AMD Radeon R7 M460 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M and AMD Radeon R7 M460 are two mobile GPUs from different eras, and the benchmark data shows a clear performance gap. The GTX 680M, built on the Kepler architecture, delivers a significantly higher average benchmark score of 7023 compared to the R7 M460's 6612. This places the NVIDIA part in the 39th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD part sits just one percentile lower at 38th. In the direct head-to-head comparison, the GTX 680M wins the only shared test, Geekbench OpenCL, with a score of 9230 against 6612, a decisive 39.6% advantage.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the head-to-head benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M wins the only shared test, Geekbench OpenCL, with a score of 9230 compared to the AMD Radeon R7 M460's 6612. This represents a 39.6% performance delta in favor of the NVIDIA card.

Q: How do these GPUs compare to their closest rivals?

A: The GTX 680M's average score of 7023 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA T600's 7035, a negligible 0.2% difference. It is also 1.1% ahead of the GeForce GTX 675M and 1.9% behind the GeForce GTX 970. The R7 M460's average score of 6612 puts it 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon HD 7730M and 1.5% ahead of the GeForce GTX 670M, but 1.3% behind the GeForce GT 1010.

Q: What are the key memory specifications for each card?

A: The GTX 680M features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 115.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The R7 M460 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 64-bit bus, providing 36.00 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Do these GPUs support modern graphics APIs?

A: Both support DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6. The GTX 680M supports Vulkan 1.2.175, while the R7 M460 supports Vulkan 1.2.170. Note that the GTX 680M's DirectX 12 support is at the 11_0 feature level, whereas the R7 M460 is at 12_0.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density despite having fewer transistors?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M460 has a slightly higher transistor density of 12.4M / mm², despite having 1,550 million transistors on a 125 mm² die. The GTX 680M has 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, resulting in a density of 12.0M / mm².

Q: What is the production status of these two GPUs?

A: Both the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M and the AMD Radeon R7 M460 are marked as End-of-life products.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is substantial. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M is built on the Kepler architecture using the GK104 chip, while the AMD Radeon R7 M460 uses the GCN 3.0 architecture with the Meso chip. Both are manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the similarities end there. The GTX 680M is a much larger and more complex chip, with 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. In contrast, the R7 M460 has 1,550 million transistors on a 125 mm² die. The transistor density is nearly identical, 12.0M / mm² for NVIDIA and 12.4M / mm² for AMD, but the sheer scale of the NVIDIA chip provides a massive resource advantage.

This is reflected in the core counts. The GTX 680M has 1344 shading units, 112 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 raster operations pipelines (ROPs). The R7 M460 is far more modest, with 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The GTX 680M also has a much wider 256-bit memory bus, compared to the R7 M460's 64-bit bus. The feature sets are also distinct; the R7 M460 supports DirectX 12 at the 12_0 feature level, while the GTX 680M is limited to the 11_0 feature level despite being listed as DirectX 12 compatible.

The clock behavior differs as well. The R7 M460 has a base clock of 730 MHz and a boost clock of 1024 MHz, while the GTX 680M operates at a lower 719 MHz base and 758 MHz boost. Despite the higher boost clock on the AMD part, the NVIDIA card's superior core count and memory bandwidth are overwhelming factors in its performance lead.

The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture for a builder choosing between these two mobile GPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M is the dominant performer in every measurable way in the benchmark data. Its average benchmark score of 7023 is 6.2% higher than the R7 M460's 6612, and its Geekbench OpenCL score is a full 39.6% higher. The GTX 680M also offers more memory, 4 GB versus 2 GB, and significantly more memory bandwidth, 115.2 GB/s versus 36.00 GB/s.

For any user prioritizing raw graphics performance, the GTX 680M is the unequivocal choice based on the available data. The only areas where the R7 M460 shows a technical edge are its higher boost clock, its support for DirectX 12 at the 12_0 feature level, and its higher transistor density. However, none of these translate into a benchmark victory. The R7 M460's only benchmark result, Geekbench OpenCL, is 2618 points lower than the GTX 680M's score on the same test.

