NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE vs NVIDIA Quadro M4000 Comparison

The GeForce GTX 460 SE and the Quadro M4000 are both end-of-life NVIDIA graphics cards, but they come from different generations and serve different purposes. The GTX 460 SE is a Fermi-based consumer card from 2010, while the Quadro M4000 is a Maxwell 2.0 professional card from 2015. The recorded data shows a single head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, where the Quadro M4000 scores 19,118 against the GTX 460 SE’s 6,389, a 66.6% advantage. The GTX 460 SE wins zero head-to-head tests, while the Quadro M4000 wins one. The GTX 460 SE sits at the 37th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 6,389. The Quadro M4000 sits at the 32nd percentile, with an average benchmark score of 5,467. This discrepancy between the head-to-head result and the overall percentiles is notable, as the Quadro M4000’s average is dragged down by its other benchmark results, which include lower scores in several Passmark tests.

The Verdict

The data points to clear use cases for each card. The Quadro M4000 is the stronger compute performer in the one benchmark recorded for both cards. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 19,118 more than triples the GTX 460 SE’s 6,389, a 66.6% lead. If the workload is OpenCL compute, the choice is the Quadro M4000 without question.

However, the GTX 460 SE has a higher percentile ranking. It sits at the 37th percentile of all GPUs, while the Quadro M4000 sits at the 32nd. The GTX 460 SE’s average benchmark score is 6,389, compared to the Quadro M4000’s 5,467. The Quadro M4000’s average is pulled down by its own benchmark suite, which includes low scores in Passmark DirectX tests (33 in DirectX 10, 49 in DirectX 11, 26 in DirectX 12, 113 in DirectX 9) and a Passmark G2D score of 673. Its Passmark G3D score is 6,680, and its Passmark GPU Compute score is 2,660. The GTX 460 SE has only one recorded benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, so its average is identical to that single score.

The GTX 460 SE’s nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M at 6,389 with a 0% delta, the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 72 GB Blackwell at 6,407 with a -0.3% delta, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 at 6,330 with a 0.9% delta, and the AMD Radeon R7 M350 at 6,327 with a 1% delta. This means the GTX 460 SE performs within 1% of these cards in average score. The Quadro M4000’s nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R7 M440 at 5,483 with a -0.3% delta, the AMD Radeon 610M at 5,444 with a 0.4% delta, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M at 5,501 with a -0.6% delta, and the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 at 5,508 with a -0.7% delta. The Quadro M4000 is within 0.7% of these cards in average score.

Choose the Quadro M4000 for raw OpenCL compute performance. Choose the GTX 460 SE for a better overall percentile standing, though its data set is limited to a single benchmark. Neither card is a modern choice, but the Quadro M4000 has the clear performance edge where the two are directly measured.

Where Each One Wins

The Quadro M4000 wins the only direct comparison. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 19,118 against the GTX 460 SE’s 6,389. That is a 66.6% delta in favor of the Quadro M4000. This is a large margin and indicates a substantial compute advantage. OpenCL is a general-purpose compute API, so this result suggests the Quadro M4000 is the better card for compute-heavy tasks, such as rendering, simulation, or other professional workloads that leverage OpenCL.

The GTX 460 SE has no recorded head-to-head wins. Its single benchmark score of 6,389 in Geekbench OpenCL is its only data point. It does not have results for DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, DirectX 12, Vulkan, G2D, G3D, or GPU Compute in the database. The Quadro M4000 has a full suite of benchmark results, including Passmark DirectX 9 at 113, Passmark DirectX 10 at 33, Passmark DirectX 11 at 49, Passmark DirectX 12 at 26, Passmark G2D at 673, Passmark G3D at 6,680, Passmark GPU Compute at 2,660, Geekbench Vulkan at 24,640, and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 at 680.

The GTX 460 SE’s percentile of 37 is higher than the Quadro M4000’s 32. This is an indirect win for the GTX 460 SE, as it ranks better across the entire database of GPUs, even though its average score is based on fewer tests. The GTX 460 SE’s average score of 6,389 is also higher than the Quadro M4000’s average of 5,467, which is a 16.9% difference in the GTX 460 SE’s favor. This is because the Quadro M4000’s average includes its low Passmark DirectX scores, which bring the average down.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on different architectures and process nodes. The GTX 460 SE uses the GF104 chip, based on the Fermi architecture, and is manufactured on a 40 nm process at TSMC. The Quadro M4000 uses the GM204 chip, based on the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, and is manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The transistor counts differ significantly. The GTX 460 SE has 1,950 million transistors on a 332 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 5.9 million per mm². The Quadro M4000 has 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 13.1 million per mm². The Quadro M4000 has more than double the transistor count and more than twice the density.

The memory subsystems also differ. The GTX 460 SE has 1,024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory clock of 850 MHz and 3.4 Gbps effective, providing 108.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro M4000 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory clock of 1,502 MHz and 6 Gbps effective, providing 192.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro M4000 has eight times the memory capacity and 76.7% more bandwidth.

The core configurations are different as well. The GTX 460 SE has 288 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation units. The Quadro M4000 has 1,664 shading units, 104 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The Quadro M4000 has 5.8 times the shading units, 2.2 times the TMUs, and double the ROPs. The pixel rate for the GTX 460 SE is 7.8 GPixel/s, while the Quadro M4000 is 49.47 GPixel/s. The texture rate for the GTX 460 SE is 31.2 GTexel/s, while the Quadro M4000 is 80.39 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 748.8 GFLOPS for the GTX 460 SE and 2.573 TFLOPS for the Quadro M4000. The Quadro M4000 delivers 3.4 times the FP32 compute.

