AMD Radeon R7 M460 vs AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile has a higher average benchmark score of 7203, compared to the AMD Radeon R7 M460’s 6612. This places the Vega 8 Mobile in the 39th percentile of all GPUs, while the R7 M460 sits in the 38th percentile.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile scores 7435, while the AMD Radeon R7 M460 scores 6612. The Vega 8 Mobile is 12.4% faster, making it the clear winner in this head-to-head comparison.

Q: What architecture does each GPU use?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile uses the GCN 5.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The AMD Radeon R7 M460 uses the older GCN 3.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile has 512 shading units, while the AMD Radeon R7 M460 has 384 shading units. This 128-unit difference contributes to the Vega 8 Mobile’s higher compute throughput.

Q: What type of memory does each GPU use?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile uses system-shared memory, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." The AMD Radeon R7 M460 has 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 64-bit bus, providing 36.00 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU supports a newer version of Vulkan?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile supports Vulkan 1.3, while the AMD Radeon R7 M460 supports Vulkan 1.2.170. The Vega 8 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 (12_1), whereas the R7 M460 supports DirectX 12 (12_0).

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial and directly explains their performance disparity. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile is built on the GCN 5.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This newer node allows for a transistor count of 4,940 million on a 210 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 23.5 million per square millimeter. In contrast, the AMD Radeon R7 M460 uses the GCN 3.0 architecture, produced on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with 1,550 million transistors on a 125 mm² die, giving a density of just 12.4 million per square millimeter.

The compute resources differ markedly. The Vega 8 Mobile packs 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The R7 M460 has 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and also 8 ROPs. This means the Vega 8 Mobile has 33% more shading units and 33% more TMUs, which directly translates to higher fill rates and compute throughput.

Clock speeds tell another part of the story. The Vega 8 Mobile has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 1101 MHz. The R7 M460 has a higher base clock of 730 MHz but a lower boost clock of 1024 MHz. The Vega 8 Mobile’s higher boost clock, combined with its larger shader count, results in a significant performance advantage.

Memory architecture is fundamentally different. The Vega 8 Mobile relies on system-shared memory, where bandwidth is dependent on the host system’s memory configuration. The R7 M460 has 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 36.00 GB/s of bandwidth. This dedicated memory gives the R7 M460 an advantage in scenarios where memory latency and consistency matter, though the Vega 8 Mobile can leverage faster system memory when available.

The Vega 8 Mobile also reaches higher peak rates. Its pixel rate is 8.808 GPixel/s versus 8.192 GPixel/s for the R7 M460. Texture rate is 35.23 GTexel/s versus 24.58 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 1,127.4 GFLOPS versus 786.4 GFLOPS. The Vega 8 Mobile even supports FP16 at 2.255 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the R7 M460 is limited to 786.4 GFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio.

API support favors the newer GPU. The Vega 8 Mobile supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The R7 M460 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The higher DirectX feature level and newer Vulkan version on the Vega 8 Mobile may enable additional rendering features in supported titles.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this test, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile scores 7435, while the AMD Radeon R7 M460 scores 6612. This represents a 12.4% advantage for the Vega 8 Mobile, which is a meaningful margin in real-world compute workloads.

To contextualize this result, the Vega 8 Mobile’s average benchmark score of 7203 places it near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 (7222, a 0.3% difference) and ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE (7171, a 0.4% difference). It also edges out the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 (7170, a 0.5% difference) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (7157, a 0.6% difference). These rivals are all within 1% of the Vega 8 Mobile, indicating it performs in a tightly clustered range of midrange desktop and mobile GPUs.

The R7 M460’s average score of 6612 places it near the AMD Radeon HD 7730M (6581, a 0.5% difference) and the Intel UHD Graphics P750 (6554, a 0.9% difference). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 (6698, a -1.3% difference) and leads the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (6513, a 1.5% difference). This places the R7 M460 in a slightly lower performance tier than the Vega 8 Mobile.

The 12.4% delta between the two GPUs in OpenCL is consistent with the architectural differences described earlier. The Vega 8 Mobile’s 512 shading units versus 384, its higher boost clock of 1101 MHz versus 1024 MHz, and its newer GCN 5.0 architecture all contribute to this advantage. The R7 M460’s dedicated GDDR5 memory does not compensate for its lower compute throughput in this synthetic benchmark.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the data, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile is the superior GPU for compute performance. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark by 12.4%, has a higher average benchmark score by 591 points, and sits one percentile higher in the global ranking. Its architectural advantages—more shading units, higher boost clock, newer GCN 5.0 architecture, and higher theoretical throughput—make it the better choice for workloads that rely on OpenCL or Vulkan compute.

