NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits cleanly in favor of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560. Across the single recorded comparison, the GTX 560 takes the win in Geekbench OpenCL with a score of 9058 against the GTX 460's 7925, a margin of 14.3%. That is the only head-to-head test in the database, so the GTX 560 holds a 1-0 record in direct comparisons.

The GTX 460 does not win any recorded test, but its position among its nearest rivals shows it is not a weak performer for its generation. The GTX 460 sits at the 41st percentile of all GPUs in the database, with an average score of 7925. Its closest competitors are the NVIDIA Quadro K4100M at 7906 (0.2% behind), the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 at 8039 (1.4% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M at 8040 (1.4% ahead), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti at 8053 (1.6% ahead). The GTX 460 essentially trades blows with these cards, landing within a couple of percentage points of each.

The GTX 560, by contrast, sits at the 45th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 9058. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition at 9037 (0.2% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 at 9022 (0.4% behind), the AMD Radeon 550X at 8918 (1.6% behind), and the AMD Radeon 890M at 9210 (1.7% ahead). The GTX 560 is effectively neck-and-neck with a much more expensive flagship-class card in this specific OpenCL workload, which speaks to its strong compute throughput for its age.

For use-case selection, the GTX 560 is the clear pick for any workload that leans on OpenCL compute. The GTX 460 remains usable for lighter duties, but the data shows no scenario where it outpaces the newer card. If you are choosing between these two for a retro build or a low-cost secondary machine, the GTX 560 wins the only measurable category.

Architecture Differences

Both cards are built by NVIDIA on TSMC's 40 nm process, and both pack the same transistor count of 1,950 million on a 332 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 5.9M per mm². The silicon layout is identical in scale, but the underlying architecture differs.

The GTX 560 uses the GF114 chip and is part of the Fermi 2.0 architecture, belonging to the GeForce 500 generation. The GTX 460 uses the GF104 chip and the original Fermi architecture, from the GeForce 400 generation. Fermi 2.0 is a refined iteration of the original Fermi design, and that refinement shows up in clock speeds and memory configuration rather than in raw shader counts.

Both cards have 336 shading units and 56 texture mapping units. The GTX 560 pulls ahead with 32 ROPs, while the GTX 460 has 24 ROPs. That difference directly impacts pixel throughput: the GTX 560 delivers 11.34 GPixel/s versus the GTX 460's 9.450 GPixel/s. Texture rate also favors the GTX 560 at 45.36 GTexel/s against 37.80 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture is another major split. The GTX 560 runs 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 128.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 460 ships with 768 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, capping bandwidth at 86.40 GB/s. The memory clock difference is also notable: the GTX 560's memory runs at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) while the GTX 460's memory runs at 900 MHz (3.6 Gbps effective). The combination of a wider bus and faster memory clock gives the GTX 560 a substantial bandwidth advantage.

The GTX 560 also leads in raw FP32 compute at 1,088.6 GFLOPS versus the GTX 460's 907.2 GFLOPS. Neither card has ray tracing or tensor cores, and neither supports Vulkan in the recorded API data. Both support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6. Power draw is close: the GTX 560 is rated at 150 W TDP while the GTX 460 is rated at 160 W, despite the older card being slower. Both use dual-slot coolers, two 6-pin power connectors, and a 450 W suggested PSU. Physical dimensions match at 210 mm (8.3 inches) in length, and both use a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface with the same display outputs: 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single head-to-head benchmark between these two cards: Geekbench OpenCL. The GTX 560 scores 9058 and the GTX 460 scores 7925, giving the GTX 560 a 14.3% advantage. That is a meaningful lead in a compute-oriented test. A 14.3% gap in OpenCL performance means the GTX 560 completes the same workload noticeably faster, which translates to smoother performance in applications that offload parallel tasks to the GPU.

Breaking down why the GTX 560 wins by that margin, the architecture and specification differences align. The GTX 560 has 33% more ROPs than the GTX 460 (32 versus 24), which helps in pixel-bound tasks. Its FP32 throughput is 20% higher (1,088.6 GFLOPS versus 907.2 GFLOPS), and its memory bandwidth is 48% higher (128.0 GB/s versus 86.40 GB/s). The memory subsystem is the largest single advantage: a 256-bit bus versus 192-bit, plus a faster effective memory clock of 4 Gbps versus 3.6 Gbps.

The GTX 560's position among its nearest rivals reinforces that this is a competitive result. It sits just 0.2% behind the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition in average score, and 0.4% ahead of the GTX 660. That means the GTX 560 is punching well above its class in OpenCL compute, matching cards that are historically much higher in the product stack. The GTX 460, meanwhile, sits within 1.6% of the Quadro K4100M and 1.6% behind the GTX 650 Ti, putting it in a much lower performance tier.

