GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3 vs GeForce GT 315

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GT 315, which makes use of a 40 nm design. nVidia has clocked the core frequency at 625 MHz. The DDR3 RAM works at a frequency of 790 MHz on this specific card. It features 48 SPUs as well as 16 TAUs and 8 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		50 Watts
GeForce GT 315		52 Watts
	Difference: 2 Watts (4%)

Memory Bandwidth

The GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3, in theory, should perform a little bit faster than the GeForce GT 315 overall. (explain)

GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		25600 MB/sec
GeForce GT 315		25280 MB/sec
	Difference: 320 (1%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GT 315 will be a small bit (about 14%) better at AF than the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce GT 315		10000 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		8800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 1200 (14%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GT 315 should be a small bit (more or less 14%) more effective at anti-aliasing than the GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3, and also will be capable of handling higher resolutions without slowing down too much. (explain)

GeForce GT 315		5000 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR3		4400 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 600 (14%)

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 maximum amount of information (counted in MB per second) that can be transferred past the external memory interface in one second. It's worked out by multiplying the bus width by the speed of its memory. If it uses DDR type memory, it should be multiplied by 2 once 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 AA, HDR and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum number of texture map elements (texels) that are processed in one second. This is worked out by multiplying the total 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 handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels per second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels the graphics card can possibly write to its local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. Pixel rate is worked out by multiplying the number of ROPs by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel fill rate is also dependant on many other factors, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the maximum fill rate.