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GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2 vs GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2
Intro
The GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2 comes with core speeds of 540 MHz on the GPU, and 400 MHz on the 256 MB of DDR2 RAM. It features 32 SPUs along with 16 Texture Address Units and 8 ROPs.Compare those specifications to the GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2, which makes use of a 80 nm design. nVidia has clocked the core speed at 540 MHz. The DDR2 RAM is set to run at a speed of 400 MHz on this card. It features 32 SPUs as well as 16 TAUs and 8 ROPs.
Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks
Both cards have the same power consumption.Memory Bandwidth
Both cards have exactly the same bandwidth, so in theory they should perform the same. (explain)
Texel Rate
Both cards have exactly the same texel fill rate, so theoretically they should be equally good at at anisotropic filtering. (explain)Pixel Rate
Both cards have the exact same pixel fill rate, so in theory they should perform equally good at at FSAA, and be able to handle the same screen resolutions. (explain)
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
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2Amazon.com
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GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2Amazon.com
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Please note that the price comparisons are based on search keywords - sometimes it might show cards with very similar names that are not exactly the same as the one chosen in the comparison. We do try to filter out the wrong results as best we can, though.
Specifications
| Model | GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2 | GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2 |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | nVidia | nVidia |
| Year | April 2007 | April 2007 |
| Code Name | G84 | G84 |
| Memory | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Core Speed | 540 MHz | 540 MHz |
| Memory Speed | 800 MHz | 800 MHz |
| Power (Max TDP) | 47 watts | 47 watts |
| Bandwidth | 12800 MB/sec | 12800 MB/sec |
| Texel Rate | 8640 Mtexels/sec | 8640 Mtexels/sec |
| Pixel Rate | 4320 Mpixels/sec | 4320 Mpixels/sec |
| Unified Shaders | 32 | 32 |
| Texture Mapping Units | 16 | 16 |
| Render Output Units | 8 | 8 |
| Bus Type | DDR2 | DDR2 |
| Bus Width | 128-bit | 128-bit |
| Fab Process | 80 nm | 80 nm |
| Transistors | 289 million | 289 million |
| Bus | PCIe x16 | PCIe x16 |
| DirectX Version | DirectX 10 | DirectX 10 |
| OpenGL Version | OpenGL 3.0 | OpenGL 3.0 |
Memory Bandwidth: Memory bandwidth is the max amount of data (measured in MB per second) that can be transferred past the external memory interface in one second. It's calculated by multiplying the interface width by its memory clock speed. In the case of DDR RAM, it should be multiplied by 2 once again. If 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 higher screen resolutions.
Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum number of texture map elements (texels) that are 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 video card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels in one second.
Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of pixels that the graphics card could possibly record to its local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is calculated by multiplying the amount of colour ROPs by the the card's clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also called Render Output Units) are responsible for drawing the pixels (image) on the screen. The actual pixel output rate is also dependant on quite a few other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the maximum fill rate.
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR2Amazon.com
Check prices at:
|
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB DDR2Amazon.com
Check prices at:
|
Please note that the price comparisons are based on search keywords - sometimes it might show cards with very similar names that are not exactly the same as the one chosen in the comparison. We do try to filter out the wrong results as best we can, though.
|
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