AMD Radeon 540 vs AMD Radeon R7 M460 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains a single direct head-to-head comparison between the AMD Radeon 540 and the AMD Radeon R7 M460, and it is a victory for the older part. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Radeon R7 M460 scores 6612, while the Radeon 540 scores 6184. That represents a 6.5% advantage for the R7 M460. This is a meaningful gap in a compute workload, as OpenCL performance often tracks raw shader throughput, and the R7 M460 holds the edge despite its older GCN 3.0 architecture and slower memory clock.

The Radeon 540 does not win any of the recorded head-to-head tests. Its only other benchmark entry is a Geekbench Vulkan score of 9162, which has no direct counterpart in the R7 M460's results. The database shows the R7 M460 with one win and the Radeon 540 with zero wins in their shared test suite.

Looking at average benchmark scores across all recorded tests, the Radeon 540 posts a figure of 7673, which is substantially higher than its OpenCL-only result. This average includes the Vulkan score, which is more than 48% higher than the OpenCL result for the same GPU. The R7 M460, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 6612, identical to its single OpenCL result.

The percentile rankings show these are both entry-level parts. The Radeon 540 sits at the 41st percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the R7 M460 sits at the 38th percentile. That 3 percentage point difference in global standing is modest, and it aligns with the narrow margins seen in their nearest rival comparisons. The Radeon 540's closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, has an average score of 7723, which is only 0.6% ahead. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 trails by 1.2%, the Radeon R7 250 trails by 1.5%, and the Intel Arc A310 trails by 1.6%. All four rivals sit within a 2.2 percentage point band of the Radeon 540's average.

The R7 M460's rival cluster is equally tight but lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 leads the R7 M460 by 1.3%, the AMD Radeon HD 7730M trails by 0.5%, the Intel UHD Graphics P750 trails by 1.5%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M trails by 1.5%. The narrow deltas in both groups suggest that at this performance tier, small architectural efficiency differences decide the ordering, and the 6.5% head-to-head result is actually the largest single-test gap recorded for either GPU.

The data indicates that the Radeon 540's Vulkan result of 9162 would likely outperform the R7 M460 in any Vulkan comparison, given that the R7 M460's only Vulkan API support is 1.2.170 versus the Radeon 540's Vulkan 1.3 support. However, no direct Vulkan benchmark exists in the shared test set, so no numeric comparison can be made for that API.

The OpenCL delta of 6.5% for the R7 M460 is worth interpreting carefully. The R7 M460 runs its boost clock at 1024 MHz and computes 786.4 GFLOPS FP32, while the Radeon 540 runs at 908.5 GFLOPS FP32. The Radeon 540 has a higher theoretical FP32 rating by roughly 15.5%, yet it loses the OpenCL test by 6.5%. This implies the R7 M460 extracts more real-world performance per FLOP in that specific workload, likely due to driver scheduling or memory subsystem behavior. The R7 M460 also has double the memory capacity at 2 GB versus 1024 MB, and a wider 64-bit bus versus 32-bit, which may help in memory-intensive OpenCL kernels.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different fabrication generations and architectures. The AMD Radeon 540 uses the Lexa chip, built on GCN 4.0 at a 14 nm process node from GlobalFoundries, with 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die. The AMD Radeon R7 M460 uses the Meso chip, built on GCN 3.0 at a 28 nm process node from TSMC, with 1,550 million transistors on a 125 mm² die. The Radeon 540's transistor density is 21.4 million per square millimeter, versus 12.4 million for the R7 M460, reflecting the newer process.

The Radeon 540 belongs to the Polaris (RX 500) generation and its predecessor is Arctic Islands, with a successor of Vega. The R7 M460 belongs to the Gem System (R7 M400) generation, with a predecessor of Solar System and a successor of Polaris Mobile. The Radeon 540 was released on 2017-04-19, nearly a year after the R7 M460's release on 2016-05-14.

Both GPUs have 384 shading units and 24 texture mapping units, but the Radeon 540 has 16 ROPs, double the R7 M460's 8 ROPs. Pixel rate reflects this: the Radeon 540 achieves 18.93 GPixel/s, while the R7 M460 achieves 8.192 GPixel/s. Texture rate is closer, at 28.39 GTexel/s for the RX 540 versus 24.58 GTexel/s for the R7 M460.

