AMD Radeon RX 460 vs Intel Arc A770M Comparison

The Intel Arc A770M and AMD Radeon RX 460 occupy the same position in the overall GPU percentile ranking, both sitting at the 62nd percentile against all GPUs. Their average benchmark scores are nearly identical, with the Arc A770M at 18,383 and the RX 460 at 18,373, a difference of just 0.1%. Despite this statistical tie, the two cards are generations apart in design philosophy, with the Arc A770M being a modern, high-end mobile part and the RX 460 being an older, entry-level desktop offering. The data reveals that while their aggregate scores align, their individual benchmark profiles tell a story of two very different performance landscapes.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits cleanly along generational and architectural lines. The Intel Arc A770M dominates in modern, compute-heavy and cross-platform API workloads. Its win count stands at 2 in the head-to-head comparisons provided, while the AMD Radeon RX 460 has 0 wins. The Arc A770M’s victories come in Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests, where it posts scores of 89,494 and 74,422 respectively. These are not marginal wins; the delta percentages are 401.2% and 268.5% respectively. This indicates that in raw compute throughput and modern graphics API performance, the Arc A770M is in a completely different league.

The AMD Radeon RX 460, conversely, finds its footing in legacy and lighter workloads. Its benchmark results include a Geekbench Metal score of 17,065, a Geekbench OpenCL score of 17,855, and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 20,198. While these numbers are far lower than the Arc A770M’s, they are the only benchmarks available for the RX 460. The data suggests the RX 460 is a card designed for a different era, where DirectX 11 and older titles were the norm. Its PassMark scores, while not directly compared in the head-to-head table, show a pattern: a DirectX 9 score of 178, a DirectX 10 score of 56, and a DirectX 11 score of 69. These lower scores indicate that the RX 460’s strengths lie in less demanding, older software environments, whereas the Arc A770M is built for modern, feature-rich applications.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast. The Intel Arc A770M is built on the Xe-HPG architecture, specifically the DG2-512 chip, using a 6 nm process at TSMC. This is a massive chip, containing 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 53.4 million per mm². The AMD Radeon RX 460 uses the GCN 4.0 architecture, with the Baffin chip, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The Baffin chip is far smaller, with 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, resulting in a density of 24.4 million per mm². The Arc A770M has over seven times the transistor count and more than three times the die area, which explains its significantly higher compute potential.

The memory subsystems are also starkly different. The Arc A770M features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 460 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This 4.5x difference in bandwidth is critical for high-resolution textures and compute tasks. Furthermore, the Arc A770M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 460 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. The Arc A770M also includes 32 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the RX 460, which has no RT cores listed. The RX 460 draws power from the slot only, with no external power connectors, and has a TDP of 75 W, while the Arc A770M is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with a 120 W TDP, designed for mobile platforms.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark data is unambiguous about the performance hierarchy. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Intel Arc A770M scores 89,494 against the AMD Radeon RX 460’s 17,855. This results in a delta of 401.2%, meaning the Arc A770M is roughly five times faster in this compute test. The Geekbench Vulkan test shows a similar story, with the Arc A770M scoring 74,422 and the RX 460 scoring 20,198, a delta of 268.5%. These are the only two direct comparisons available, and the Arc A770M wins both decisively.

The average benchmark scores, however, paint a more nuanced picture. The Arc A770M’s average of 18,383 is derived from a wide range of tests, including PassMark DirectX 9 (178), DirectX 10 (56), DirectX 11 (69), DirectX 12 (70), G2D (711), G3D (11,774), and GPU Compute (4,778). The RX 460’s average of 18,373 is based solely on three Geekbench tests. This discrepancy suggests that the average scores are not directly comparable, as they measure different things. The Arc A770M’s PassMark G3D score of 11,774 is notably strong, while its low DirectX 9 and 10 scores hint at driver or architectural inefficiencies in legacy APIs. The RX 460, with its higher legacy DirectX scores relative to its compute scores, appears more balanced for older software.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Arc A770M has a marginally higher average score of 18,383 compared to the AMD Radeon RX 460’s 18,373, a difference of 0.1%.

