NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE vs NVIDIA GeForce MX130 Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data positions the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE and the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 as two very different solutions that happen to share a manufacturer. The GTX 460 SE, a Fermi-generation desktop part from the GeForce 400 series, delivers a single OpenCL score of 6389, placing it at the 37th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The MX130, a Maxwell-generation mobile chip from the GeForce MX (1xx) family, averages 5508 across its two recorded benchmarks, sitting at the 32nd percentile. The head-to-head OpenCL comparison gives the GTX 460 SE a 4.7% advantage, 6389 versus 6102.

Who should pick which depends entirely on the use case. The GTX 460 SE is the stronger raw performer in the only directly comparable metric, and it offers a 256-bit memory bus, 108.8 GB/s of bandwidth, and 1 GB of GDDR5. That combination points toward desktop users who need legacy performance in OpenCL workloads and who have a system capable of feeding a 150 W card with dual 6-pin power connectors. The MX130, by contrast, is an integrated-class mobile part with a 30 W TDP, no power connectors, and a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. It is the choice for portable systems where power draw and physical footprint matter more than peak compute. The data shows a trade-off: the GTX 460 SE wins the compute race, while the MX130 wins the efficiency and integration race.

There is no nuance in the win column: the GTX 460 SE takes the single head-to-head benchmark, and the MX130 takes none. Yet the MX130 has a Vulkan score of 4914, a metric the GTX 460 SE simply does not have recorded. That absence is meaningful. For any user prioritizing Vulkan-capable workloads, the MX130 is the only option with data to support it. The GTX 460 SE counters with a higher average benchmark score (6389 versus 5508), a higher percentile rank (37 versus 32), and a superior memory subsystem. The verdict is not a blanket endorsement of one over the other; it is a split decision based on workload and platform.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher OpenCL score in the head-to-head benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE wins the Geekbench OpenCL head-to-head with a score of 6389 against the MX130's 6102, a 4.7% advantage.

Q: How do their overall benchmark averages compare?

A: The GTX 460 SE has an average benchmark score of 6389, while the MX130 averages 5508 across its recorded tests. This puts the GTX 460 SE at the 37th percentile of all GPUs and the MX130 at the 32nd percentile.

Q: Does the MX130 support any API that the GTX 460 SE does not?

A: Yes. The MX130 lists Vulkan 1.4 support, while the GTX 460 SE has no Vulkan entry in the database. Both support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The GTX 460 SE has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 108.8 GB/s bandwidth. The MX130 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus with 40.10 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card requires more power and external connectors?

A: The GTX 460 SE has a 150 W TDP and requires two 6-pin power connectors. The MX130 has a 30 W TDP and needs no power connectors.

Q: How does the MX130 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The MX130's closest rival in the database is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M, with an average score of 5501, a 0.1% difference. It also sits within 0.5% of the AMD Radeon R7 M440 (5483) and 0.7% of the NVIDIA Quadro M4000 (5467).

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and different design philosophies. The GTX 460 SE uses the GF104 chip built on Fermi architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 40 nm process. It packs 1,950 million transistors into a 332 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 5.9 million transistors per square millimeter. The MX130 uses the GM108S chip on Maxwell architecture, also from TSMC but on a 28 nm process. It contains 1,020 million transistors on a much smaller 77 mm² die, achieving a density of 13.2 million transistors per square millimeter. The density gap is striking: the MX130 crams more than twice as many transistors per square millimeter despite having roughly half the total transistor count.

The compute resource allocation differs dramatically. The GTX 460 SE has 288 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The MX130 has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and only 8 ROPs. The MX130 actually has more shading units, but the GTX 460 SE has double the TMUs and four times the ROPs. That ROP disparity shows up in pixel throughput: the GTX 460 SE delivers 7.800 GPixel/s versus the MX130's 9.512 GPixel/s. The MX130 wins pixel rate despite fewer ROPs because of its higher clock speeds. Texture rate flips the other way: the GTX 460 SE produces 31.20 GTexel/s, while the MX130 produces 28.54 GTexel/s.

FP32 compute tells yet another story. The MX130 reaches 913.2 GFLOPS, while the GTX 460 SE manages 748.8 GFLOPS. The MX130 is ahead by roughly 22% in raw floating-point throughput. Neither card has RT cores or tensor cores, and neither has recorded FP16 performance. The MX130 adds Vulkan 1.4 support, while the GTX 460 SE has no Vulkan listing. Both share DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6 support. The power envelope reflects the architectural divide: the GTX 460 SE draws 150 W, the MX130 draws 30 W, a fivefold difference.

Specification Differences

The specification sheet shows two products with almost nothing in common beyond the NVIDIA brand. The GTX 460 SE launched on November 14, 2010, with a launch MSRP of 160 USD; the MX130 arrived on November 16, 2017, with no recorded launch MSRP. The GTX 460 SE is a dual-slot desktop card measuring 210 mm (8.3 inches) in length, while the MX130 is an IGP-class mobile chip with no recorded dimensions. The GTX 460 SE uses PCIe 2.0 x16; the MX130 uses PCIe 3.0 x4. Display outputs differ as well: the GTX 460 SE has 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a, while the MX130's outputs are portable device dependent.

