AMD Radeon R7 M460 vs NVIDIA Quadro K620 Comparison

The Verdict

The data presents a close contest between two end-of-life mobile and professional graphics solutions. The NVIDIA Quadro K620 edges out the AMD Radeon R7 M460 in the single available head-to-head benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, by a margin of 1.2 percent (6612 vs 6693). This slim advantage, however, does not tell the entire story. The AMD part holds a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs (38th percentile vs 36th), indicating that its average performance across a broader set of conditions is slightly more favorable. For users prioritizing the latest API support, the R7 M460 offers DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170, whereas the Quadro K620 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.4. The K620 counters with a lower 45 W TDP, a single-slot form factor, and no external power connectors, making it a more straightforward fit for compact professional workstations. The choice hinges on whether the user needs the R7 M460's superior API compliance or the K620's professional-oriented features and lower power draw.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon R7 M460 is built on the GCN 3.0 architecture, using the Meso chip, and is part of the Gem System (R7 M400) generation. In contrast, the NVIDIA Quadro K620 employs the Maxwell architecture with the GM107 chip, belonging to the Quadro Kepler (Kx200) generation. Both are fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the K620's die is larger at 148 mm² compared to the R7 M460's 125 mm². The transistor counts also differ, with the K620 housing 1,870 million transistors versus 1,550 million on the R7 M460, resulting in nearly identical transistor densities (12.6M / mm² vs 12.4M / mm²).

Memory configurations present a significant divergence. The R7 M460 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 36.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The K620 also has 2 GB, but it is DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 28.80 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the GDDR5 memory on the AMD part provides higher bandwidth. Clock speeds favor the NVIDIA card: the K620 runs at a base of 1058 MHz and boosts to 1124 MHz, while the R7 M460 operates at a base of 730 MHz and boosts to 1024 MHz. The memory clocks also differ, with the R7 M460 at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective) and the K620 at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective).

Core counts are identical in shading units (384) and TMUs (24), but the ROP count differs substantially: the K620 has 16 ROPs versus only 8 on the R7 M460. This drives a large gap in pixel rate, with the K620 at 17.98 GPixel/s compared to 8.192 GPixel/s for the R7 M460. Texture rates are closer, with the K620 at 26.98 GTexel/s and the R7 M460 at 24.58 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is also slightly higher on the K620 at 863.2 GFLOPS versus 786.4 GFLOPS. The K620 supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, while the R7 M460 does not list FP16 support. API support is a key differentiator: the R7 M460 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the K620 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) but offers Vulkan 1.4. The bus interface also differs, with the R7 M460 using PCIe 3.0 x8 and the K620 using PCIe 2.0 x16.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the NVIDIA Quadro K620 wins with a score of 6693 against the AMD Radeon R7 M460's 6612. This represents a 1.2 percent advantage for the K620, a margin that falls within typical run-to-run variance for such benchmarks. The data shows the K620's higher clock speeds and greater ROP count contribute to this edge, but the R7 M460's superior memory bandwidth (36.00 GB/s vs 28.80 GB/s) helps keep the gap narrow.

Contextualizing these scores against nearest rivals provides additional perspective. The R7 M460's score of 6612 places it 0.5 percent ahead of the AMD Radeon HD 7730M (6581) and 0.9 percent ahead of the Intel UHD Graphics P750 (6554). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 (6698) by 1.3 percent and sits 1.5 percent above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (6513). The K620's score of 6693 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti SUPER (6270) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER AD102 (6270), both showing a delta of 0.2 percent, though those rivals score lower. The K620 is 0.7 percent ahead of the AMD Radeon R7 M350 (6327) and 0.8 percent ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 (6330). These results indicate that both GPUs sit in a crowded performance band where small architectural differences translate into minor benchmark deltas.

The K620 also has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 5870, which the R7 M460 lacks, suggesting the NVIDIA card has been validated for at least one modern API workload. However, the R7 M460's Vulkan 1.2.170 support in its API list indicates broader version compliance, even if no Vulkan benchmark score is available for it.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M460 has higher memory bandwidth at 36.00 GB/s, thanks to its GDDR5 memory on a 64-bit bus, compared to the NVIDIA Quadro K620's 28.80 GB/s from DDR3 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: What is the difference in pixel fill rate?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K620 has more than double the pixel rate of the AMD Radeon R7 M460: 17.98 GPixel/s versus 8.192 GPixel/s. This is driven by the K620's 16 ROPs compared to the R7 M460's 8 ROPs.

Q: Which GPU supports newer DirectX and Vulkan versions?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M460 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA Quadro K620 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) but supports Vulkan 1.4, which is a newer specification.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M460 has an average benchmark score of 6612, while the NVIDIA Quadro K620 has an average of 6282. The R7 M460 also holds a higher percentile rank at 38 versus 36 for the K620.

Q: What are the power and physical requirements of the NVIDIA Quadro K620?

A: The K620 has a 45 W TDP, is single-slot, requires no external power connectors, and suggests a 200 W power supply. Its dimensions are 160 mm (6.3 inches) in length and 69 mm (2.7 inches) in height.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K620 has a higher boost clock at 1124 MHz, compared to the AMD Radeon R7 M460's boost of 1024 MHz. The base clocks are 1058 MHz and 730 MHz, respectively.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro K620 wins in several objective hardware categories. Its pixel rate is dramatically higher (17.98 GPixel/s vs 8.192 GPixel/s), which suggests strong performance in fill-rate-bound workloads such as high-resolution rendering or heavy post-processing filters. Its texture rate is also higher (26.98 GTexel/s vs 24.58 GTexel/s), and it leads in FP32 compute (863.2 GFLOPS vs 786.4 GFLOPS). The K620's lower 45 W TDP and lack of external power connectors make it more suitable for power-constrained or compact systems. Its single-slot design and short length (160 mm) further enhance its install flexibility. The K620 also offers a Vulkan benchmark score (5870) and supports Vulkan 1.4, giving it an edge in the latest Vulkan API version compliance.

The AMD Radeon R7 M460 wins in memory bandwidth (36.00 GB/s vs 28.80 GB/s) and in API compliance for DirectX 12 (12_0), which is a higher feature level than the K620's 12 (11_0). Its Vulkan support is version 1.2.170, which is lower than the K620's 1.4, but the R7 M460's DirectX advantage is notable for gaming or compute workloads that leverage the newer feature set. The R7 M460 also has a higher percentile ranking (38 vs 36) and a higher average benchmark score (6612 vs 6282), indicating that across a broader benchmark suite, it may perform more consistently. Its faster memory could benefit bandwidth-sensitive tasks like texture streaming or certain compute kernels, partially offsetting the K620's raw compute lead.

In terms of the head-to-head Geekbench OpenCL result, the K620 wins by 1.2 percent, but the R7 M460's higher average score and percentile suggest that the K620's win may be specific to that workload. Users targeting OpenCL performance in professional applications may favor the K620, while those needing the latest DirectX 12 features or higher memory bandwidth might prefer the R7 M460. The K620's additional Vulkan benchmark score provides an extra data point for Vulkan-based workloads, which the R7 M460 lacks entirely. Ultimately, the K620 is the stronger choice for fill-rate-bound and power-sensitive professional use, while the R7 M460 is better suited for API-forward workloads and bandwidth-heavy tasks.