GeForce 8600 GTS vs GeForce GT 210

Intro

Compare that to the GeForce GT 210, which features a clock frequency of 589 MHz and a DDR3 memory speed of 800 MHz. It also features a 64-bit memory bus, and makes use of a 40 nm design. It is comprised of 16 SPUs, 8 TAUs, and 4 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GT 210		31 Watts
GeForce 8600 GTS		75 Watts
	Difference: 44 Watts (142%)

Memory Bandwidth

Performance-wise, the GeForce 8600 GTS should in theory be much better than the GeForce GT 210 in general. (explain)

GeForce 8600 GTS		32000 MB/sec
GeForce GT 210		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 19200 (150%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 8600 GTS will be a lot (more or less 129%) faster with regards to texture filtering than the GeForce GT 210. (explain)

GeForce 8600 GTS		10800 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GT 210		4712 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 6088 (129%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce 8600 GTS will be a lot (approximately 129%) faster with regards to FSAA than the GeForce GT 210, and able to handle higher screen resolutions without slowing down too much. (explain)

GeForce 8600 GTS		5400 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GT 210		2356 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 3044 (129%)

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 largest amount of data (in units of MB per second) that can be transported past the external memory interface within a second. It is worked out by multiplying the card's interface width by its memory speed. If it uses DDR memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the card's memory bandwidth, the faster 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 per second. This number is calculated by multiplying the total texture units of the card by the core speed of the chip. The higher the texel rate, the better the card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels in a 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 ROPs by the the core 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 lots of other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the potential to get to the maximum fill rate.