AMD Radeon Pro 460 vs NVIDIA Tesla M4 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark between these two accelerators is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is decisive. The NVIDIA Tesla M4 scores 16,932 points against the AMD Radeon Pro 460's 15,284 points, a 9.7% advantage for the NVIDIA part. This is a meaningful gap in compute workloads, placing the Tesla M4 clearly ahead in raw OpenCL throughput despite both cards sharing the same 4 GB GDDR5 memory configuration and 128-bit memory bus.

The Radeon Pro 460, however, has additional benchmark data that the Tesla M4 lacks. In Geekbench Metal, the AMD card scores 20,426 points, and in Geekbench Vulkan it reaches 16,816 points. These scores indicate that the Radeon Pro 460 is particularly strong in Apple-centric compute environments, where Metal is the native API. The Vulkan score of 16,816 is notably closer to the Tesla M4's OpenCL result, suggesting the AMD card's cross-platform compute performance is competitive even if its single OpenCL score trails.

The average benchmark score across all available tests tells a similar story. The Radeon Pro 460 averages 17,509 points across its three benchmarks, while the Tesla M4 averages 16,932 from its single OpenCL test. If the Tesla M4 had been subjected to the same suite of tests, its average might have been different, but based on available data, the AMD card holds a 3.4% advantage in average score. This is a narrow margin, and it is largely driven by the Radeon Pro 460's exceptional Metal performance, which exceeds both its own OpenCL and Vulkan results by 33.6% and 21.5%, respectively.

In terms of overall GPU population standing, the Radeon Pro 460 sits at the 61st percentile of all GPUs, while the Tesla M4 sits at the 60th percentile. This near-identical placement confirms that the two cards are closely matched in general compute capability, with the NVIDIA part having a slight edge in the one test where they directly compete.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two products is substantial. The AMD Radeon Pro 460 is built on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process using the GCN 4.0 architecture, with the Baffin chip. It packs 3,000 million transistors into a 123 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 24.4 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA Tesla M4, by contrast, uses TSMC's 28 nm process with the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, built around the GM206 chip. It contains 2,940 million transistors spread across a much larger 228 mm² die, resulting in a lower transistor density of 12.9 million per square millimeter. The Radeon Pro 460's more advanced process node allows it to pack nearly the same transistor count into roughly half the silicon area.

Clock speeds are another differentiator. The Tesla M4 operates at a base clock of 872 MHz with a boost clock of 1,072 MHz, while the Radeon Pro 460 runs at 850 MHz base and 907 MHz boost. The NVIDIA part's higher boost clock, combined with its Maxwell architecture's efficiency, gives it a raw compute advantage. The Tesla M4 delivers 2.195 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, whereas the Radeon Pro 460 delivers 1.858 TFLOPS — a difference of 18.1% in favor of NVIDIA. The AMD card does offer FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32 (1.858 TFLOPS), while the Tesla M4 has no FP16 capability listed.

Memory subsystems differ in subtle ways. Both use 4 GB of GDDR5 over a 128-bit bus, but the Tesla M4 runs its memory at 1,375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective) for 88.00 GB/s of bandwidth, while the Radeon Pro 460 runs at 1,270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective) for 81.28 GB/s. The NVIDIA card enjoys an 8.3% bandwidth advantage. Rasterization throughput also favors NVIDIA: the Tesla M4 achieves 34.30 GPixel/s pixel rate and 68.61 GTexel/s texture rate, versus 14.51 GPixel/s and 58.05 GTexel/s for the AMD card. The Tesla M4's pixel rate is more than double the Radeon Pro's, driven by its 32 ROPs compared to the AMD card's 16 ROPs, though both have 64 TMUs and 1,024 shading units.

Power and physical design differ considerably. The Radeon Pro 460 is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with a 35 W TDP and no power connectors, designed for portable devices with dependent display outputs. The Tesla M4 is a single-slot card with a 50 W TDP and a suggested 250 W power supply, with no display outputs at all — it is a dedicated compute accelerator. The Tesla M4 uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, while the Radeon Pro 460 uses PCIe 3.0 x8. API support also diverges: the Tesla M4 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Radeon Pro 460 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3; both support OpenGL 4.6.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Tesla M4 wins in raw OpenCL compute, and it wins clearly. Its 9.7% advantage in that single head-to-head benchmark, combined with higher FP32 throughput (2.195 TFLOPS vs 1.858 TFLOPS), higher memory bandwidth (88.00 GB/s vs 81.28 GB/s), and more than double the pixel fill rate, makes it the stronger choice for general-purpose compute workloads that rely on OpenCL. The Tesla M4 also benefits from a wider PCIe interface (x16 vs x8), which can reduce data transfer bottlenecks in compute-heavy applications. Its 32 ROPs and higher texture rate suggest better performance in rasterization tasks, even though the card has no display outputs.

