AMD Radeon RX 560 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Comparison

The benchmark data shows a decisive generational shift: the AMD Radeon RX 560 outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 by a massive margin in the only shared test, with a 70.3% higher score in Geekbench OpenCL (16,472 vs 4,893). While the GTS 450 sits at the 28th percentile of all GPUs and the RX 560 at the 26th, this ranking similarity is misleading; the RX 560’s average benchmark score of 4,569 is dragged down by its other tests, whereas the GTS 450 has only one recorded score. The RX 560 is the clear winner on every meaningful metric, from raw compute to memory bandwidth, and represents a complete rethinking of what a low-power GPU can do.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in the only direct benchmark comparison?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 560 wins the sole head-to-head test, Geekbench OpenCL, with a score of 16,472 versus the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450’s 4,893. The deltaPct is -70.3% from the GTS 450’s perspective, meaning the RX 560 is roughly 3.4 times faster in this workload.

Q: How do their overall percentile rankings compare?

A: The GTS 450 is at the 28th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 560 is at the 26th percentile. Despite the RX 560’s dominant head-to-head win, its average benchmark score of 4,569 is lower than the GTS 450’s 4,893, because the RX 560’s average includes several lower-scoring Passmark tests.

Q: What are their closest rivals according to the data?

A: For the GTS 450, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB (avg score 4,901, deltaPct -0.2%), followed by the AMD FirePro W5130M (4,904, -0.2%). For the RX 560, the closest is the AMD Radeon R5 M230 (4,577, -0.2%) and the Intel HD Graphics P530 (4,560, +0.2%).

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The GTS 450 has 1024 MB (1 GB) of GDDR5 memory, while the RX 560 has 4 GB of GDDR5. Both use a 128-bit bus, but the RX 560’s memory runs at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus the GTS 450’s 902 MHz (3.6 Gbps effective).

Q: Which card has higher texture and pixel fill rates?

A: The RX 560 dominates in both. It has a texture rate of 81.60 GTexel/s versus 25.06 GTexel/s on the GTS 450, and a pixel rate of 20.40 GPixel/s versus 6.264 GPixel/s. This indicates the RX 560 can handle far more complex scenes.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The GTS 450 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the RX 560 supports DirectX 12 (12_0). The RX 560 also supports Vulkan 1.3, whereas the GTS 450 has no Vulkan support listed.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two cards is vast. The GTS 450 is built on NVIDIA’s Fermi architecture using the GF106 chip, fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It packs 1,170 million transistors into a 238 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 4.9M / mm². In contrast, the RX 560 uses AMD’s GCN 4.0 architecture with the Polaris 21 chip, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It contains 3,000 million transistors on a much smaller 123 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 24.4M / mm² — roughly five times denser.

The compute resources tell a similar story. The GTS 450 has 192 shading units, 32 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 raster output units (ROPs). The RX 560 massively increases the shading units to 1,024 and doubles the TMUs to 64, while keeping 16 ROPs. This translates directly to compute performance: the RX 560 delivers 2.611 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, compared to just 601.3 GFLOPS on the GTS 450. The RX 560 also matches its FP32 with 2.611 TFLOPS of FP16, while the GTS 450 has no listed FP16 capability.

Memory architecture also differs significantly. Both cards use a 128-bit bus, but the RX 560’s memory clock of 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) provides 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth, nearly double the GTS 450’s 57.73 GB/s from its 902 MHz clock. The RX 560 also has four times the memory capacity (4 GB vs 1 GB). The RX 560 supports PCIe 3.0 x8, while the GTS 450 is limited to PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs favor the RX 560 with 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a, versus the GTS 450’s 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 560 is the superior product by every measurable performance metric. In the only shared benchmark, it achieves a 70.3% higher OpenCL score. Its compute throughput is over four times higher, its memory bandwidth is nearly double, and its texture rate is more than three times faster. The RX 560 does all this while consuming less power (75 W TDP vs 106 W) and requiring no power connectors, whereas the GTS 450 needs a 1x 6-pin connector.

