AMD Radeon HD 7730M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains a single benchmark comparison between these two GPUs: the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this measurement, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 scores 7925 points, while the AMD Radeon HD 7730M scores 6581 points. The GTX 460 emerges as the winner with a delta of 20.4 percent, a substantial margin in raw compute performance.

Contextualizing the GTX 460's score against its nearest rivals in the database shows a tight competitive cluster. The NVIDIA Quadro K4100M averages 7906 points, placing the GTX 460 a marginal 0.2 percent ahead. The NVIDIA Quadro P5000 averages 8039 points, a 1.4 percent advantage over the GTX 460. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M also averages 8040 points, again 1.4 percent higher. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti averages 8053 points, 1.6 percent ahead of the GTX 460. This places the GTX 460 at the lower edge of a narrow band of similar-scoring GPUs, all within roughly 1.6 percent of each other. The database percentile ranking for the GTX 460 is 41, meaning it outperforms 41 percent of all GPUs in the database.

The AMD Radeon HD 7730M, by comparison, sits in a slightly lower performance tier. Its nearest rivals include the Intel UHD Graphics P750, which averages 6554 points, a 0.4 percent deficit relative to the HD 7730M. The AMD Radeon R7 M460 averages 6612 points, 0.5 percent ahead of the HD 7730M. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M averages 6513 points, putting the HD 7730M 1 percent ahead. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M averages 6493 points, with the HD 7730M leading by 1.4 percent. The HD 7730M's percentile ranking is 38, slightly below the GTX 460's 41st percentile.

The head-to-head delta of 20.4 percent is notable because it exceeds every inter-rival gap observed for either card. The GTX 460's closest rival is within 0.2 percent, and the HD 7730M's closest rival is within 0.4 percent, yet the gap between these two cards is an order of magnitude larger. This indicates that, despite their adjacent percentile rankings, the two GPUs occupy meaningfully different performance classes in OpenCL compute workloads.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 uses the GF104 chip based on the Fermi architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 40 nm process. The die measures 332 mm² and packs 1,950 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 5.9 million per mm². The AMD Radeon HD 7730M uses the Chelsea chip based on GCN 1.0, also built by TSMC but on a newer 28 nm process. Its die is dramatically smaller at 123 mm², and it contains 1,500 million transistors, resulting in a transistor density of 12.2 million per mm². The HD 7730M therefore packs more than twice the transistor density of the GTX 460, a direct consequence of the newer manufacturing node.

The GTX 460 deploys 336 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units. The HD 7730M counters with 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The GTX 460 has fewer shaders but substantially more TMUs and ROPs, which explains the difference in texture and pixel throughput. The GTX 460 delivers a texture rate of 37.80 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 9.450 GPixel/s. The HD 7730M produces a texture rate of 21.60 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 10.80 GPixel/s. The GTX 460 leads in texture fill by a wide margin, while the HD 7730M holds a smaller advantage in pixel output.

Raw floating-point performance tells a different story. The GTX 460 reaches 907.2 GFLOPS, while the HD 7730M reaches 691.2 GFLOPS. The GTX 460's lead of roughly 31 percent in FP32 throughput aligns with its OpenCL benchmark advantage, though the benchmark delta of 20.4 percent is somewhat smaller than the theoretical FP32 gap. Memory architecture also differs sharply. The GTX 460 uses 768 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, producing 86.40 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 7730M uses 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, yielding only 28.80 GB/s. The GTX 460's bandwidth advantage is nearly threefold, which likely contributes to its compute lead in memory-intensive operations. The HD 7730M compensates with a larger frame buffer, but the DDR3 type and narrower bus limit effective throughput.

Clock behavior differs as well. The HD 7730M has an explicit base clock of 575 MHz and a boost clock of 675 MHz. The GTX 460's base and boost clocks are not recorded in the database. Both cards use a 900 MHz memory clock, but the effective data rates differ: the GTX 460 reaches 3.6 Gbps effective, while the HD 7730M achieves 1800 Mbps effective. The GTX 460's GDDR5 memory transfers data at twice the effective rate per pin, which explains the large bandwidth gap despite identical nominal memory clocks.

Power consumption is a major architectural differentiator. The GTX 460 draws 160 W TDP, requires a dual-slot cooler, and uses two 6-pin power connectors with a suggested 450 W power supply. The HD 7730M draws only 25 W TDP, uses no additional power connectors, and has no suggested PSU rating. This sixfold difference in power draw reflects both the process node gap and the intended form factor. The HD 7730M is a mobile-class part with portable-device-dependent display outputs, while the GTX 460 is a desktop card with 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a outputs.

API support differs modestly. Both support DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6. The GTX 460's DirectX feature level is 11_0, while the HD 7730M reaches 11_1. The HD 7730M additionally lists Vulkan 1.2.170 support, while the GTX 460's Vulkan support is not recorded. Both cards are end-of-life in production status. The GTX 460 launched on 2010-07-11, and the HD 7730M launched on 2012-04-23, a gap of roughly 21 months.

