GeForce 8600 GTS vs GeForce GT 220 GDDR3

Intro

Compare those specifications to the GeForce GT 220 GDDR3, which comes with a GPU core clock speed of 625 MHz, and 512 MB of GDDR3 memory running at 1012 MHz through a 128-bit bus. It also is comprised of 48 Stream Processors, 16 TAUs, and 8 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GT 220 GDDR3		58 Watts
GeForce 8600 GTS		75 Watts
	Difference: 17 Watts (29%)

Memory Bandwidth

As far as performance goes, the GeForce GT 220 GDDR3 should in theory be a little bit better than the GeForce 8600 GTS in general. (explain)

GeForce GT 220 GDDR3		32384 MB/sec
GeForce 8600 GTS		32000 MB/sec
	Difference: 384 (1%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce 8600 GTS should be a little bit (more or less 8%) more effective at texture filtering than the GeForce GT 220 GDDR3. (explain)

GeForce 8600 GTS		10800 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GT 220 GDDR3		10000 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 800 (8%)

Pixel Rate

If running with a high resolution is important to you, then the GeForce 8600 GTS is a better choice, but it probably won't make a huge difference. (explain)

GeForce 8600 GTS		5400 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GT 220 GDDR3		5000 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 400 (8%)

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

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

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