GeForce GT 420M vs GTX 460
Aggregate performance score
GTX 460 outperforms GT 420M by a whopping 458% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 562 | 1060 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 1.00 | 0.03 |
| Architecture | Fermi (2010−2014) | Fermi (2010−2014) |
| GPU code name | GF104 | N11P-GE |
| Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 12 July 2010 (13 years ago) | 3 September 2010 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $199 | no data |
| Current price | $128 (0.6x MSRP) | $310 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
GTX 460 has 3233% better value for money than GT 420M.
Detailed specifications
General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 336 | 96 |
| CUDA cores | no data | 96 |
| Core clock speed | 675 MHz | 500 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 1,950 million | 585 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 40 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 160 Watt | 23 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 37.80 | 6.0 billion/sec |
| Floating-point performance | 907.2 gflops | 192 gflops |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on GeForce GTX 460 and GeForce GT 420M compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.
| Laptop size | no data | medium sized |
| Bus support | 16x PCI-E 2.0 | no data |
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
| Length | 8.25"(210 mm) (21 cm) | no data |
| Height | 4.376"(111 mm) (11.1 cm) | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 6-pin & 6-pin | no data |
| SLI options | + | no data |
VRAM capacity and type
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
| Memory type | GDDR5 | (G)DDR3 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 2 GB | 1 GB |
| Memory bus width | 192 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 3600 MHz | 800 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 86.4 GB/s | 25.6 GB/s |
| Shared memory | no data | - |
Connectivity and outputs
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | Two Dual Link DVI, Mini HDMI | No outputs |
| Multi monitor support | + | no data |
| HDMI | + | no data |
| HDCP | + | no data |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | no data |
| Audio input for HDMI | Internal | no data |
API compatibility
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (11_0) | 12 API |
| Shader Model | 5.1 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.1 | 4.5 |
| OpenCL | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Vulkan | N/A | N/A |
| CUDA | + | + |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
GTX 460 outperforms GT 420M by 458% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.
Benchmark coverage: 25%
GTX 460 outperforms GT 420M by 459% in Passmark.
GeekBench 5 OpenCL
Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.
Benchmark coverage: 9%
GTX 460 outperforms GT 420M by 388% in GeekBench 5 OpenCL.
Octane Render OctaneBench
This is a special benchmark measuring graphics card performance in OctaneRender, which is a realistic GPU rendering engine by OTOY Inc., available either as a standalone program, or as a plugin for 3DS Max, Cinema 4D and many other apps. It renders four different static scenes, then compares render times with a reference GPU which is currently GeForce GTX 980. This benchmark has nothing to do with gaming and is aimed at professional 3D graphics artists.
Benchmark coverage: 4%
GTX 460 outperforms GT 420M by 350% in Octane Render OctaneBench.
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Average FPS across all PC games
Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:
| 900p | 65−70
+442%
| 12
−442%
|
| Full HD | 80−85
+433%
| 15
−433%
|
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 3−4 | 0−1 |
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 4−5 | 0−1 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 3−4 | 0−1 |
| Far Cry 5 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Far Cry New Dawn | 2−3 | 0−1 |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 2−3 | 0−1 |
| Hitman 3 | 3−4 | 0−1 |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 12−14
+550%
|
2−3
−550%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 8−9
+700%
|
1−2
−700%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 10−12
+1000%
|
1−2
−1000%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 4−5 | 0−1 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 3−4 | 0−1 |
| Far Cry 5 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Far Cry New Dawn | 2−3 | 0−1 |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 2−3 | 0−1 |
| Hitman 3 | 3−4 | 0−1 |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 12−14
+550%
|
2−3
−550%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 8−9
+700%
|
1−2
−700%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 4−5 | 0−1 |
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 10−12
+1000%
|
1−2
−1000%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 4−5 | 0−1 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 3−4 | 0−1 |
| Far Cry 5 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 2−3 | 0−1 |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 12−14
+550%
|
2−3
−550%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 8−9
+700%
|
1−2
−700%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 4−5 | 0−1 |
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 10−12
+1000%
|
1−2
−1000%
|
Full HD
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
1440p
High Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Far Cry New Dawn | 0−1 | 0−1 |
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 4−5 | 0−1 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Far Cry 5 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| Hitman 3 | 7−8
+600%
|
1−2
−600%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 4−5 | 0−1 |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 0−1 | 0−1 |
1440p
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 4−5 | 0−1 |
4K
High Preset
| Far Cry New Dawn | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 1−2 | 0−1 |
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| Far Cry 5 | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Metro Exodus | 4−5 | 0−1 |
4K
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 2−3 | 0−1 |
This is how GTX 460 and GT 420M compete in popular games:
- GTX 460 is 442% faster in 900p
- GTX 460 is 433% faster in 1080p
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 5.86 | 1.05 |
| Recency | 12 July 2010 | 3 September 2010 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 2 GB | 1 GB |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 160 Watt | 23 Watt |
The GeForce GTX 460 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GT 420M in performance tests.
Be aware that GeForce GTX 460 is a desktop card while GeForce GT 420M is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
