAM, it must be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the memory bandwidth, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, High Dynamic Range and high resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum amount of texture map elements (texels) that are applied in one second. This number is calculated by multiplying the total amount of texture units of the card 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 amount of pixels that the graphics chip can possibly record to its local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. Pixel rate is calculated by multiplying the amount of Render Output Units 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 many other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the maximum fill rate.