The AMD Radeon Pro 460 wins in Apple-centric environments. Its Geekbench Metal score of 20,426 is the highest single benchmark result between the two cards, and its Vulkan score of 16,816 is competitive with the Tesla M4's OpenCL result. For users working within the Apple ecosystem — where Metal is the primary compute API — the Radeon Pro 460 is the more capable part. The AMD card also consumes less power (35 W vs 50 W), which is significant in portable or thermally constrained systems. Its smaller die size and higher transistor density reflect a more modern manufacturing process, which could translate to better power efficiency per unit of work.

The AMD card's 61st percentile ranking, slightly above the Tesla M4's 60th, reflects its stronger performance in the broader benchmark suite it was tested with. The Radeon Pro 460's average score of 17,509 is 3.4% higher than the Tesla M4's 16,932, driven largely by its Metal results. In workloads that leverage Metal or Vulkan — particularly on macOS or Linux with Vulkan drivers — the Radeon Pro 460 is the better performer. In pure OpenCL throughput, the Tesla M4 is the winner.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M4 is faster, scoring 16,932 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 15,284 for the AMD Radeon Pro 460, a 9.7% advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon Pro 460 have any benchmark where it clearly outperforms the Tesla M4?

A: Yes. The Radeon Pro 460 scores 20,426 in Geekbench Metal, which is its strongest result and exceeds the Tesla M4's single OpenCL score by 20.6%. The AMD card also achieves 16,816 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is close to but still below the Tesla M4's OpenCL score.

Q: How do the two cards compare in average benchmark score?

A: The Radeon Pro 460 has an average benchmark score of 17,509 across three tests, while the Tesla M4 averages 16,932 from its single OpenCL test. The AMD card is 3.4% higher on average.

Q: What is the transistor density difference between the two architectures?

A: The Radeon Pro 460 on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process achieves 24.4 million transistors per square millimeter, while the Tesla M4 on TSMC's 28 nm process achieves 12.9 million per square millimeter. The AMD chip packs 3,000 million transistors into 123 mm², versus 2,940 million transistors in 228 mm² for NVIDIA.

Q: Do both cards support the same graphics APIs?

A: No. The Tesla M4 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Radeon Pro 460 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Q: Which card has higher pixel fill rate and why?

A: The Tesla M4 has a pixel rate of 34.30 GPixel/s versus 14.51 GPixel/s for the Radeon Pro 460. This is due to the Tesla M4 having 32 ROPs compared to the Radeon Pro 460's 16 ROPs, despite both cards having 64 TMUs and 1,024 shading units.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro 460 | NVIDIA Tesla M4 |

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

| Architecture | GCN 4.0 | Maxwell 2.0 |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 28 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Transistors | 3,000 million | 2,940 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 228 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 24.4M / mm² | 12.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 850 MHz | 872 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 907 MHz | 1072 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective) | 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Bandwidth | 81.28 GB/s | 88.00 GB/s |

| ROPs | 16 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 14.51 GPixel/s | 34.30 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 58.05 GTexel/s | 68.61 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1.858 TFLOPS | 2.195 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 1.858 TFLOPS (1:1) | None |

| TDP | 35 W | 50 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Single-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | Not specified |

| Suggested PSU | Not specified | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | No outputs |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_0) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2016-10-29 | 2015-11-09 |

| Predecessor | Not specified | Tesla Kepler |

| Successor | Not specified | Tesla Pascal |

| Geekbench OpenCL | 15,284 | 16,932 |

| Geekbench Metal | 20,426 | Not tested |

| Geekbench Vulkan | 16,816 | Not tested |

| Average Benchmark Score | 17,509 | 16,932 |

| Percentile vs All GPUs | 61 | 60 |