AMD Radeon RX 6600S vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 Comparison

AMD Radeon RX 6600S vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465

The database records only a single head-to-head benchmark between these two cards, and the result is decisively one-sided. The AMD Radeon RX 6600S achieves a Geekbench OpenCL score of 66,435, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 scores 9,294. This represents a 614.8% advantage for the AMD part, a gap so large that it defines the entire comparison. The RX 6600S also holds a single benchmark win out of one recorded test, while the GTX 465 has zero wins. This is not a close contest; it is a generational chasm expressed in raw compute throughput. The only question is whether the older card retains any niche where its specific hardware characteristics matter more than raw performance.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole recorded benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, shows the RX 6600S at 66,435 points against the GTX 465's 9,294 points. The delta percentage of 614.8% indicates that the AMD card outperforms the NVIDIA card by more than seven times in this compute-oriented workload. OpenCL is a general-purpose compute API, so this result reflects not just graphics rendering but also the card's ability to handle parallel processing tasks such as physics simulations, video encoding, and scientific workloads. The RX 6600S's FP32 throughput of 7.168 TFLOPS versus the GTX 465's 855.4 GFLOPS aligns with this outcome, though the benchmark itself is the definitive measurement.

What makes this gap particularly striking is the context of each card's placement in the broader database. The RX 6600S sits at the 49th percentile of all GPUs, meaning it outperforms nearly half of the recorded graphics cards in existence. Its average benchmark score across all tests is 10,629, which places it near peers like the AMD Radeon R9 M275X (10,582, a 0.4% difference) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti (10,690, a -0.6% difference). The GTX 465, by contrast, sits at the 46th percentile with an average score of 9,294, placing it near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M (9,302, a -0.1% difference) and the AMD Radeon R7 M380 (9,313, a -0.2% difference). While both cards are in the middle of the pack, the RX 6600S is at the upper edge of that middle, and the GTX 465 is at the lower edge.

The 614.8% delta in OpenCL is not mirrored in the other benchmark categories because the GTX 465 simply lacks recorded results for those tests. The RX 6600S has data for PassMark DirectX 10, 11, 12, and 9, plus G2D, G3D, and GPU compute tests. The GTX 465 has only the OpenCL result. This asymmetry means the database cannot confirm whether the older card would fare better in legacy DirectX 9 workloads, where its architecture might have been more competitive. The data as recorded shows a total victory for the AMD card, but the absence of additional GTX 465 data leaves some questions unanswered about specific rendering scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600S has an average benchmark score of 10,629, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 has an average of 9,294. The RX 6600S is 14.4% higher on average, though this figure is based on the RX 6600S having results across multiple benchmark suites while the GTX 465 has only one recorded OpenCL result.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RX 6600S scores 66,435, and the GTX 465 scores 9,294. The RX 6600S leads by 614.8%, which is the largest recorded delta between any two comparable cards in the database for this test.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each card among all GPUs?

A: The RX 6600S is at the 49th percentile of all GPUs, meaning it outperforms 49% of the database. The GTX 465 is at the 46th percentile, outperforming 46% of the database. Despite the massive OpenCL gap, both cards sit within a few percentile points of each other, indicating that the GTX 465's legacy performance in other metrics may partially offset its compute deficiency.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RX 6600S has 1,792 shading units, while the GTX 465 has 352. This 5.1x difference in shading unit count is a primary structural reason for the RX 6600S's superior compute performance.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card according to the database?

A: The RX 6600S's closest rival is the AMD Radeon R9 M275X with an average score of 10,582 (0.4% lower), followed by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti at 10,690 (0.6% higher). The GTX 465's closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M at 9,302 (0.1% lower), followed by the AMD Radeon R7 M380 at 9,313 (0.2% lower).

Q: Does the GTX 465 support Vulkan?

