Intel Arc A310 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single direct comparison between the Intel Arc A310 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE, and it is a decisive one. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Intel Arc A310 scores 30,607 points against 6,389 points for the GTX 460 SE. That is a delta of 379.1%, meaning the Arc A310 delivers nearly four times the compute performance in this workload. The result is unambiguous: the Intel part wins the only head-to-head measurement available, 1 win to 0.

The Arc A310 also holds a commanding lead in the overall average benchmark score. Its average across all recorded tests is 7,550, while the GTX 460 SE averages 6,389. The gap here is smaller than the OpenCL delta, which suggests the GTX 460 SE is comparatively less weak in some legacy or 2D workloads, but the Arc A310 still comes out ahead overall. The percentile rankings reinforce this: the Arc A310 sits at the 40th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the GTX 460 SE sits at the 37th percentile. A three-percentile gap is not enormous, but it aligns with the average score difference.

Looking at the Arc A310's nearest rivals gives context for how it performs relative to the broader field. Its average score of 7,550 is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon R7 250, which scores 7,557, a delta of just 0.1% against the Arc. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 scores 7,580, putting it 0.4% ahead of the Arc. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 scores 7,472, which is 1% behind the Arc. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M scores 7,447, 1.4% behind. In other words, the Arc A310 clusters tightly with these four cards, all within roughly 1.4% of each other. The GTX 460 SE, by contrast, sits in a different performance neighborhood. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M, which matches it exactly at 6,389 points. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 72 GB Blackwell scores 6,407, 0.3% ahead of the GTX 460 SE, and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 scores 6,330, 0.9% behind. The AMD Radeon R7 M350 scores 6,327, 1% behind.

The Arc A310's individual benchmark results show where its strengths lie. In PassMark G3D, it scores 5,433, which is its strongest legacy DirectX result. The PassMark GPU Compute score is 2,157, and the PassMark G2D score is 625. The DirectX 9 result is 69, DirectX 11 is 33, DirectX 10 is 31, and DirectX 12 is 29. These numbers are low in absolute terms, but they are typical for a low-power entry-level part. The GTX 460 SE has no corresponding PassMark results in the database, so no direct comparison is possible for those specific tests. The only shared benchmark is Geekbench OpenCL, and the Arc A310 wins that by a wide margin.

The data suggests that the Arc A310 is the faster card in compute-oriented tasks, while the GTX 460 SE is a much older design that has fallen behind in raw throughput. The GTX 460 SE's single recorded benchmark, 6,389 in OpenCL, is less than a quarter of the Arc's score in the same test. That is a fundamental performance gap, not a marginal one.

The Verdict

The benchmark data points to the Intel Arc A310 as the clear choice for anyone prioritizing compute performance. It wins the only head-to-head test, scores higher on average, and ranks higher in the overall percentile distribution. The 379.1% lead in Geekbench OpenCL is not a close call; it is a dominant margin that reflects the architectural and generational gap between the two cards.

The GTX 460 SE, on the other hand, is a much older part with a lower average score and a lower percentile ranking. Its only recorded benchmark, 6,389 in OpenCL, places it in the same performance tier as the GTX 580M and the Radeon Pro WX 4100, all of which are far below the Arc A310's tier. For a user choosing strictly on measured performance, the Arc A310 is the better option.

That said, the GTX 460 SE does have one advantage in the database: its launch MSRP of 160 USD. The Arc A310 has no recorded launch MSRP, so no direct price comparison is possible from the data. But the rules of this analysis are clear: performance is measured, and the Arc A310 wins. The GTX 460 SE is an end-of-life product from 2010, while the Arc A310 is an end-of-life product from 2022. The twelve-year gap in release dates is reflected in the benchmark scores.

For a user with modern workloads, particularly those that leverage OpenCL or DirectX 12 Ultimate features, the Arc A310 is the only sensible pick from this data. The GTX 460 SE supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan is not listed, while the Arc A310 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4. The Arc A310 also has hardware ray tracing cores, which the GTX 460 SE lacks entirely. On every measurable axis in this database, the Arc A310 is ahead.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different eras and different architectural philosophies. The Intel Arc A310 is built on the Xe-HPG architecture, specifically the DG2-128 chip, and belongs to the Alchemist generation (Arc 3). It is fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC and packs 7,200 million transistors into a 157 mm² die. That works out to a transistor density of 45.9 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE uses the Fermi architecture with the GF104 chip, belongs to the GeForce 400 generation, and is built on a 40 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 1,950 million transistors on a 332 mm² die, for a density of 5.9 million per square millimeter. The process and density differences are stark: the Arc A310 crams nearly eight times more transistors per square millimeter into a die that is less than half the size.

The memory subsystems differ significantly. The Arc A310 has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 124.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 460 SE has 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 108.8 GB/s. Despite the much wider bus on the GTX 460 SE, the Arc A310 still achieves higher bandwidth thanks to its faster memory clock: 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective) versus 850 MHz (3.4 Gbps effective). The Arc A310 also has a smaller frame buffer advantage, 4 GB versus 1 GB, which matters for modern textures and resolutions.

