AMD Radeon R8 M445DX vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single head-to-head benchmark between these two mobile graphics processors, and the result is a clear, if modest, victory for the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD part scores 4,727 points against 4,282 points for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M. That works out to a 10.4% advantage for the newer AMD chip, a meaningful gap in raw compute throughput for applications that leverage OpenCL acceleration.

The win is not merely a matter of clock speed or core count, as the architecture differences below show. The R8 M445DX lands at the 27th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the GTX 460M sits at the 25th percentile. That two-percentile spread reflects the performance gap, but also shows both parts are firmly in the lower tier of the performance spectrum. The AMD chip's score of 4,727 places it within striking distance of several familiar rivals in the database. It sits just 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon R5 M335 (4,752 points) and 1.3% behind the AMD Radeon R5 M255 (4,788 points). Interestingly, it also edges out the NVIDIA Quadro P400 by 0.9% (4,684 points) and trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB by only 1.3% (4,791 points), a data point that underscores how far compute-oriented benchmarks can compress the gap between very different classes of hardware.

On the NVIDIA side, the GTX 460M's 4,282 points place it 0.3% behind the AMD FirePro W2100 (4,295 points) and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon Vega 3 (4,268 points). It is also 1% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K3000M (4,241 points) and 1.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 (4,335 points). The delta percentages are small across the board, which means the GTX 460M is clustered with a group of low-power mobile and entry-level workstation parts. The 10.4% delta between the two head-to-head contenders is the largest single gap in either chip's nearest-rival list, reinforcing that the AMD part holds a genuine edge in this specific test.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different design eras and philosophies. The AMD Radeon R8 M445DX is built on the GCN 3.0 architecture, using the Meso chip, and it belongs to the Gem System Hybrid generation under the Rx M400 family. NVIDIA's GTX 460M uses the Fermi architecture with the GF106 chip, part of the GeForce 400M generation. The process technology tells part of the story: AMD's chip is fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, while the NVIDIA part uses a 40 nm process, also at TSMC. The newer, smaller process node gives AMD a significant density advantage. The R8 M445DX packs 1,550 million transistors into a 125 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.4 million per square millimeter. The GTX 460M has 1,170 million transistors spread across a much larger 238 mm² die, for a density of just 4.9 million per square millimeter. The AMD chip is both denser and more efficient in terms of die area per transistor.

The compute resources are organized very differently. AMD's chip fields 320 shading units, 20 texture mapping units, and 8 render output units. NVIDIA's Fermi part counters with 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The AMD part has more shaders, but the NVIDIA chip has more texture units and three times the ROP count. These ratios explain the fill-rate figures: the R8 M445DX achieves 8.168 GPixel/s in pixel rate and 20.42 GTexel/s in texture rate, while the GTX 460M hits 5.400 GPixel/s and 21.60 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA part actually has a slight edge in texture throughput, but AMD wins decisively in pixel fill. In raw floating-point compute, the AMD chip delivers 653.4 GFLOPS FP32, against 518.4 GFLOPS for the NVIDIA part. The AMD chip also supports FP16 at the same 653.4 GFLOPS rate with a 1:1 ratio, a feature the Fermi architecture does not expose in the database.

Memory subsystems are fundamentally different. The AMD R8 M445DX uses system-shared memory, with the type, bus width, and bandwidth all marked as system dependent. That means its memory performance is tied to the host laptop's RAM configuration, not a dedicated pool. The GTX 460M has a dedicated 1536 MB GDDR5 frame buffer on a 192-bit bus, delivering 60.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is listed at 625 MHz with 2.5 Gbps effective data rate. For workloads that depend on dedicated VRAM, the NVIDIA part has an inherent advantage; for compute tasks that can use unified memory access, the AMD part's flexibility may help. The AMD chip's bandwidth is simply recorded as "System Dependent," which makes direct comparison impossible, but the dedicated 60 GB/s on the NVIDIA side is a fixed, known quantity.

API support differs in notable ways. Both parts support DirectX 12, but the AMD chip lists 12 (12_0) while the NVIDIA part lists 12 (11_0), indicating a lower feature level on the Fermi part. OpenGL support is identical at 4.6. The AMD chip adds Vulkan 1.2.170 support, while the NVIDIA part has no Vulkan entry in the database. The AMD chip also has a higher boost clock of 1021 MHz with a base clock of 780 MHz, while the NVIDIA part's core clocks are not recorded in the database. The NVIDIA part draws a rated 50 W TDP, while the AMD chip's TDP is not listed.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the recorded benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon R8 M445DX wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with 4,727 points against 4,282 points for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M, a 10.4% advantage.

Q: How does the AMD chip compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The R8 M445DX is 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon R5 M335, 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro P400, 1.3% behind the AMD Radeon R5 M255, and 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB.

