Radeon Sky 500 vs GeForce 9600 GT
Aggregate performance score
We've compared GeForce 9600 GT with Radeon Sky 500, including specs and performance data.
Sky 500 outperforms 9600 GT by a whopping 899% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 1115 | 455 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.05 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 0.91 | 5.78 |
| Architecture | Tesla (2006−2010) | GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) |
| GPU code name | G94 | Pitcairn |
| Market segment | Desktop | Workstation |
| Release date | 21 February 2008 (17 years ago) | 27 March 2013 (12 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $179 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.
Performance to price scatter graph
Detailed specifications
General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 64 | 1280 |
| Core clock speed | 650 MHz | 950 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 505 million | 2,800 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 65 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 96 Watt | 150 Watt |
| Maximum GPU temperature | 105 °C | no data |
| Texture fill rate | 20.80 | 76.00 |
| Floating-point processing power | 0.208 TFLOPS | 2.432 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 16 | 32 |
| TMUs | 32 | 80 |
| L1 Cache | no data | 320 KB |
| L2 Cache | 64 KB | 512 KB |
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).
| Bus support | 16x PCI-E 2.0 | PCIe 3.0 |
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Length | 229 mm | 242 mm |
| Height | 4.376" (11.1 cm) | no data |
| Width | 1-slot | 1-slot |
| Form factor | no data | full height / full length |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x 6-pin | 1x 6-pin |
| 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 | GDDR5 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 512 MB | 4 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 900 MHz | 1200 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 57.6 GB/s | 154 GB/s |
Connectivity and outputs
This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.
| Display Connectors | HDTVTwo Dual Link DVI | 1x DisplayPort |
| Multi monitor support | + | no data |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | no data |
| DisplayPort count | no data | 1 |
| Dual-link DVI support | - | + |
| Audio input for HDMI | S/PDIF | no data |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 11.1 (10_0) | 12 (11_1) |
| Shader Model | 4.0 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 2.1 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| Vulkan | N/A | 1.2.131 |
| CUDA | + | - |
Synthetic benchmarks
Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark score.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. 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.
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.12 | 11.19 |
| Recency | 21 February 2008 | 27 March 2013 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 512 MB | 4 GB |
| Chip lithography | 65 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 96 Watt | 150 Watt |
9600 GT has 56.3% lower power consumption.
Sky 500, on the other hand, has a 899.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, a 700% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 132.1% more advanced lithography process.
The Radeon Sky 500 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 9600 GT in performance tests.
Be aware that GeForce 9600 GT is a desktop graphics card while Radeon Sky 500 is a workstation one.
Other comparisons
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