In summary, if the task is to pick a GPU for demanding graphical workloads, the GTX 680M is the clear winner. The R7 M460 might be a consideration for a system that requires a newer DirectX feature level or a smaller die, but from a pure performance standpoint, the data consistently favors the NVIDIA product.

Specification Differences

The following table highlights the key specifications where the two GPUs differ, based on the provided data.

• Chip: GK104 (NVIDIA) vs Meso (AMD)
• Architecture: Kepler (NVIDIA) vs GCN 3.0 (AMD)
• Transistors: 3,540 million (NVIDIA) vs 1,550 million (AMD)
• Die Size: 294 mm² (NVIDIA) vs 125 mm² (AMD)
• Base Clock: 719 MHz (NVIDIA) vs 730 MHz (AMD)
• Boost Clock: 758 MHz (NVIDIA) vs 1024 MHz (AMD)
• Memory Size: 4 GB (NVIDIA) vs 2 GB (AMD)
• Memory Bus Width: 256 bit (NVIDIA) vs 64 bit (AMD)
• Memory Bandwidth: 115.2 GB/s (NVIDIA) vs 36.00 GB/s (AMD)
• Memory Clock: 3.6 Gbps effective (NVIDIA) vs 4.5 Gbps effective (AMD)
• Shading Units: 1344 (NVIDIA) vs 384 (AMD)
• TMUs: 112 (NVIDIA) vs 24 (AMD)
• ROPs: 32 (NVIDIA) vs 8 (AMD)
• Pixel Rate: 21.22 GPixel/s (NVIDIA) vs 8.192 GPixel/s (AMD)
• Texture Rate: 84.90 GTexel/s (NVIDIA) vs 24.58 GTexel/s (AMD)
• FP32 Performance: 2.038 TFLOPS (NVIDIA) vs 786.4 GFLOPS (AMD)
• FP16 Performance: Not provided (NVIDIA) vs 786.4 GFLOPS (AMD)
• TDP: 100 W (NVIDIA) vs Not provided (AMD)
• Bus Interface: MXM-B (3.0) (NVIDIA) vs PCIe 3.0 x8 (AMD)
• DirectX Support: 12 (11_0) (NVIDIA) vs 12 (12_0) (AMD)
• Vulkan Support: 1.2.175 (NVIDIA) vs 1.2.170 (AMD)

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this test, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M scores 9230, while the AMD Radeon R7 M460 scores 6612. The GTX 680M wins this test with a delta of 39.6%.

This result is a strong indicator of the overall performance difference. The GTX 680M's score is not only higher but also closer to its average benchmark score of 7023, suggesting it scales well under this workload. The R7 M460's OpenCL score of 6612 is exactly its average score, indicating this test is representative of its overall performance level. The 2618-point gap between the two on this single test is larger than the entire average score of many low-end GPUs and highlights the significant computational advantage held by the Kepler-based NVIDIA chip.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the data, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M wins in the single benchmark category where both are tested. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 9230 is substantially higher, and its average benchmark score of 7023 also surpasses the R7 M460's 6612. The GTX 680M also holds clear advantages in memory capacity, memory bandwidth, texture fill rate, pixel fill rate, and raw FP32 compute power.

The AMD Radeon R7 M460 does not win any benchmark tests. However, it does have technical specifications that could be considered advantages in specific scenarios. Its higher boost clock of 1024 MHz could theoretically benefit lightly-threaded workloads that are clock-bound. Its support for DirectX 12 at the 12_0 feature level is a more modern implementation, which could be relevant for certain titles or features that require that specific feature level. Additionally, its lower transistor count and smaller die size suggest it may be a more power-efficient part, though the TDP is not provided to confirm this. There are no benchmark wins for the R7 M460 to report, so its advantages are purely theoretical based on specifications.