The Verdict

The benchmark data clearly favors the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 in compute performance. Its OpenCL score of 7925 versus 6581 represents a 20.4 percent advantage, and its FP32 throughput of 907.2 GFLOPS exceeds the HD 7730M's 691.2 GFLOPS by a wide margin. The GTX 460 also delivers far higher memory bandwidth at 86.40 GB/s versus 28.80 GB/s, and superior texture throughput at 37.80 GTexel/s versus 21.60 GTexel/s. For any workload that stresses raw compute, texture fill, or memory bandwidth, the data supports the GTX 460 as the stronger card.

The HD 7730M wins on efficiency and capacity. Its 25 W TDP is a fraction of the GTX 460's 160 W TDP, making it suitable for systems with limited power budgets. It also offers 2 GB of memory versus 768 MB, a meaningful advantage for holding larger datasets or textures, though the slower DDR3 interface limits its effective use of that capacity. Its pixel rate of 10.80 GPixel/s edges out the GTX 460's 9.450 GPixel/s, and its 512 shading units outnumber the GTX 460's 336, though the lower clock speeds temper that advantage.

The choice between these two depends entirely on the use case. Desktop users with access to a 450 W power supply and dual-slot clearance should prefer the GTX 460 for its compute and bandwidth advantages. Mobile or low-power systems should prefer the HD 7730M for its minimal power draw and larger memory pool.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 | AMD Radeon HD 7730M |

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

| Chip | GF104 | Chelsea |

| Architecture | Fermi | GCN 1.0 |

| Generation | GeForce 400 | London (HD 7700M) |

| Process Node | 40 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 1,950 million | 1,500 million |

| Die Size | 332 mm² | 123 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 5.9M / mm² | 12.2M / mm² |

| Boost Clock | Not recorded | 675 MHz |

| Memory Size | 768 MB | 2 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | DDR3 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 86.40 GB/s | 28.80 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 336 | 512 |

| TMUs | 56 | 32 |

| ROPs | 24 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 9.450 GPixel/s | 10.80 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 37.80 GTexel/s | 21.60 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 907.2 GFLOPS | 691.2 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 160 W | 25 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Not recorded |

| Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | None |

| Display Outputs | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a | Portable Device Dependent |

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

| Vulkan | Not recorded | 1.2.170 |

| Dimensions | 210 mm, 8.3 inches | Not recorded |

| Release Date | 2010-07-11 | 2012-04-23 |

| Launch MSRP | 199 USD | Not recorded |

FAQ

Q: Which GPU scores higher in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 scores 7925, which is 20.4 percent higher than the AMD Radeon HD 7730M's score of 6581.

Q: How does the GTX 460 compare to its nearest rival in the database?

A: The GTX 460 is 0.2 percent ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K4100M, which averages 7906 points, and 1.4 percent behind the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 and GeForce GTX 880M, which average 8039 and 8040 points respectively.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The GTX 460 provides 86.40 GB/s of bandwidth from 768 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus. The HD 7730M provides 28.80 GB/s from 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M has a transistor density of 12.2M per mm², more than double the GTX 460's 5.9M per mm², due to its smaller 123 mm² die on the 28 nm process.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The GTX 460 has a 160 W TDP, requires a dual-slot cooler, two 6-pin power connectors, and a suggested 450 W power supply. The HD 7730M has a 25 W TDP and uses no additional power connectors.

Q: How do the pixel rates compare?

A: The HD 7730M has a slightly higher pixel rate at 10.80 GPixel/s, while the GTX 460 delivers 9.450 GPixel/s.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 wins in compute-heavy scenarios. Its OpenCL score of 7925 versus 6581 gives it a 20.4 percent advantage in general-purpose GPU workloads. Its FP32 output of 907.2 GFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS reinforces this lead for shader-bound tasks. The GTX 460 also dominates texture-heavy workloads, producing 37.80 GTexel/s compared to the HD 7730M's 21.60 GTexel/s, a 75 percent advantage. Memory-bound operations favor the GTX 460 as well, given its 86.40 GB/s bandwidth versus 28.80 GB/s, a threefold difference that becomes critical for large data transfers or high-resolution texture streaming. Its 56 TMUs versus 32 provide additional headroom for anisotropic filtering and texture-heavy rendering.

The AMD Radeon HD 7730M wins in efficiency-sensitive environments. Its 25 W TDP versus 160 W means it can operate in systems where the GTX 460's power draw and dual-slot cooler would be prohibitive. It offers 2 GB of memory versus 768 MB, which suits workloads that require larger working sets, even if the DDR3 interface limits throughput. Its pixel rate of 10.80 GPixel/s edges past the GTX 460's 9.450 GPixel/s, giving it a small advantage in fill-rate-bound scenarios at lower resolutions. Its 512 shading units outnumber the GTX 460's 336, and while clock speeds temper this advantage, the architectural count suggests headroom in parallel integer workloads. The HD 7730M's 28 nm process and smaller die also make it the more modern design in terms of manufacturing efficiency. Its Vulkan 1.2.170 support, absent from the GTX 460's recorded specifications, provides broader API compatibility for modern applications. For portable devices, its display output flexibility and lack of external power connectors make it the only viable choice of the two.