AMD Radeon R6 M255DX vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX compare to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M in raw benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Radeon R6 M255DX records a Geekbench Vulkan score of 4867, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M records a Geekbench OpenCL score of 4282. The database shows the AMD part sits at the 28th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA part sits at the 25th percentile.

Q: What are the nearest rivals to the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX based on average benchmark scores?

A: The nearest rival to the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M with an average score of 4855, a delta of 0.2%. Other close rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX (4844, delta 0.5%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 (4893, delta -0.5%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB (4901, delta -0.7%).

Q: Which GPU has the higher pixel rate?

A: The AMD Radeon R6 M255DX has a pixel rate of 6.840 GPixel/s, which is higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M's 5.400 GPixel/s. This indicates the AMD part has an advantage in fill-rate-bound workloads.

Q: What is the process node difference between these two GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon R6 M255DX is built on a 28 nm process node, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M is built on a 40 nm node. Both are fabricated by TSMC.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The AMD Radeon R6 M255DX has 320 shading units, compared to 192 shading units on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M. The AMD part also has fewer texture mapping units (20 versus 32) and fewer ROPs (8 versus 24) than the NVIDIA part.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon R6 M255DX uses System Shared memory with System Dependent bandwidth, meaning its memory performance depends entirely on the host system. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M has 1536 MB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus with 60.00 GB/s of bandwidth.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R6 M255DX wins on raw compute throughput metrics. Its FP32 performance is 547.2 GFLOPS versus 518.4 GFLOPS on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M, a lead of roughly 5.6%. The pixel rate also favors the AMD part: 6.840 GPixel/s versus 5.400 GPixel/s, which is about 26.7% higher. For workloads that are heavy on pixel fill or general-purpose shader math, the data points to the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX being the stronger choice.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M wins decisively in memory bandwidth. Its 60.00 GB/s of dedicated GDDR5 bandwidth is a fixed, dedicated resource, whereas the AMD part's bandwidth is System Dependent and shared with the CPU. The NVIDIA part also has a substantially higher texture rate at 21.60 GTexel/s versus 17.10 GTexel/s on the AMD part, about 26.3% higher. Texture-heavy workloads, such as those relying on complex material sampling, would favor the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M.

In terms of absolute benchmark scores, the AMD part's 4867 in Geekbench Vulkan is higher than the NVIDIA part's 4282 in Geekbench OpenCL, though the tests differ. The percentile rankings reinforce this: the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX is at the 28th percentile versus the 25th percentile for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M. The AMD part's nearest rivals all cluster within about 1% of its score, which indicates a tight competitive grouping around this performance level. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M's nearest rivals also cluster closely, with the AMD FirePro W2100 at 4295 (delta -0.3%) and the AMD Radeon Vega 3 at 4268 (delta 0.3%).

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon R6 M255DX is built on the GCN 1.0 architecture, specifically using the Jet chip. It is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) that shares system memory. The architecture is designed to be power-efficient on a 28 nm process, enabling it to be integrated directly into the host system without a separate module. It supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M is built on the Fermi architecture, using the GF106 chip. It is a discrete mobile GPU packaged as an MXM Module, with its own dedicated memory. The Fermi architecture was designed for a 40 nm process and supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support listed. The NVIDIA part also has a transistor count of 1,170 million on a 238 mm² die, whereas the AMD part has 690 million transistors on a 56 mm² die.

The transistor density tells a story of manufacturing maturity: the AMD part achieves 12.3M transistors per mm², while the NVIDIA part achieves 4.9M per mm². This density difference is directly attributable to the process node gap (28 nm versus 40 nm). The AMD part's smaller die and lower transistor count reflect its role as an integrated solution, while the NVIDIA part's larger die and higher transistor count reflect its discrete design with dedicated memory and a wider memory bus.

Another key architectural difference is in the memory subsystem. The AMD Radeon R6 M255DX has no dedicated memory at all; its memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as System Shared. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M has 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus. This is a fundamental design split: one relies entirely on the host system's memory bandwidth, the other has a fixed, dedicated pool.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification field in the database. The AMD Radeon R6 M255DX has a base clock of 780 MHz and a boost clock of 855 MHz, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M has no listed base or boost clock, only a memory clock of 625 MHz (2.5 Gbps effective). The AMD part has 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The NVIDIA part has 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs.

