AMD Radeon R9 M375X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it shows a clear, if modest, victory for the AMD Radeon R9 M375X. The AMD card scores 8273 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 trails at 7925 points. That translates to a 4.4% delta in favor of the R9 M375X. In practical terms, this is a narrow margin—not a generational gap, but a consistent edge that will appear in compute workloads.

The broader benchmark averages reinforce this positioning. The R9 M375X holds an average benchmark score of 8325, placing it in the 43rd percentile of all GPUs. The GTX 460’s average is 7925, which lands it in the 41st percentile. The difference in percentile ranking is small, but the data shows the AMD part is the stronger of the two in raw compute throughput. When you look at the nearest rivals for each card, the picture becomes more nuanced. The R9 M375X sits just 0.7% above the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 (8265) and 1.2% below the GeForce GTX 675MX (8427). The GTX 460, by comparison, is 0.2% above the Quadro K4100M (7906) and 1.4% below both the Quadro P5000 (8039) and GTX 880M (8040). What this tells you is that neither card is a standout in its class; both are mid-pack performers that trade blows with similarly aged hardware.

One important caveat: the GTX 460 only has a single Geekbench OpenCL score in the data, while the R9 M375X has two benchmark entries, including a Vulkan score of 8377. That Vulkan result is notably higher than its OpenCL score, suggesting the AMD card scales better with modern APIs. The GTX 460 has no Vulkan score listed, which means you cannot directly compare their modern-API performance. Still, based strictly on the numbers available, the R9 M375X wins the only head-to-head contest, and its average score is 5.0% higher than the GTX 460’s single result.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R9 M375X wins in raw compute performance, as demonstrated by its 4.4% lead in OpenCL and its higher average benchmark score. It also has the advantage in modern API support, with a Vulkan score of 8377 that exceeds its OpenCL score. This suggests that applications leveraging Vulkan will see better performance than the OpenCL baseline. The R9 M375X also offers a more recent feature set, being built on GCN 1.0 architecture, which typically handles compute workloads more efficiently than older Fermi designs.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 does not win any benchmark in the head-to-head comparison. However, it does have strengths in other areas that the data supports. It offers higher memory bandwidth at 86.40 GB/s compared to the AMD’s 72.00 GB/s, which can benefit certain bandwidth-sensitive workloads. It also has a wider memory bus (192-bit vs 128-bit) and more ROPs (24 vs 16), which historically helps with fill-rate-bound scenarios. The GTX 460’s pixel rate of 9.450 GPixel/s is lower than the AMD’s 16.24 GPixel/s, and its texture rate of 37.80 GTexel/s is also slightly behind the AMD’s 40.60 GTexel/s. So while the NVIDIA card has theoretical bandwidth advantages, the AMD card wins on pixel and texture throughput. In practice, the R9 M375X is the better choice for compute-heavy tasks, while the GTX 460 might hold its own in older games that favor memory bandwidth over raw shader throughput.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural eras, and the data makes that clear. The AMD Radeon R9 M375X is built on GCN 1.0 architecture using a 28 nm process at TSMC. The chip, codenamed Tropo, packs 1,500 million transistors into a 123 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 uses the Fermi architecture on a much older 40 nm process, also from TSMC. Its GF104 chip contains 1,950 million transistors on a 332 mm² die, giving a transistor density of just 5.9 million per square millimeter. The density difference is stark: the AMD chip is far more efficient in terms of transistors per area, which reflects the newer manufacturing process.

The compute configurations differ significantly. The R9 M375X has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The GTX 460 has 336 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. So AMD has nearly double the shader count, while NVIDIA has more TMUs and ROPs. This explains the benchmark results: the AMD card’s higher shader count gives it an edge in parallel compute workloads, while the NVIDIA card’s extra ROPs and TMUs could help in traditional rasterization. The FP32 performance tells a similar story—the R9 M375X delivers 1,299.2 GFLOPS, while the GTX 460 delivers 907.2 GFLOPS. That is a 43.2% advantage for AMD in raw floating-point throughput.