A: No, the GTX 465 has no Vulkan support recorded in the database. The RX 6600S supports Vulkan 1.4, which is a significant API compatibility advantage for modern games and applications.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear choice for any workload that prioritizes raw compute performance or modern API support: the AMD Radeon RX 6600S. Its 614.8% lead in OpenCL, combined with its higher average score (10,629 vs 9,294) and its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, makes it the superior card for contemporary software. The GTX 465, with its 46th percentile ranking and lack of Vulkan support, is only relevant for scenarios that demand its specific legacy features, such as DVI output or compatibility with older driver stacks. The RX 6600S also offers a higher pixel rate (128.0 GPixel/s vs 13.38 GPixel/s) and texture rate (224.0 GTexel/s vs 26.75 GTexel/s), which directly translate to better fill-rate-bound performance in games. For users building a system today, the RX 6600S is the only rational choice based on the recorded metrics. The GTX 465 might appeal to collectors or those running software that predates the RX 6600S's architecture, but the benchmark data shows no scenario where the older card wins.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The RX 6600S uses 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 465 uses 1 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 102.7 GB/s. Despite the GTX 465's wider bus, the RX 6600S has over twice the bandwidth due to faster memory clocks (14 Gbps effective vs 3.2 Gbps effective). The RX 6600S has 1,792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The GTX 465 has 352 shading units, 44 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RX 6600S also has 28 ray tracing cores, which the GTX 465 lacks entirely. The power consumption differs dramatically: the RX 6600S is rated at 80 W TDP with no power connectors, while the GTX 465 is rated at 200 W TDP with two 6-pin connectors and a suggested 550 W power supply. The RX 6600S uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, while the GTX 465 uses PCIe 2.0 x16. The RX 6600S has a portable device dependent display output, while the GTX 465 has 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a. The RX 6600S is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) form factor, while the GTX 465 is a dual-slot card measuring 241 mm in length.

Architecture Differences

The RX 6600S is built on AMD's RDNA 2.0 architecture, using the Navi 23 chip fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It contains 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 46.7 million per mm². The GTX 465 uses NVIDIA's Fermi architecture, with the GF100 chip fabricated on a 40 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 3,100 million transistors on a much larger 529 mm² die, giving a transistor density of just 5.9 million per mm². The process node difference is stark: 7 nm vs 40 nm, which explains the RX 6600S's ability to pack nearly four times more transistors into less than half the die area. The RX 6600S supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 465 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support. The RX 6600S has dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature absent from the Fermi architecture. The RX 6600S also supports FP16 compute at 14.34 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the GTX 465 has no recorded FP16 capability. The RX 6600S's RDNA 2.0 architecture includes hardware-accelerated ray tracing and variable rate shading, features that did not exist when the GTX 465 launched. The GTX 465's predecessor is the GeForce 200 series, and its successor is the GeForce 500 series, while the RX 6600S's predecessor is Polaris Mobile, and it has no recorded successor.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6600S wins in every recorded benchmark category, but its advantages are most pronounced in compute-heavy tasks. The OpenCL score of 66,435 demonstrates exceptional parallel processing capability, which suits workloads like machine learning inference, cryptocurrency mining, and scientific simulations. Its 7.168 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 14.34 TFLOPS FP16 performance make it suitable for AI acceleration and video processing. The RX 6600S also wins in memory bandwidth, with 224.0 GB/s versus 102.7 GB/s, which benefits texture-heavy games and high-resolution rendering. Its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 means it can run modern titles with ray tracing and other next-gen features.

The GTX 465, despite losing the performance comparison, wins in specific legacy scenarios. Its 256-bit memory bus, while slower overall, may provide better efficiency for certain older applications optimized for wider buses. Its dual-slot form factor and 2x DVI outputs make it compatible with older monitors that lack DisplayPort or HDMI 2.0. The GTX 465's 1 GB of GDDR5 memory, though smaller, may be sufficient for older games from the 2010 era, and its 352 shading units are adequate for DirectX 11 titles from that period. Its 40 nm process, while less efficient, is well understood by retro computing enthusiasts. The GTX 465's launch MSRP was 279 USD, and it was designed for a time when 200 W TDP was acceptable for a high-end card. For users with legacy software that requires Fermi-specific driver optimizations or for those building a period-correct 2010-era PC, the GTX 465 has historical value, but the recorded data shows no performance scenario where it beats the RX 6600S.