GeForce 9400 GT 256MB vs GeForce GTX 580

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GTX 580, which has GPU core speed of 772 MHz, and 1536 MB of GDDR5 RAM set to run at 1002 MHz through a 384-bit bus. It also features 512 SPUs, 64 TAUs, and 48 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		50 Watts
GeForce GTX 580		244 Watts
	Difference: 194 Watts (388%)

Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the GeForce GTX 580 should perform much faster than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB overall. (explain)

GeForce GTX 580		192384 MB/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		12800 MB/sec
	Difference: 179584 (1403%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 580 will be much (about 1023%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce 9400 GT 256MB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 580		49408 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		4400 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 45008 (1023%)

Pixel Rate

If using lots of anti-aliasing is important to you, then the GeForce GTX 580 is the winner, by a large margin. (explain)

GeForce GTX 580		37056 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9400 GT 256MB		2200 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 34856 (1584%)

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: Memory bandwidth is the max amount of data (in units of MB per second) that can be moved past the external memory interface in one second. It's worked out by multiplying the card's interface width by its memory speed. In the case of DDR type memory, it must be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, HDR and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum amount of texture map elements (texels) that can be applied per second. This number is calculated by multiplying the total amount of texture units of the card by the core speed of the chip. The better this number, the better the graphics card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels applied in a second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum number of pixels that the graphics chip could possibly record to its local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. Pixel rate is worked out by multiplying the number of ROPs by the clock speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also sometimes called Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel rate also depends on lots of other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the maximum fill rate.