GeForce GTX 460M vs Radeon HD 7870M

Place in the ranking	705	754
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	6.01	4.36
Architecture	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)	Fermi (2010−2014)
GPU code name	Heathrow	GF106
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Release date	24 April 2012 (12 years ago)	3 September 2010 (14 years ago)

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	640	192
Core clock speed	800 MHz	675 MHz
Number of transistors	1,500 million	1,170 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	45 Watt	50 Watt
Texture fill rate	32.00	21.60
Floating-point processing power	1.024 TFLOPS	0.5184 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	24
TMUs	40	32

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop size	large	large
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
SLI options	-	+

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	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	1536 MB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	192 Bit
Memory clock speed	1000 MHz	1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	64 GB/s	60.0 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

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

No outputs

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 (11_1)	12 API with Feature Level 12.1
Shader Model	5.1	5.1
OpenGL	4.6	4.5
OpenCL	1.2	1.1
Vulkan	1.2.131	N/A
CUDA	-	+

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark 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.

HD 7870M 3.92
+24.1%

GTX 460M 3.16

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. 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.

HD 7870M 1507
+24.1%

GTX 460M 1214

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

HD 7870M 2702
+66.5%

GTX 460M 1623

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

HD 7870M 13065
+74%

GTX 460M 7507

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	35−40 +16.7%	30 −16.7%
Full HD	45−50 +21.6%	37 −21.6%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 +14.3%	7−8 −14.3%
Elden Ring	9−10 +50%	6−7 −50%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	10−12 +37.5%	8−9 −37.5%
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 +14.3%	7−8 −14.3%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 +13.3%	14−16 −13.3%
Metro Exodus	8−9 +33.3%	6−7 −33.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 +18.2%	10−12 −18.2%
Valorant	6−7 +200%	2−3 −200%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	10−12 +37.5%	8−9 −37.5%
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 +14.3%	7−8 −14.3%
Dota 2	12−14 +33.3%	9−10 −33.3%
Elden Ring	9−10 +50%	6−7 −50%
Far Cry 5	20−22 +17.6%	16−18 −17.6%
Fortnite	21−24 +27.8%	18−20 −27.8%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 +13.3%	14−16 −13.3%
Grand Theft Auto V	12−14 +33.3%	9−10 −33.3%
Metro Exodus	8−9 +33.3%	6−7 −33.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	30−35 +17.2%	27−30 −17.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 +18.2%	10−12 −18.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	12−14 +8.3%	12−14 −8.3%
Valorant	6−7 +200%	2−3 −200%
World of Tanks	65−70 +19.6%	55−60 −19.6%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	10−12 +37.5%	8−9 −37.5%
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 +14.3%	7−8 −14.3%
Dota 2	12−14 +33.3%	9−10 −33.3%
Far Cry 5	20−22 +17.6%	16−18 −17.6%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 +13.3%	14−16 −13.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	30−35 +17.2%	27−30 −17.2%
Valorant	6−7 +200%	2−3 −200%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	2−3 +100%	1−2 −100%
Elden Ring	4−5 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%
Grand Theft Auto V	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	27−30 +22.7%	21−24 −22.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
World of Tanks	27−30 +27.3%	21−24 −27.3%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Counter-Strike 2	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Far Cry 5	9−10 +12.5%	8−9 −12.5%
Forza Horizon 4	4−5 +300%	1−2 −300%
Metro Exodus	0−1	0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	5−6 +25%	4−5 −25%
Valorant	12−14 +20%	10−11 −20%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Elden Ring	2−3 +100%	1−2 −100%
Grand Theft Auto V	16−18 +6.7%	14−16 −6.7%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	10−12 +22.2%	9−10 −22.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%
Dota 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Far Cry 5	4−5 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%
Fortnite	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Forza Horizon 4	2−3	0−1
Valorant	4−5 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%

This is how HD 7870M and GTX 460M compete in popular games:

HD 7870M is 17% faster in 900p
HD 7870M is 22% faster in 1080p

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Forza Horizon 4, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 7870M is 300% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

HD 7870M is ahead in 46 tests (79%)
there's a draw in 12 tests (21%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	3.92	3.16
Recency	24 April 2012	3 September 2010
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	1536 MB
Chip lithography	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	45 Watt	50 Watt

HD 7870M has a 24.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 42.9% more advanced lithography process, and 11.1% lower power consumption.

The Radeon HD 7870M is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 460M in performance tests.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.