The only caveat is that this is a single benchmark. There is no gaming frame-rate data, no synthetic DX11 test, and no power efficiency measurement in the database. But for the data that exists, the GTX 560 wins decisively.

Specification Differences

The two cards share a surprising amount of silicon: both use 1,950 million transistors on a 332 mm² die at 40 nm. The core configuration is also identical for shaders and TMUs, with 336 shading units and 56 TMUs on both. The differences start at the ROP count and expand from there.

• Chip and architecture: GTX 560 uses GF114 on Fermi 2.0; GTX 460 uses GF104 on original Fermi.
• Generation: GTX 560 belongs to GeForce 500; GTX 460 belongs to GeForce 400.
• Memory size: GTX 560 has 1024 MB (1 GB); GTX 460 has 768 MB (0.75 GB).
• Memory bus: GTX 560 uses 256-bit; GTX 460 uses 192-bit.
• Memory clock: GTX 560 runs at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective); GTX 460 runs at 900 MHz (3.6 Gbps effective).
• Bandwidth: GTX 560 delivers 128.0 GB/s; GTX 460 delivers 86.40 GB/s.
• ROPs: GTX 560 has 32; GTX 460 has 46. Actual values are 32 versus 24 as listed above. GTX 560 has 32 ROPs, GTX 460 has 24 ROPs.
• Pixel rate: GTX 560 achieves 11.34 GPixel/s; GTX 460 achieves 9.450 GPixel/s.
• Texture rate: GTX 560 achieves 45.36 GTexel/s; GTX 460 achieves 37.80 GTexel/s.
• FP32: GTX 560 is rated at 1,088.6 GFLOPS; GTX 460 is rated at 907.2 GFLOPS.
• TDP: GTX 560 draws 150 W; GTX 460 draws 160 W.
• Release date: GTX 560 launched 2011-05-16; GTX 460 launched 2010-07-11.
• Predecessor and successor: GTX 560's predecessor is GeForce 400, successor is GeForce 600; GTX 460's predecessor is GeForce 200, successor is GeForce 500.
• Launch MSRP: Both cards launched at 199 USD.

The identical launch MSRP makes this comparison especially clear: you paid the same money for the GTX 560 roughly ten months later and got more ROPs, more memory, a wider bus, higher clocks, more bandwidth, and higher compute throughput, all while drawing 10 W less power.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The GTX 560 scores 9058 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 14.3% higher than the GTX 460's 7925.

Q: Do both cards have the same amount of memory?

A: No. The GTX 560 has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, while the GTX 460 has 768 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus.

Q: Are the GPUs built on the same manufacturing process?

A: Yes. Both use TSMC's 40 nm process, and both have 1,950 million transistors on a 332 mm² die.

Q: Which card consumes more power?

A: The GTX 460 has a higher TDP at 160 W, while the GTX 560 is rated at 150 W despite being faster.

Q: Do these cards support modern APIs?

A: Both support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6. Neither has Vulkan support in the recorded data, and neither has ray tracing or tensor cores.

Q: What was the launch price of each card?

A: Both the GTX 560 and the GTX 460 launched with an MSRP of 199 USD.

The Verdict

The data points to a single conclusion: the GTX 560 is the stronger card in every measurable way. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark by 14.3%, holds a higher percentile rank (45th versus 41st), and offers superior specifications across memory bandwidth, ROP count, pixel rate, texture rate, and FP32 compute. It also does all of this while drawing 10 W less power than the GTX 460.

The GTX 460 is not without merit in absolute terms. It lands within 1.6% of several capable rivals like the GTX 650 Ti and GTX 880M, and it was a solid mid-range option in the GeForce 400 generation. But when placed next to its direct successor, the GTX 560's refinements are obvious. The Fermi 2.0 architecture in the GTX 560 fixed the GTX 460's memory bottleneck by expanding the bus from 192-bit to 256-bit, boosting bandwidth from 86.40 GB/s to 128.0 GB/s. The extra 256 MB of additional memory and the faster effective memory clock of 4 Gbps rounded out a much more balanced memory subsystem.

For someone building a period-correct GeForce 500-era system, the GTX 560 is the obvious choice. It offers the same launch MSRP of 400-series predecessor pricing bracket, meaning you get the performance uplift without any extra cost. For anyone choosing between these two cards today, the GTX 560 is the answer. The GTX 460 is only relevant if the specific unit is already in hand and the GTX 560 is unavailable, but the benchmark results leave no ambiguity about which one to take. The verdict, strictly from the recorded data, is that the GTX 560 wins outright.