Who should pick the GTS 450? Strictly from the data, almost no one. It has a higher percentile ranking (28th vs 26th) and a higher average benchmark score (4,893 vs 4,569), but this is misleading because the RX 560’s average includes multiple low Passmark scores that are not comparable to the GTS 450’s single OpenCL result. The GTS 450’s only advantages are its smaller physical footprint in terms of die size is actually larger (238 mm² vs 123 mm²), and it was released earlier. There is no benchmark where the GTS 450 wins.

Who should pick the RX 560? Anyone who needs modern API support (DirectX 12_0, Vulkan 1.3), higher memory capacity for larger textures, or better compute performance. The RX 560 is the clear choice for gaming and compute workloads, as evidenced by its 16,472 OpenCL score. The GTS 450 is essentially obsolete for any task beyond basic 2D or very old 3D applications.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification category. The GTS 450 uses a 40 nm process, while the RX 560 uses 14 nm. Transistor count jumps from 1,170 million to 3,000 million, with die size shrinking from 238 mm² to 123 mm². The RX 560 has 1024 shading units versus 192, and 64 TMUs versus 32, while both have 16 ROPs.

Clock speeds are not directly comparable: the GTS 450 has no base or boost clock listed, only a memory clock of 902 MHz (3.6 Gbps effective). The RX 560 has a base clock of 1175 MHz and a boost of 1275 MHz, with a memory clock of 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). Memory size quadruples from 1024 MB to 4 GB, and bandwidth nearly doubles from 57.73 GB/s to 112.0 GB/s.

Power requirements drop significantly: the GTS 450 has a 106 W TDP and requires a 300 W PSU, while the RX 560 has a 75 W TDP and a 250 W suggested PSU. The GTS 450 needs a 1x 6-pin power connector; the RX 560 has none. The bus interface changes from PCIe 2.0 x16 to PCIe 3.0 x8. The RX 560 is also shorter at 170 mm (6.7 inches) versus 210 mm (8.3 inches) for the GTS 450. The GTS 450 offers 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a, while the RX 560 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is a landslide. The RX 560 scores 16,472, which is 70.3% higher than the GTS 450’s 4,893. This indicates that the RX 560 is approximately 3.37 times faster in this compute test. To put this in context, the GTS 450’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB, scores 4,901, which is essentially identical (deltaPct -0.2%). The RX 560’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon R5 M230 at 4,577, are all far below its 16,472 score.

The RX 560’s other benchmarks reinforce its superiority. Its Passmark G3D score is 3,671, and its GPU compute score is 1,437. It also scores 485 in Passmark G2D, and its DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 tests score 57, 16, 25, and 21 respectively. These are not directly comparable to the GTS 450, but they show a well-rounded profile. The GTS 450 has no other benchmark data beyond its single OpenCL score.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 560 wins in every category where data exists. Its compute performance is vastly superior, as shown by the OpenCL benchmark. Its memory capacity (4 GB vs 1 GB) allows for larger textures and datasets. Its higher bandwidth (112.0 GB/s) enables faster data movement. Its modern API support (DirectX 12_0, Vulkan 1.3) means it can run newer software. Its lower TDP (75 W vs 106 W) makes it more power-efficient. Its lack of a power connector simplifies installation. Its shorter length (170 mm vs 210 mm) fits in more compact cases.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 has no benchmark wins in the data. Its only relative advantages are its higher percentile ranking (28th vs 26th) and higher average score (4,893 vs 4,569), but these are artifacts of the limited data set. The GTS 450’s 2x DVI outputs might be useful for legacy monitors, but the RX 560’s HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.4a are more future-proof. The GTS 450 supports OpenGL 4.6, matching the RX 560, but lacks Vulkan entirely. In any use case — gaming, compute, or general display — the RX 560 is the only rational choice based on the available benchmark evidence.