GeForce GTX 295 vs GeForce GTX 460 SE

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GTX 460 SE, which comes with a GPU core clock speed of 650 MHz, and 1024 MB of GDDR5 RAM set to run at 850 MHz through a 256-bit bus. It also features 288 SPUs, 48 TAUs, and 32 ROPs.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTX 460 SE		150 Watts
GeForce GTX 295		289 Watts
	Difference: 139 Watts (93%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the GeForce GTX 295 is 106% quicker than the GeForce GTX 460 SE overall, due to its higher bandwidth. (explain)

GeForce GTX 295		223776 MB/sec
GeForce GTX 460 SE		108800 MB/sec
	Difference: 114976 (106%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 295 will be much (approximately 195%) better at texture filtering than the GeForce GTX 460 SE. (explain)

GeForce GTX 295		92160 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTX 460 SE		31200 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 60960 (195%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 295 will be a lot (more or less 55%) more effective at FSAA than the GeForce GTX 460 SE, and capable of handling higher screen resolutions more effectively. (explain)

GeForce GTX 295		32256 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTX 460 SE		20800 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 11456 (55%)

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.

One or more cards in this comparison are multi-core. This means that their bandwidth, texel and pixel rates are theoretically doubled - this does not mean the card will actually perform twice as fast, but only that it should in theory be able to. Actual game benchmarks will give a more accurate idea of what it's capable of.

Price Comparison

Specifications

Memory Bandwidth: Memory bandwidth is the largest amount of data (measured in MB per second) that can be transferred over the external memory interface in one second. It is calculated by multiplying the card's interface width by its memory clock speed. In the case of DDR type RAM, the result should be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the card's memory bandwidth, the faster 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 number of texture map elements (texels) that are applied per 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 higher this number, the better the graphics card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels processed per second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the most pixels that the graphics card can possibly write to its local memory in a second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is calculated by multiplying the amount of Raster Operations Pipelines by the clock speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for filling the screen with pixels (the image). The actual pixel 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 potential to reach the max fill rate.