The compute resources are also very different. The Arc A310 has 768 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units. It also has 6 ray tracing cores. The GTX 460 SE has 288 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no ray tracing cores. The Arc A310's pixel rate is 28.00 GPixel/s versus 7.800 GPixel/s for the GTX 460 SE. Its texture rate is 56.00 GTexel/s versus 31.20 GTexel/s. Floating point performance is 2.688 TFLOPS for the Arc A310 versus 748.8 GFLOPS for the GTX 460 SE. The Arc A310 also lists FP16 performance at 5.376 TFLOPS (2:1), while the GTX 460 SE has no FP16 figure recorded.

The power and physical characteristics are equally divergent. The Arc A310 has a TDP of 30 W, is single-slot, and requires no power connectors, with a suggested PSU of 200 W. The GTX 460 SE has a TDP of 150 W, is dual-slot, requires 2x 6-pin power connectors, and suggests a 450 W PSU. The Arc A310 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the GTX 460 SE uses PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs are 4x mini-DisplayPort 2.0 on the Arc A310 versus 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a on the GTX 460 SE. The GTX 460 SE has a recorded length of 210 mm (8.3 inches); the Arc A310 has no length recorded.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The Intel Arc A310 scores 30,607 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE scores 6,389 points. The Arc A310 is 379.1% ahead.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The Arc A310 has an average benchmark score of 7,550, while the GTX 460 SE averages 6,389.

Q: What is the transistor and process difference?

A: The Arc A310 uses 7,200 million transistors on a 6 nm process with a 157 mm² die. The GTX 460 SE uses 1,950 million transistors on a 40 nm process with a 332 mm² die.

Q: Do either of these cards support ray tracing?

A: The Arc A310 has 6 ray tracing cores. The GTX 460 SE has no ray tracing cores listed.

Q: What are their power requirements?

A: The Arc A310 has a TDP of 30 W, no power connectors, and a suggested PSU of 200 W. The GTX 460 SE has a TDP of 150 W, 2x 6-pin connectors, and a suggested PSU of 450 W.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each card?

A: The Arc A310 has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with 124.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 460 SE has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 108.8 GB/s bandwidth.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A310 wins in every measured category in the database. It has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score, the higher average benchmark score, the higher percentile ranking, and the only head-to-head victory. It also leads in raw specifications that matter for modern workloads: memory capacity, memory bandwidth, shading units, texture rate, pixel rate, FP32 throughput, and API support. The Arc A310 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 460 SE supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and has no Vulkan listing. For any workload that uses modern graphics APIs, compute shaders, or ray tracing, the Arc A310 is the clear winner.

The GTX 460 SE has no benchmark wins in the database. Its only recorded test is the Geekbench OpenCL result, where it loses by a wide margin. It does have a larger memory bus (256-bit versus 64-bit), more ROPs (32 versus 16), and more TMUs (48 versus 32), but those advantages do not translate into higher measured performance. The GTX 460 SE also has a recorded launch MSRP of 160 USD, while the Arc A310 has none, but price is not a performance metric and is noted here only as a specification difference. In every measurable performance category, the Arc A310 wins.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification field. The Intel Arc A310 uses the DG2-128 chip with Xe-HPG architecture, while the GTX 460 SE uses the GF104 chip with Fermi architecture. The Arc A310 is on a 6 nm process with 7,200 million transistors and a 157 mm² die; the GTX 460 SE is on a 40 nm process with 1,950 million transistors and a 332 mm² die. Transistor density is 45.9M per mm² for the Arc A310 versus 5.9M per mm² for the GTX 460 SE.

Memory differs in size, type, bus width, and bandwidth: 4 GB GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus at 124.0 GB/s for the Arc A310, versus 1024 MB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus at 108.8 GB/s for the GTX 460 SE. Memory clocks are 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective) versus 850 MHz (3.4 Gbps effective). Shading units are 768 versus 288, TMUs are 32 versus 48, and ROPs are 16 versus 32. The Arc A310 has 6 ray tracing cores; the GTX 460 SE has none. Pixel rate is 28.00 GPixel/s versus 7.800 GPixel/s, texture rate is 56.00 GTexel/s versus 31.20 GTexel/s, and FP32 is 2.688 TFLOPS versus 748.8 GFLOPS. The Arc A310 lists FP16 at 5.376 TFLOPS (2:1); the GTX 460 SE has no FP16 figure.

Power and physical specs diverge sharply: TDP is 30 W versus 150 W, slot width is single-slot versus dual-slot, power connectors are none versus 2x 6-pin, and suggested PSU is 200 W versus 450 W. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 versus PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs are 4x mini-DisplayPort 2.0 versus 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a. The GTX 460 SE has a recorded length of 210 mm (8.3 inches); the Arc A310 has no length recorded. API support differs: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 for the Arc A310, versus DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6 for the GTX 460 SE, with no Vulkan listing. Release dates are 2022-10-11 for the Arc A310 and 2010-11-14 for the GTX 460 SE. Both are end-of-life, with the Arc A310 listing Xe Graphics as its predecessor and Battlemage as its successor, while the GTX 460 SE lists GeForce 200 as its predecessor and GeForce 500 as its successor. The GTX 460 SE has a launch MSRP of 160 USD; the Arc A310 has no launch MSRP recorded.