Memory configuration is a major differentiator. The GTX 460 SE has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 108.8 GB/s bandwidth. The MX130 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus with 40.10 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 460 SE has nearly 2.7 times the memory bandwidth, while the MX130 has double the capacity. Clock behavior also diverges: the GTX 460 SE lists only a memory clock of 850 MHz (3.4 Gbps effective) with no base or boost figures, while the MX130 has a base clock of 1109 MHz, a boost clock of 1189 MHz, and a memory clock of 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective). The MX130's higher clocks help explain its FP32 and pixel-rate advantages despite fewer TMUs and ROPs.

Power and cooling requirements underscore the intended platforms. The GTX 460 SE needs 150 W, a dual-slot cooler, two 6-pin power connectors, and a suggested 450 W power supply. The MX130 needs 30 W, has no power connectors, no suggested PSU, and is integrated into a portable device. The GTX 460 SE is end-of-life, as is the MX130, but the GTX 460 SE has a predecessor (GeForce 200) and successor (GeForce 500), while the MX130 has neither recorded.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one direct head-to-head comparison between these two cards: Geekbench OpenCL. The GTX 460 SE scores 6389, and the MX130 scores 6102. The GTX 460 SE wins by 4.7%. That is a modest margin, not a decisive blowout. For context, the GTX 460 SE's nearest rival in the database is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M at an identical 6389 (0% delta), with the AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 just 0.9% behind at 6330 and the AMD Radeon R7 M350 1% behind at 6327. The MX130's nearest rivals cluster around its average of 5508: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M at 5501 (0.1% difference), the AMD Radeon R7 M440 at 5483 (0.5%), and the AMD FirePro M4000 at 5537 (0.5% the other way).

The OpenCL head-to-head margin of 4.7% is larger than the gap between the GTX 460 SE and its closest rival (0%), which suggests the two cards in this comparison are not close in the broader landscape. The GTX 460 SE sits in a cluster of cards scoring around 6330 to 6407, while the MX130 sits in a cluster around 5467 to 5537. The MX130's average score of 5508 is about 13.8% below the GTX 460 SE's 6389. The MX130 does have a Geekbench Vulkan score of 4914 that has no GTX 460 SE counterpart, so the MX130 can claim a functional advantage in that API while the GTX 460 SE has no recorded Vulkan data at all.

The wins tally is one to zero in favor of the GTX 460 SE. But the MX130's Vulkan result and its higher FP32 (913.2 GFLOPS versus 748.8 GFLOPS) complicate a pure win-count narrative. The OpenCL test measures one workload; the FP32 figures suggest the MX130 has theoretical compute headroom that the OpenCL score does not fully reflect. The GTX 460 SE's memory bandwidth (108.8 GB/s versus 40.10 GB/s) is likely the deciding factor in the OpenCL result, as bandwidth-heavy workloads favor the card with nearly three times the throughput.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 460 SE wins in scenarios that stress memory bandwidth and rasterization throughput. Its 108.8 GB/s bandwidth on a 256-bit bus is a massive advantage over the MX130's 40.10 GB/s on a 64-bit bus. Its texture rate of 31.20 GTexel/s edges out the MX130's 28.54 GTexel/s. The GTX 460 SE also wins every benchmark in the head-to-head database: it has 1 win and the MX130 has 0. Its percentile rank of 37 versus 32 and its average score of 6389 versus 5508 reinforce this. For desktop users running OpenCL workloads on a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot with a 450 W PSU available, the GTX 460 SE is the data-backed pick.

The MX130 wins the efficiency and integration battle without contest. It draws 30 W versus 150 W, needs no power connectors, and is an IGP-class chip with no dimensions, meaning it fits in portable designs where a dual-slot 210 mm card would never work. Its FP32 output of 913.2 GFLOPS exceeds the GTX 460 SE's 748.8 GFLOPS, and its pixel rate of 9.512 GPixel/s beats 7.800 GPixel/s. The MX130 is the only one of the two with a Vulkan score (4914) and Vulkan 1.4 API support. For laptop users or anyone who needs OpenGL 4.6 plus Vulkan in a low-power package, the MX130 is the only viable option in this comparison.

The data implies a clear split: the GTX 460 SE is a legacy desktop workhorse that trades power efficiency for memory bandwidth and OpenCL performance. The MX130 is a modern mobile chip that trades bandwidth and ROPs for clock speed, FP32 throughput, and portability. Neither card dominates the other across every metric. The GTX 460 SE leads in the only head-to-head benchmark, memory bandwidth, texture rate, and percentile rank. The MX130 leads in FP32, pixel rate, memory capacity, API coverage, and power efficiency. The choice comes down to whether the workload lives on a desktop with power to spare or in a portable device where every watt matters.