The FP32 compute rates are 547.2 GFLOPS for the AMD part and 518.4 GFLOPS for the NVIDIA part. Pixel rates are 6.840 GPixel/s versus 5.400 GPixel/s, favoring AMD. Texture rates are 17.10 GTexel/s versus 21.60 GTexel/s, favoring NVIDIA. The NVIDIA part has a TDP of 50 W, while the AMD part has no TDP listed. The AMD part is an IGP with no power connectors, while the NVIDIA part is an MXM Module with no power connectors either.

The bus interface differs: the AMD part uses IGP, while the NVIDIA part uses PCIe 2.0 x16. Both have display outputs listed as Portable Device Dependent. The production status for both is End-of-life. The AMD part was released on 2014-01-06, while the NVIDIA part was released on 2010-09-02. The NVIDIA part has a predecessor (GeForce 300M) and a successor (GeForce 500M), while the AMD part has neither listed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark entries between these two GPUs, so the comparison relies on their respective standalone scores and nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon R6 M255DX scores 4867 in Geekbench Vulkan, which places it just 0.2% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M (4855) and 0.5% above the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX (4844). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 by 0.5% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB by 0.7%. This clustering within roughly 1% shows that the AMD part is competitively positioned in its performance tier.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M scores 4282 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 0.3% below the AMD FirePro W2100 (4295) and 0.3% above the AMD Radeon Vega 3 (4268). It sits 1% above the NVIDIA Quadro K3000M (4241) and 1.2% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 (4335). The NVIDIA part's performance tier is clearly lower than the AMD part's tier, as reflected in both the raw scores and the percentile rankings (25th versus 28th).

Looking at the compute metrics, the AMD part's FP32 output of 547.2 GFLOPS is 28.8 GFLOPS higher than the NVIDIA part's 518.4 GFLOPS. The pixel rate difference is more pronounced: 6.840 GPixel/s versus 5.400 GPixel/s, a gap of 1.440 GPixel/s. The NVIDIA part counters with a texture rate of 21.60 GTexel/s, which is 4.50 GTexel/s higher than the AMD part's 17.10 GTexel/s. These numbers suggest that the AMD part is better suited to pixel-bound and general compute tasks, while the NVIDIA part is better suited to texture-heavy rendering.

The memory bandwidth comparison is stark. The NVIDIA part's 60.00 GB/s is a fixed, dedicated resource. The AMD part's bandwidth is System Dependent, meaning it could be higher or lower depending on the host system's memory configuration. In a best-case scenario with fast system memory, the AMD part might approach or exceed the NVIDIA part's bandwidth, but the database does not provide a fixed number for the AMD part. This makes the NVIDIA part the safer choice for memory-intensive workloads, as its performance is predictable.

The Verdict

The data points to two distinct use cases. The AMD Radeon R6 M255DX is the better choice for users whose workloads are dominated by pixel fill rate and general compute tasks. Its 6.840 GPixel/s pixel rate and 547.2 GFLOPS FP32 performance are both higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M's corresponding figures. The AMD part also supports Vulkan 1.2.170, which the NVIDIA part lacks entirely. Its higher benchmark score (4867 versus 4282) and higher percentile ranking (28th versus 25th) reinforce this conclusion.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M is the better choice for users who need predictable, dedicated memory performance. Its 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus with 60.00 GB/s of bandwidth is a fixed resource that does not depend on the host system. Its texture rate of 21.60 GTexel/s is 26.3% higher than the AMD part's, making it the stronger option for texture-heavy rendering workloads. The NVIDIA part also has a listed TDP of 50 W, which provides a concrete power envelope for system designers, whereas the AMD part has no TDP listed.

For a user choosing between an integrated GPU and a discrete mobile GPU, the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX offers the better raw compute and pixel performance, along with modern API support including Vulkan. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M offers dedicated memory and higher texture throughput, but its older Fermi architecture and lack of Vulkan support limit its future-proofing. The benchmark scores in the database favor the AMD part overall, but the NVIDIA part remains competitive in specific texture-bound scenarios. The choice ultimately depends on whether the workload is compute/pixel-bound or memory/texture-bound.