The API support also differs. The GTX 460 SE supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support listed. The Quadro M4000 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 460 SE is from the GeForce 400 generation, with the GeForce 200 as predecessor and GeForce 500 as successor. The Quadro M4000 is from the Quadro Maxwell (Mx000) generation, with Quadro Kepler as predecessor and Quadro Pascal as successor.

Power and physical requirements differ. The GTX 460 SE has a TDP of 150 W, is dual-slot, and requires two 6-pin power connectors with a suggested PSU of 450 W. The Quadro M4000 has a TDP of 120 W, is single-slot, and requires one 6-pin power connector with a suggested PSU of 300 W. The Quadro M4000 uses less power, takes less space, and needs a smaller PSU. The GTX 460 SE is 210 mm long, while the Quadro M4000 is 241 mm long and 111 mm tall. The bus interface is PCIe 2.0 x16 for the GTX 460 SE and PCIe 3.0 x16 for the Quadro M4000. Display outputs are two DVI and one mini-HDMI 1.3a on the GTX 460 SE, and four DisplayPort 1.2 on the Quadro M4000.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The Quadro M4000 scores 19,118 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the GTX 460 SE scores 6,389. The Quadro M4000 leads by 66.6% in this test.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The Quadro M4000 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the GTX 460 SE has 1,024 MB. The Quadro M4000 has eight times the capacity.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The GTX 460 SE has an average benchmark score of 6,389, while the Quadro M4000 has an average of 5,467. The GTX 460 SE is higher by 16.9%.

Q: Which card is more power efficient?

A: The Quadro M4000 has a TDP of 120 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W, while the GTX 460 SE has a TDP of 150 W and a suggested PSU of 450 W. The Quadro M4000 uses less power and requires a smaller PSU.

Q: Which card supports Vulkan?

A: The Quadro M4000 supports Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 460 SE has no Vulkan support listed in the database.

Q: What is the release date of each card?

A: The GTX 460 SE was released on 2010-11-14, and the Quadro M4000 was released on 2015-06-28.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records one head-to-head benchmark between these two cards: Geekbench OpenCL. The Quadro M4000 wins this test with a score of 19,118, against the GTX 460 SE’s 6,389. The delta is -66.6% from the perspective of the GTX 460 SE, meaning the GTX 460 SE scores 66.6% lower than the Quadro M4000. This is the only direct comparison available, and it strongly favors the Quadro M4000.

The GTX 460 SE’s score of 6,389 places it at the 37th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M, which also scores 6,389 with a 0% delta, and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 72 GB Blackwell, which scores 6,407 with a -0.3% delta. It is also close to the AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 at 6,330 (0.9% delta) and the AMD Radeon R7 M350 at 6,327 (1% delta). This indicates the GTX 460 SE performs in line with these cards in the database’s measurements.

The Quadro M4000’s score of 19,118 in Geekbench OpenCL is its strongest recorded result. Its other benchmarks include Passmark G3D at 6,680, Geekbench Vulkan at 24,640, and Passmark GPU Compute at 2,660. Its lowest results are in Passmark DirectX tests: DirectX 9 at 113, DirectX 10 at 33, DirectX 11 at 49, and DirectX 12 at 26. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 680. The average of all these is 5,467, which places it at the 32nd percentile. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R7 M440 at 5,483 (-0.3% delta), the AMD Radeon 610M at 5,444 (0.4% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M at 5,501 (-0.6% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 at 5,508 (-0.7% delta).

The big win for the Quadro M4000 is in OpenCL, where it is 12,729 points ahead of the GTX 460 SE. The GTX 460 SE’s only recorded benchmark is that same OpenCL test, so it has no other results to compare. The Quadro M4000’s advantage in raw compute is clear, but its lower scores in other tests, particularly Passmark DirectX 9 at 113 and Passmark G2D at 673, contribute to its lower average and percentile. The GTX 460 SE, with a single high score relative to its rivals, maintains a higher percentile despite being slower in the one direct test.

Specification Differences

The key specification differences are as follows. The GTX 460 SE uses the GF104 chip on a 40 nm process, while the Quadro M4000 uses the GM204 chip on a 28 nm process. Transistor counts are 1,950 million for the GTX 460 SE and 5,200 million for the Quadro M4000. The die size is 332 mm² for the GTX 460 SE and 398 mm² for the Quadro M4000. Transistor density is 5.9 million per mm² for the GTX 460 SE and 13.1 million per mm² for the Quadro M4000.

Memory configuration: the GTX 460 SE has 1,024 MB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 108.8 GB/s bandwidth, while the Quadro M4000 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 192.3 GB/s bandwidth. The memory clock is 850 MHz (3.4 Gbps effective) for the GTX 460 SE and 1,502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) for the Quadro M4000. Core counts: 288 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs for the GTX 460 SE; 1,664 shading units, 104 TMUs, and 64 ROPs for the Quadro M4000. Pixel rate is 7.8 GPixel/s versus 49.47 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 31.2 GTexel/s versus 80.39 GTexel/s. FP32 is 748.8 GFLOPS versus 2.573 TFLOPS.

Power and physical: the GTX 460 SE has a 150 W TDP, is dual-slot, uses two 6-pin connectors, and suggests a 450 W PSU. The Quadro M4000 has a 120 W TDP, is single-slot, uses one 6-pin connector, and suggests a 300 W PSU. The GTX 460 SE is 210 mm long; the Quadro M4000 is 241 mm long and 111 mm tall. The bus interface is PCIe 2.0 x16 for the GTX 460 SE and PCIe 3.0 x16 for the Quadro M4000. Display outputs: two DVI and one mini-HDMI 1.3a for the GTX 460 SE; four DisplayPort 1.2 for the Quadro M4000. API support: the GTX 460 SE has DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, no Vulkan; the Quadro M4000 has DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 460 SE has a launch MSRP of 160 USD. The Quadro M4000 has no launch MSRP listed.