Memory configurations differ significantly. The Radeon 540 has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 32-bit bus, with 24.00 GB/s bandwidth and a memory clock of 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective). The R7 M460 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus, with 36.00 GB/s bandwidth and a memory clock of 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective). The R7 M460 provides 50% more bandwidth and double the capacity, despite a slower memory clock.

Clock behavior differs too. The Radeon 540 lists no base or boost clock in the database, only its memory clock. The R7 M460 lists a base clock of 730 MHz and a boost clock of 1024 MHz. The Radeon 540's FP32 output of 908.5 GFLOPS is higher than the R7 M460's 786.4 GFLOPS, and its FP16 is also 908.5 GFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, matching the FP32 rate.

API support is similar for DirectX and OpenGL: both support DirectX 12 (12_0) and OpenGL 4.6. Vulkan differs, with the Radeon 540 supporting Vulkan 1.3 and the R7 M460 supporting Vulkan 1.2.170.

Power and physical characteristics are only documented for the Radeon 540: it has a 50 W TDP, is single-slot, requires no power connectors, and has a suggested PSU of 250 W. The R7 M460 has no recorded TDP, slot width, power connector, or suggested PSU data. The Radeon 540's display outputs are 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the R7 M460 has no display output data.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the shared Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M460 scores 6612 versus the AMD Radeon 540's 6184, a 6.5% lead for the R7 M460.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon 540 have any benchmark win over the R7 M460?

A: No. In the recorded head-to-head tests, the Radeon 540 has 0 wins and the R7 M460 has 1 win. The Radeon 540 does have a separate Geekbench Vulkan score of 9162 with no direct R7 M460 counterpart.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in memory bandwidth?

A: The R7 M460 provides 36.00 GB/s over a 64-bit bus with 2 GB GDDR5, while the Radeon 540 provides 24.00 GB/s over a 32-bit bus with 1024 MB GDDR5.

Q: Which GPU has the higher pixel fill rate?

A: The AMD Radeon 540 has a pixel rate of 18.93 GPixel/s, more than double the R7 M460's 8.192 GPixel/s, due to having 16 ROPs versus 8.

Q: What are the architecture and process differences?

A: The Radeon 540 uses GCN 4.0 on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process with 2,200 million transistors on 103 mm². The R7 M460 uses GCN 3.0 on a 28 nm TSMC process with 1,550 million transistors on 125 mm².

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 compute?

A: The Radeon 540 delivers 908.5 GFLOPS FP32, while the R7 M460 delivers 786.4 GFLOPS FP32. This is a theoretical advantage of about 15.5% for the Radeon 540, although it lost the actual OpenCL test.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two GPUs:

• Chip: Lexa (Radeon 540) versus Meso (R7 M460)
• Architecture: GCN 4.0 versus GCN 3.0
• Generation: Polaris (RX 500) versus Gem System (R7 M400)
• Process node: 14 nm GlobalFoundries versus 28 nm TSMC
• Transistors: 2,200 million versus 1,550 million
• Die size: 103 mm² versus 125 mm²
• Transistor density: 21.4M per mm² versus 12.4M per mm²
• Base clock: not listed versus 730 MHz
• Boost clock: not listed versus 1024 MHz
• Memory clock: 1500 MHz, 6 Gbps effective versus 1125 MHz, 4.5 Gbps effective
• Memory size: 1024 MB versus 2 GB
• Memory bus width: 32 bit versus 64 bit
• Memory bandwidth: 24.00 GB/s versus 36.00 GB/s
• ROPs: 16 versus 8
• Pixel rate: 18.93 GPixel/s versus 8.192 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 28.39 GTexel/s versus 24.58 GTexel/s
• FP32: 908.5 GFLOPS versus 786.4 GFLOPS
• FP16: 908.5 GFLOPS (1:1) versus 786.4 GFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 50 W versus not listed
• Slot width: Single-slot versus not listed
• Power connectors: None versus not listed
• Suggested PSU: 250 W versus not listed
• Display outputs: 2x DisplayPort 1.4a versus not listed
• Vulkan support: 1.3 versus 1.2.170
• Release date: 2017-04-19 versus 2016-05-14
• Predecessor: Arctic Islands versus Solar System
• Successor: Vega versus Polaris Mobile
• Geekbench OpenCL score: 6184 versus 6612
• Geekbench Vulkan score: 9162 versus not listed
• Average benchmark score: 7673 versus 6612
• Percentile vs all GPUs: 41 versus 38