Q: What memory configuration does each GPU use?

A: The AMD R8 M445DX uses system-shared memory with a system-dependent bus width and bandwidth. The NVIDIA GTX 460M has 1536 MB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus with 60.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GPU have any architectural advantages?

A: Yes, the GTX 460M has 32 texture mapping units versus 20 on the AMD chip, and 24 ROPs versus 8. It also has a slightly higher texture rate of 21.60 GTexel/s compared to 20.42 GTexel/s.

Q: Which GPU supports more modern graphics APIs?

A: The AMD R8 M445DX supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the NVIDIA GTX 460M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6 but has no Vulkan support listed.

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

A: The AMD chip has a density of 12.4 million transistors per square millimeter on a 28 nm process, while the NVIDIA chip has 4.9 million per square millimeter on a 40 nm process.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs diverge across nearly every major specification category. The AMD Radeon R8 M445DX uses the GCN 3.0 architecture with the Meso chip, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M uses Fermi with the GF106 chip. Process nodes differ: 28 nm for AMD versus 40 nm for NVIDIA. Transistor counts are 1,550 million versus 1,170 million, and die sizes are 125 mm² versus 238 mm², leading to densities of 12.4M/mm² and 4.9M/mm² respectively.

Core configuration differs substantially. The AMD part has 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The NVIDIA part has 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. Clock speeds are only recorded for the AMD chip: 780 MHz base and 1021 MHz boost. The NVIDIA chip's core clocks are not listed. Memory is system shared on the AMD side, while the NVIDIA part uses 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus with 60.00 GB/s bandwidth. Pixel rates are 8.168 GPixel/s for AMD and 5.400 GPixel/s for NVIDIA. Texture rates are 20.42 GTexel/s versus 21.60 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 653.4 GFLOPS versus 518.4 GFLOPS; the AMD chip also has FP16 at 653.4 GFLOPS with 1:1 ratio, while the NVIDIA part has no FP16 entry.

Power and physical specifications differ. The NVIDIA chip has a rated TDP of 50 W, while the AMD chip's TDP is not recorded. The AMD part is an IGP with a slot width of IGP and bus interface of IGP, while the NVIDIA part is an MXM Module with a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface and no power connectors. API support: AMD lists DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170; NVIDIA lists DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6. Release dates are far apart: the AMD chip came out on 2016-05-14, while the NVIDIA chip launched on 2010-09-02. The NVIDIA part has a predecessor (GeForce 300M) and successor (GeForce 500M), while the AMD part has neither listed.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R8 M445DX wins in raw compute throughput, as the 10.4% OpenCL benchmark lead demonstrates. Its higher FP32 rating of 653.4 GFLOPS and greater shading unit count (320 versus 192) make it the stronger choice for general-purpose compute workloads, including OpenCL-accelerated applications. The AMD chip also has a clear advantage in pixel fill rate, 8.168 GPixel/s versus 5.400 GPixel/s, which benefits tasks that involve heavy fragment processing or compositing. The modern API support, including Vulkan 1.2.170 and DirectX 12 (12_0), gives it broader compatibility with contemporary software. The 28 nm process and higher transistor density suggest better power efficiency per unit of performance, though the database does not record a TDP for the AMD part to confirm this. The system-shared memory architecture could be an advantage in unified memory configurations, where the GPU can access the full system memory pool without a dedicated VRAM transfer bottleneck.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M wins in dedicated graphics memory, with 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus delivering a fixed 60.00 GB/s of bandwidth. For gaming and applications that rely on dedicated VRAM, this is a meaningful advantage over a system-shared design, where bandwidth depends on the host platform. The NVIDIA chip also has more texture units (32 versus 20) and a higher texture rate (21.60 GTexel/s versus 20.42 GTexel/s), making it slightly stronger for texture-heavy workloads. The ROP count of 24 versus 8 suggests the NVIDIA part can handle certain rasterization tasks more efficiently, even though its overall pixel rate is lower. The 50 W TDP is the only recorded power figure, giving the NVIDIA part a known power envelope for system designers. The MXM Module form factor and PCIe 2.0 x16 interface make it a discrete, replaceable component, whereas the AMD part is an integrated GPU with no upgrade path. For legacy software that was optimized for Fermi-era NVIDIA drivers, the GTX 460M may hold compatibility advantages, though the database does not quantify this.

The benchmark verdict is straightforward: the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX is the faster part in compute-oriented tests, but the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M retains niche advantages in dedicated memory bandwidth and texture throughput. Users with workloads that fit the AMD chip's strengths will see a measurable performance gain; users who need fixed VRAM and discrete graphics will prefer the NVIDIA option despite its lower compute score.