GeForce 720A vs 8500 GT
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | not rated | 962 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Architecture | Tesla (2006−2010) | Fermi 2.0 (2010−2014) |
| GPU code name | G86 | GF117 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 17 April 2007 (17 years ago) | 1 July 2014 (10 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $129 | no data |
Detailed specifications
General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 16 | 96 |
| Core clock speed | 459 MHz | 775 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | no data | 938 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 210 million | 585 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 80 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 30 Watt | 33 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 3.672 | 15.01 |
| Floating-point performance | 0.02938 gflops | 0.1801 gflops |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).
| Interface | PCIe 1.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
| Length | 229 mm | no data |
| Width | 1-slot | MXM Module |
| Supplementary power connectors | None | no data |
| SLI options | + | - |
VRAM capacity and type
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
| Memory type | GDDR3 | DDR3 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 256 MB | 1 GB |
| Standard memory config per GPU | 256 MB | no data |
| Memory bus width | 128 Bit | 64 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 800 MHz | 2000 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 12.8 GB/s | 16 GB/s |
Connectivity and outputs
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | 1x DVI, 1x VGA, 1x S-Video | No outputs |
API compatibility
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 11.1 (10_0) | 12 (11_0) |
| Shader Model | 4.0 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 2.1 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Vulkan | N/A | N/A |
| CUDA | 1.1 | 2.1 |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 17 April 2007 | 1 July 2014 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 256 MB | 1 GB |
| Chip lithography | 80 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 30 Watt | 33 Watt |
8500 GT has 10% lower power consumption.
GeForce 720A, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 7 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 185.7% more advanced lithography process.
We couldn't decide between GeForce 8500 GT and GeForce 720A. We've got no test results to judge.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