Identical specifications include the shading unit count at 384, TMUs at 24, DirectX 12 (12_0) support, OpenGL 4.6 support, PCIe 3.0 x8 interface, GDDR5 memory type, and end-of-life production status for both.

The Verdict

The benchmark data presents a clear but counterintuitive picture. The AMD Radeon R7 M460 wins the only shared test, the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, by 6.5% (6612 versus 6184). This is a straightforward victory in the measured workload. However, the Radeon 540 has the higher average benchmark score of 7673, driven entirely by its Geekbench Vulkan result of 9162, which has no direct R7 M460 equivalent. The Radeon 540 also holds advantages in theoretical specifications: higher FP32 compute (908.5 versus 786.4 GFLOPS), double the ROP count (16 versus 8), and a significantly higher pixel rate (18.93 versus 8.192 GPixel/s).

The R7 M460 counters with double the memory capacity (2 GB versus 1024 MB), 50% more memory bandwidth (36.00 versus 24.00 GB/s), and a wider 64-bit bus. The R7 M460 also has a higher OpenCL benchmark score, which is the only direct comparison available.

The percentile rankings suggest both are near the bottom of the database: the Radeon 540 at the 41st percentile and the R7 M460 at the 38th. Neither GPU should be expected to handle demanding modern workloads at high settings, but the data supports the R7 M460 as the better choice for OpenCL compute tasks, and the Radeon 540 as the better choice for Vulkan-specific workloads and for tasks that benefit from higher pixel throughput.

For a user prioritizing the measured OpenCL performance, the R7 M460 is the correct selection. For a user who values the Vulkan capability, the higher average score, and the superior theoretical pixel rate, the Radeon 540 is the stronger option. The Radeon 540's newer architecture, smaller process node, and higher transistor density suggest it is the more advanced design, but the actual benchmark result shows the older R7 M460 executing OpenCL tasks more effectively.

Where Each One Wins

AMD Radeon R7 M460 wins in:

• OpenCL compute performance: 6612 versus 6184, a 6.5% lead
• Memory capacity: 2 GB versus 1024 MB, double the frame buffer
• Memory bandwidth: 36.00 GB/s versus 24.00 GB/s, a 50% advantage
• Memory bus width: 64-bit versus 32-bit
• Global percentile position is lower at 38 versus 41, but its nearest rival cluster is tighter, with the closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010, only 1.3% ahead

AMD Radeon 540 wins in:

• Average benchmark score: 7673 versus 6612, driven by its Vulkan result
• Vulkan performance: 9162 in the Geekbench Vulkan test, a workload the R7 M460 has no recorded result for
• FP32 compute: 908.5 GFLOPS versus 786.4 GFLOPS
• Pixel rate: 18.93 GPixel/s versus 8.192 GPixel/s, more than double
• ROP count: 16 versus 8
• Texture rate: 28.39 GTexel/s versus 24.58 GTexel/s
• Process technology: 14 nm versus 28 nm, with a higher transistor density of 21.4M versus 12.4M per mm²
• Vulkan API support: 1.3 versus 1.2.170
• Newer release date and newer architecture generation

The use-case split is therefore: choose the R7 M460 for OpenCL-centric applications, for workloads that need more video memory, and for situations where memory bandwidth is the bottleneck. Choose the Radeon 540 for Vulkan-based rendering, for pixel-heavy tasks at lower resolutions where its ROP advantage matters, and for overall compute headroom according to its FP32 rating. The Radeon 540's higher average score of 7673 versus 6612 reflects a broader benchmark profile, but the only direct comparison favors the R7 M460.