Q: How much faster is the Arc A770M in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The Arc A770M scores 89,494, which is 401.2% higher than the RX 460’s 17,855 in the same test.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX 460 support ray tracing?

A: No, the RX 460 has no ray tracing cores listed, while the Arc A770M includes 32 RT cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two?

A: The Arc A770M has a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s, while the RX 460 has 112.0 GB/s, a difference of 400 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The Intel Arc A770M has a transistor density of 53.4 million per mm², compared to the RX 460’s 24.4 million per mm².

Q: In which benchmark does the RX 460 perform relatively better?

A: The RX 460’s best relative performance is in legacy DirectX tests; its PassMark DirectX 9 score of 178 is higher than its DirectX 10 or 11 scores, though no direct comparison exists for these tests.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split in use cases. The Intel Arc A770M is the superior choice for modern, compute-intensive workloads and current-generation gaming APIs. Its 401.2% lead in OpenCL and 268.5% lead in Vulkan demonstrate a massive advantage in raw throughput and modern feature support. The inclusion of 32 ray tracing cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate makes it the only viable option for ray-traced content or future-proofing. Its 16 GB of memory and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth further cement its position for high-resolution textures and large datasets.

The AMD Radeon RX 460, while far behind in raw performance, remains relevant for a specific niche. Its low 75 W TDP, lack of external power connectors, and dual-slot design make it a simple, low-power solution for basic desktop tasks. Its performance in legacy DirectX 9 and 10 workloads, as indicated by its PassMark scores, suggests it can handle older games and applications without issue. However, its 2 GB of memory and 112.0 GB/s bandwidth are severe limitations for modern titles. For users with a strict focus on contemporary software, the Arc A770M is the clear winner. For those running older software on a minimal power budget, the RX 460 serves a purpose, but the data overwhelmingly favors the Intel part in any performance comparison.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two GPUs:

• Chip: Intel DG2-512 vs AMD Baffin
• Architecture: Intel Xe-HPG vs AMD GCN 4.0
• Process Node: Intel 6 nm vs AMD 14 nm
• Foundry: Intel TSMC vs AMD GlobalFoundries
• Transistors: Intel 21,700 million vs AMD 3,000 million
• Die Size: Intel 406 mm² vs AMD 123 mm²
• Transistor Density: Intel 53.4M / mm² vs AMD 24.4M / mm²
• Base Clock: Intel 1650 MHz vs AMD 1090 MHz
• Boost Clock: Intel 2050 MHz vs AMD 1200 MHz
• Memory Clock: Intel 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) vs AMD 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective)
• Memory Size: Intel 16 GB vs AMD 2 GB
• Memory Type: Intel GDDR6 vs AMD GDDR5
• Memory Bus Width: Intel 256 bit vs AMD 128 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: Intel 512.0 GB/s vs AMD 112.0 GB/s
• Shading Units: Intel 4096 vs AMD 896
• TMUs: Intel 256 vs AMD 56
• ROPs: Intel 128 vs AMD 16
• RT Cores: Intel 32 vs AMD None
• Pixel Rate: Intel 262.4 GPixel/s vs AMD 19.20 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: Intel 524.8 GTexel/s vs AMD 67.20 GTexel/s
• FP32 Performance: Intel 16.79 TFLOPS vs AMD 2.150 TFLOPS
• FP16 Performance: Intel 33.59 TFLOPS (2:1) vs AMD 2.150 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: Intel 120 W vs AMD 75 W
• Slot Width: Intel IGP vs AMD Dual-slot
• Power Connectors: Intel None vs AMD None
• Suggested PSU: Intel None vs AMD 250 W
• Bus Interface: Intel PCIe 4.0 x16 vs AMD PCIe 3.0 x8
• Display Outputs: Intel Portable Device Dependent vs AMD 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a
• DirectX Support: Intel 12 Ultimate (12_2) vs AMD 12 (12_0)
• Vulkan Support: Intel 1.4 vs AMD 1.3
• Release Date: Intel None vs AMD 2016-08-07
• Predecessor: Intel None vs AMD Pirate Islands
• Successor: Intel None vs AMD Polaris