GeForce GTX 460 2GB vs GeForce GTX 870M

Intro

Compare that to the GeForce GTX 870M, which features a core clock speed of 941 MHz and a GDDR5 memory frequency of 1000 MHz. It also features a 192-bit memory bus, and makes use of a 28 nm design. It is comprised of 1344 SPUs, 112 TAUs, and 24 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTX 870M		110 Watts
GeForce GTX 460 2GB		160 Watts
	Difference: 50 Watts (45%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce GTX 460 2GB should perform a small bit faster than the GeForce GTX 870M in general. (explain)

GeForce GTX 460 2GB		115200 MB/sec
GeForce GTX 870M		96000 MB/sec
	Difference: 19200 (20%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 870M is quite a bit (about 179%) more effective at texture filtering than the GeForce GTX 460 2GB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 870M		105392 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTX 460 2GB		37800 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 67592 (179%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 870M should be a small bit (about 5%) better at full screen anti-aliasing than the GeForce GTX 460 2GB, and should be capable of handling higher resolutions more effectively. (explain)

GeForce GTX 870M		22584 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTX 460 2GB		21600 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 984 (5%)

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 maximum amount of information (counted in megabytes per second) that can be moved across the external memory interface in a second. The number is worked out by multiplying the interface width by its memory speed. In the case of DDR memory, the result should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the bandwidth is, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, High Dynamic Range and higher screen resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum texture map elements (texels) that can be processed per second. This number is worked out by multiplying the total amount of texture units by the core speed of the chip. The higher the texel rate, the better the video card will be at handling texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels applied in one second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the most pixels the video card could possibly write to the local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is calculated by multiplying the amount of Raster Operations Pipelines by the the core speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - aka Render Output Units) are responsible for outputting the pixels (image) to the screen. The actual pixel output rate is also dependant on quite a few other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the potential to reach the maximum fill rate.