GeForce 9800 GT 512MB vs GeForce 9800 GTX

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce 9800 GTX, which features a clock frequency of 675 MHz and a GDDR3 memory speed of 1100 MHz. It also makes use of a 256-bit bus, and makes use of a 65 nm design. It features 128 SPUs, 64 TAUs, and 16 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce 9800 GT 512MB		105 Watts
GeForce 9800 GTX		140 Watts
	Difference: 35 Watts (33%)

Memory Bandwidth

The GeForce 9800 GTX, in theory, should be a lot faster than the GeForce 9800 GT 512MB overall. (explain)

GeForce 9800 GTX		70400 MB/sec
GeForce 9800 GT 512MB		57600 MB/sec
	Difference: 12800 (22%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 9800 GTX should be quite a bit (about 29%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce 9800 GT 512MB. (explain)

GeForce 9800 GTX		43200 Mtexels/sec
GeForce 9800 GT 512MB		33600 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 9600 (29%)

Pixel Rate

If running with a high screen resolution is important to you, then the GeForce 9800 GTX is the winner, but not by far. (explain)

GeForce 9800 GTX		10800 Mpixels/sec
GeForce 9800 GT 512MB		9600 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 1200 (13%)

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 (counted in megabytes per second) that can be transferred over the external memory interface within a second. It is worked out by multiplying the card's bus width by the speed of its memory. If it uses DDR memory, it must be multiplied by 2 again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The better the card's 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 figure is worked out by multiplying the total texture units by the core clock 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 per second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of 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 worked out by multiplying the number of Render Output Units by the the core clock speed. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - also sometimes 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, especially the memory bandwidth - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to get to the maximum fill rate.