AMD FirePro W5130M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher OpenCL benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro W5130M scores 4904 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 14.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M's 4282. The AMD part wins this head-to-head comparison outright.

Q: How do these two mobile GPUs compare in overall GPU percentile rankings?

A: The FirePro W5130M sits at the 29th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the GTX 460M sits at the 25th percentile. The data places the AMD part slightly higher in the overall distribution.

Q: What are the closest performance rivals to the FirePro W5130M?

A: The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB with an average score of 4901 (0.1% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 at 4893 (0.2% behind), and the AMD Radeon R7 M265 at 4929 (0.5% ahead).

Q: What are the closest performance rivals to the GTX 460M?

A: The nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro W2100 at 4295 (0.3% behind), the AMD Radeon Vega 3 at 4268 (0.3% ahead), and the NVIDIA Quadro K3000M at 4241 (1% ahead).

Q: Which GPU has the higher transistor density?

A: The FirePro W5130M has a transistor density of 12.2 million transistors per square millimeter, which is substantially higher than the GTX 460M's 4.9 million per square millimeter.

Q: What is the production status and release timing for these two GPUs?

A: Both are end-of-life products. The GTX 460M was released in September 2010, while the FirePro W5130M was released in October 2015.

Architecture Differences

The FirePro W5130M uses AMD's GCN 1.0 architecture on the Tropo chip, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 1,500 million transistors into a 123 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. The GTX 460M, in contrast, is based on NVIDIA's Fermi architecture with the GF106 chip, fabricated on a 40 nm process. It contains 1,170 million transistors on a much larger 238 mm² die, giving a transistor density of just 4.9 million per square millimeter. The manufacturing process gap is significant: the FirePro's 28 nm node is two generations ahead of the GTX 460M's 40 nm node, which explains the dramatic difference in die size and density.

Shader resources differ sharply. The FirePro W5130M has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The GTX 460M has only 192 shading units but 32 TMUs and 24 ROPs. This means the AMD part has nearly 2.7 times the shader count, while the NVIDIA part has 50% more ROPs. The FirePro's pixel rate is 14.80 GPixel/s versus 5.400 GPixel/s for the GTX 460M, and its texture rate is 29.60 GTexel/s versus 21.60 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture also diverges. The FirePro W5130M uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth, running at an effective 4 Gbps. The GTX 460M uses 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a wider 192-bit bus but achieves only 60.00 GB/s bandwidth due to its 2.5 Gbps effective memory clock. The AMD part has the bandwidth advantage despite the narrower bus.

API support shows generational differences. The FirePro W5130M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The GTX 460M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6 but has no Vulkan support listed. The bus interface also differs: PCIe 3.0 x16 for the AMD part versus PCIe 2.0 x16 for the NVIDIA part.

Where Each One Wins

The FirePro W5130M wins the only recorded head-to-head benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, with a 14.5% margin. Its 512 shading units and higher FP32 throughput of 947.2 GFLOPS versus 518.4 GFLOPS give it a decisive advantage in compute-oriented workloads. The GTX 460M cannot match this raw compute output; its FP32 figure is roughly 55% lower.

The GTX 460M does hold advantages in certain specifications. It has 24 ROPs versus 16, which can aid fill-rate-bound tasks, but its pixel rate of 5.400 GPixel/s is far below the FirePro's 14.80 GPixel/s. The NVIDIA part also has a lower TDP of 50 W (the FirePro's TDP is not recorded), and it uses an MXM Module slot width with no power connectors required. For older software ecosystems or systems that specifically require a Fermi-era NVIDIA driver stack, the GTX 460M remains a functional option, but the benchmark data does not show any performance category where it beats the FirePro.

The FirePro W5130M is the clear compute winner. Its OpenCL score places it near the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB and GeForce GTS 450, which are desktop parts, while the GTX 460M sits near the FirePro W2100 and Radeon Vega 3. In practical terms, the AMD part is better suited to OpenCL acceleration, general compute, and modern API workloads. The GTX 460M's wider memory bus and higher ROP count are its only spec-sheet advantages, but those do not translate into a benchmark win.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD FirePro W5130M | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Fermi |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 1,500 million | 1,170 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 238 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.2M / mm² | 4.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 900 MHz | Not specified |

| Boost Clock | 925 MHz | Not specified |

| Memory Clock | 1000 MHz, 4 Gbps effective | 625 MHz, 2.5 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 1536 MB |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 64.00 GB/s | 60.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 512 | 192 |

| TMUs | 32 | 32 |

| ROPs | 16 | 24 |

| Pixel Rate | 14.80 GPixel/s | 5.400 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 29.60 GTexel/s | 21.60 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 947.2 GFLOPS | 518.4 GFLOPS |

| TDP | Not specified | 50 W |

| Slot Width | Not specified | MXM Module |

| Power Connectors | Not specified | None |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 (11_0) |

| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan | 1.2.170 | Not specified |

| Release Date | October 2015 | September 2010 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. The AMD FirePro W5130M scores 4904, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M scores 4282. That is a delta of 14.5% in favor of the AMD part.

Contextualizing this score against their nearest rivals makes the result clearer. The FirePro W5130M's 4904 puts it within 0.1% of the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB (4901) and within 0.2% of the GeForce GTS 450 (4893). It trails the Radeon R7 M265 (4929) and Radeon R7 M360 (4931) by 0.5% each. The GTX 460M's 4282, meanwhile, is 0.3% behind the FirePro W2100 (4295), 0.3% ahead of the Radeon Vega 3 (4268), and 1% ahead of the Quadro K3000M (4241). Notably, the GTX 460M is 1.2% behind the GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 (4335), a much newer part.

The performance gap between the two GPUs in this test is larger than the gap between either card and several of its nearest rivals. The FirePro's 14.5% lead over the GTX 460M is roughly equivalent to the difference between the GTX 460M and a GPU that scores about 500 points higher. Given that the FirePro also has a much newer architecture, more shading units, and higher memory bandwidth, the benchmark result is consistent with the specification gap.

The Verdict

The AMD FirePro W5130M is the stronger GPU in every measured category. Its 14.5% OpenCL lead over the GTX 460M is decisive, and its specifications support that result: 512 shading units versus 192, 947.2 GFLOPS versus 518.4, 64.00 GB/s versus 60.00 GB/s bandwidth, and a 28 nm process versus 40 nm. The data shows no benchmark where the NVIDIA part comes out ahead.

Buyers should choose the FirePro W5130M if they need OpenCL compute performance, modern API support including Vulkan 1.2.170, or higher memory bandwidth in a mobile form factor. It also offers 2 GB of VRAM versus 1536 MB, which matters for larger working sets.

The GTX 460M remains relevant only for legacy systems that require a Fermi-generation NVIDIA GPU, or for applications that depend on NVIDIA-specific driver features from that era. Its 50 W TDP and lack of power connectors make it a low-power option, and its 24 ROPs give it a fill-rate architecture that the FirePro does not match on paper. However, the actual pixel rate is far lower (5.400 GPixel/s versus 14.80 GPixel/s), so that ROP advantage does not translate into measured performance.

For any new deployment or upgrade decision based on the recorded data, the FirePro W5130M is the clear pick. It outperforms the GTX 460M in the only benchmark recorded, it has a newer architecture, and it carries a much higher percentile ranking (29th versus 25th). The GTX 460M's era-specific advantages do not overcome the fundamental compute and bandwidth deficits shown in the measurements.