GTX 260 vs. 8800gt

[Cpetrie]

I originally had the MSI NX8800gt OC Edition, it had the following specs:

Graphics Bus Technology: PCI Express
Memory Amount: 512MB
Memory Interface: 256-bit
Core Clock (MHz): 660
Shader Clock (MHz): 1650
Memory Clock (MHz): 1900
Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec): 57.6
Fill Rate (Billion pixels/sec): 33.6
RAMDACs (MHz): 400

I am replacing it with a PNY GTX 260:

Bus Technology PCI Express 2.0
Shader Cores 192
Core Clock (MHz) 576 MHz
Shader Clock (MHz) 1242 MHz
Memory Amount 896MB DDR3
Memory Interface 448-bit
Memory Frequency (effective) 2000 MHz
Memory Bandwidth 111.9 GB/s


Now the question: I paid significantly more for the GTX 260, it is far higher in the hierarchy of VGA cards, and benchmarks far higher than the 8800gt. So, how can this be true if it clocks massively slower for the shader and core clocks? Please allay my fears that I have made a huge, non-refundable mistake.

 

[teamhex]

I originally had the MSI NX8800gt OC Edition, it had the following specs:

Graphics Bus Technology: PCI Express
Memory Amount: 512MB
Memory Interface: 256-bit
Core Clock (MHz): 660
Shader Clock (MHz): 1650
Memory Clock (MHz): 1900
Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec): 57.6
Fill Rate (Billion pixels/sec): 33.6
RAMDACs (MHz): 400

I am replacing it with a PNY GTX 260:

Bus Technology PCI Express 2.0
Shader Cores 192
Core Clock (MHz) 576 MHz
Shader Clock (MHz) 1242 MHz
Memory Amount 896MB DDR3
Memory Interface 448-bit
Memory Frequency (effective) 2000 MHz
Memory Bandwidth 111.9 GB/s


Now the question: I paid significantly more for the GTX 260, it is far higher in the hierarchy of VGA cards, and benchmarks far higher than the 8800gt. So, how can this be true if it clocks massively slower for the shader and core clocks? Please allay my fears that I have made a huge, non-refundable mistake.

lol, first thing you must learn about GPU's and really CPU's in general is that general specs mean almost nothing to the consumer. I don't care if you have a 5 gigahertz Pentium 4 it will not beat a 2.5 gigahertz Intel core 2 duo. Its all in architecture, same goes with graphics cards. In a nut shell, you cant compare those specs unless the cards use the same processor/chipset. It pretty much means nothing. When buying a new card or something always go off of benchmarks.

 

[Seth]

Couldn't have said it better myself

Cpetrie, just to allay your fears, the GTX260 is a far superior card to the 8800GT.

 

[Cpetrie]

Thank you, Gentlemen.

 

[ETSA]

teamhex, just for future reference comparing dual core and single processors to GPU with entirely different architectures probably isn't a good idea. The 260 is not a dual GPU Video Card...

All good though, 260 is better..

 

[teamhex]

teamhex, just for future reference comparing dual core and single processors to GPU with entirely different architectures probably isn't a good idea. The 260 is not a dual GPU Video Card...

All good though, 260 is better..

Point is, don't try to compare specs on cards.
Same with CPU's
Even if they have completely different architectures they still share that trait.
Let the benchmarks speak for themselves.
I may have been able to say it another way but, I think I got my point across.