Memory configurations also diverge. The R9 M375X comes with 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, running at 1125 MHz with 4.5 Gbps effective speed. The GTX 460 has 768 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, running at 900 MHz with 3.6 Gbps effective speed. Despite the smaller bus, the NVIDIA card achieves higher bandwidth (86.40 GB/s vs 72.00 GB/s) because of its wider interface. The AMD card’s larger frame buffer is a clear advantage for modern games that require more than 1 GB of VRAM, while the GTX 460’s 768 MB is a severe limitation by today’s standards. The bus interface also differs: the R9 M375X uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the GTX 460 uses PCIe 2.0 x16. For API support, both cards list DirectX 12, but the AMD supports 12 (11_1) while the NVIDIA supports 12 (11_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but only the AMD card lists Vulkan support (version 1.2.170); the GTX 460 has no Vulkan support listed.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M375X scores 8273 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 4.4% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460’s score of 7925.

Q: Does the GTX 460 support Vulkan?

A: No. The GTX 460 has no Vulkan support listed in the data. The R9 M375X supports Vulkan version 1.2.170.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M375X has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 has 768 MB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 has higher memory bandwidth at 86.40 GB/s, compared to the AMD Radeon R9 M375X’s 72.00 GB/s.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M375X has a transistor density of 12.2 million per mm², while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 has a density of 5.9 million per mm².

Q: Is the GTX 460 a dual-slot card?

A: Yes, the GTX 460 is a dual-slot card with a length of 210 mm (8.3 inches) and requires two 6-pin power connectors.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the data, the AMD Radeon R9 M375X is the better choice for most users. It wins the only available head-to-head benchmark by 4.4%, has a higher average benchmark score (8325 vs 7925), and sits in a slightly higher percentile ranking (43rd vs 41st). Its 2 GB frame buffer is double the GTX 460’s 768 MB, which is critical for any modern workload. The AMD card also supports Vulkan, which the NVIDIA card lacks entirely, making it more future-proof for current software. The R9 M375X’s higher FP32 performance (1,299.2 GFLOPS vs 907.2 GFLOPS) and pixel rate (16.24 GPixel/s vs 9.450 GPixel/s) further cement its advantage in compute and fill-rate tasks.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 is the pick only if you specifically need higher memory bandwidth (86.40 GB/s vs 72.00 GB/s) or more ROPs (24 vs 16). It also has a wider memory bus (192-bit vs 128-bit), which can help in bandwidth-bound legacy titles. However, its 768 MB VRAM is a hard ceiling for modern games, and its lack of Vulkan support is a dealbreaker for many current applications. The GTX 460 does have a lower power draw per the TDP of 160 W, but the R9 M375X has no TDP listed, so no direct comparison is possible. In almost every measurable way that matters for contemporary use, the R9 M375X is the superior card. If you are building a system today, the AMD part is the rational choice. If you are specifically revisiting an older build where the GTX 460’s bandwidth profile is relevant, it can still serve, but the data does not favor it.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon R9 M375X | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Fermi |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 1,500 million | 1,950 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 332 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.2M / mm² | 5.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 925 MHz | Not listed |

| Boost Clock | 1015 MHz | Not listed |

| Memory Clock | 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective) | 900 MHz (3.6 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 768 MB |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 72.00 GB/s | 86.40 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 640 | 336 |

| TMUs | 40 | 56 |

| ROPs | 16 | 24 |

| Pixel Rate | 16.24 GPixel/s | 9.450 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 40.60 GTexel/s | 37.80 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 1,299.2 GFLOPS | 907.2 GFLOPS |

| TDP | Not listed | 160 W |

| Slot Width | Not listed | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | Not listed | 2x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not listed | 450 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Not listed | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_1) | 12 (11_0) |

| OpenGL Support | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | Not listed |

| Length | Not listed | 210 mm (8.3 inches) |

| Release Date | 2015-05-04 | 2010-07-11 |

| Launch MSRP | Not listed | 199 USD |