The AMD Radeon R7 M460 does have one clear advantage: dedicated 2 GB GDDR5 memory with a fixed 36.00 GB/s bandwidth. This could be beneficial in scenarios where the system-shared memory of the Vega 8 Mobile is constrained by slow system RAM. However, the benchmark data does not include any test that specifically measures memory-bound performance, so this advantage remains theoretical.

For users choosing between these two GPUs in a laptop or compact system, the Vega 8 Mobile offers better raw compute performance and newer API support. The R7 M460 may be preferable in a system with limited memory bandwidth, but the data shows it cannot match the Vega 8 Mobile in synthetic compute benchmarks.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every key specification. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile uses a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, while the AMD Radeon R7 M460 uses a 28 nm process from TSMC. Transistor count is 4,940 million versus 1,550 million, and die size is 210 mm² versus 125 mm². Transistor density is 23.5M per mm² versus 12.4M per mm².

Clock speeds differ significantly. The Vega 8 Mobile has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 1101 MHz. The R7 M460 has a base clock of 730 MHz and a boost clock of 1024 MHz. The Vega 8 Mobile’s boost clock is 77 MHz higher, but its base clock is 430 MHz lower.

Memory configurations are entirely different. The Vega 8 Mobile uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth. The R7 M460 has 2 GB of GDDR5, a 64-bit bus, and 36.00 GB/s bandwidth. The memory clock for the R7 M460 is 1125 MHz, which translates to 4.5 Gbps effective.

Compute resources favor the Vega 8 Mobile. It has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The R7 M460 has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The Vega 8 Mobile’s pixel rate is 8.808 GPixel/s versus 8.192 GPixel/s, texture rate is 35.23 GTexel/s versus 24.58 GTexel/s, and FP32 is 1,127.4 GFLOPS versus 786.4 GFLOPS. FP16 performance is 2.255 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 786.4 GFLOPS (1:1).

The bus interface differs: the Vega 8 Mobile is an IGP with no power connectors, while the R7 M460 uses PCIe 3.0 x8. TDP is 25 W for the Vega 8 Mobile, with no TDP listed for the R7 M460. Display outputs are "Portable Device Dependent" for the Vega 8 Mobile, with none listed for the R7 M460.

API support varies in DirectX and Vulkan. The Vega 8 Mobile supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. The R7 M460 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Release dates also differ. The Vega 8 Mobile was released on January 7, 2019, while the R7 M460 was released on May 14, 2016. Both are end-of-life. The Vega 8 Mobile’s predecessor is GCN 3.0 IGP and its successor is Navi II IGP. The R7 M460’s predecessor is Solar System and its successor is Polaris Mobile.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile wins in every benchmark category measured. It is 12.4% faster in Geekbench OpenCL, has a higher average benchmark score by 8.9%, and holds a higher percentile ranking. Its theoretical peak rates—pixel rate, texture rate, FP32, and FP16—are all superior. This makes it the better choice for compute-heavy tasks such as OpenCL rendering, Vulkan games, and general GPU-accelerated workloads.

The Vega 8 Mobile also wins on API support. DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3 are both newer than the R7 M460’s DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170. This may enable additional features in modern games and applications. Its higher transistor density and newer architecture suggest better power efficiency per unit of performance, though the 25 W TDP is the only power figure provided.

The AMD Radeon R7 M460’s only clear win is memory architecture. Its dedicated 2 GB GDDR5 with 36.00 GB/s bandwidth provides predictable, consistent memory performance that does not depend on the host system. In a system with slow or dual-channel memory, the R7 M460 could potentially outperform the Vega 8 Mobile in memory-bandwidth-bound scenarios. However, no benchmark data supports this claim directly.

The R7 M460 also has a higher base clock of 730 MHz versus 300 MHz, which may help in lightly loaded scenarios where boost clocks are not sustained. Its older 28 nm process and smaller die size mean it is a simpler, less complex chip, which could be advantageous in terms of driver maturity, though this is not measured in the data.

In summary, the Vega 8 Mobile is the winner for raw performance, API support, and compute capability. The R7 M460 is the winner for dedicated memory and potentially better performance in memory-constrained systems. For most users, the Vega 8 Mobile’s 12.4% performance advantage in the measured benchmark makes it the preferable choice.