GeForce GTX 460 SE vs Radeon HD 7970
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon HD 7970 and GeForce GTX 460 SE, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
HD 7970 outperforms 460 SE by a whopping 164% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 430 | 684 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 2.15 | 1.06 |
| Power efficiency | 3.85 | 2.43 |
| Architecture | GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) | Fermi (2010−2014) |
| GPU code name | Tahiti | GF104 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Design | reference | no data |
| Release date | 9 January 2012 (13 years ago) | 15 November 2010 (15 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $549 | $160 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.
HD 7970 has 103% better value for money than GTX 460 SE.
Performance to price scatter graph
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 | 2048 | 288 |
| Core clock speed | no data | 650 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 925 MHz | no data |
| Number of transistors | 4,313 million | 1,950 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 300 Watt | 150 Watt |
| Maximum GPU temperature | no data | 104 °C |
| Texture fill rate | 118.4 | 31.20 |
| Floating-point processing power | 3.789 TFLOPS | 0.7488 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 32 | 32 |
| TMUs | 128 | 48 |
| L1 Cache | 512 KB | 384 KB |
| L2 Cache | 768 KB | 512 KB |
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).
| Bus support | PCIe 2.1 x16 | 16x PCI-E 2.0 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
| Length | 275 mm | 210 mm |
| Height | no data | 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm) |
| Width | 2-slot | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 2x 6-pin |
| 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 | 6 GB | 1 GB |
| Memory bus width | 384 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1375 MHz | 1700 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 264 GB/s | 108.8 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | - |
Connectivity and outputs
This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.
| Number of display connectors | no data | 2 |
| Display Connectors | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 | 2 x Dual-Link DVI-I1 x Mini HDMI |
| Multi monitor support | no data | + |
| Eyefinity | + | - |
| HDMI | + | + |
| Maximum VGA resolution | no data | 2048x1536 |
| Audio input for HDMI | no data | Internal |
Supported technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| CrossFire | + | - |
| FreeSync | + | - |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | DirectX® 11 | 12 (11_0) |
| Shader Model | 6.5 (5.1) | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.1 |
| OpenCL | 2.1 (1.2) | 1.1 |
| Vulkan | - | N/A |
| CUDA | - | + |
Synthetic benchmarks
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.
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.
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 | 105
+200%
| 35−40
−200%
|
| Full HD | 93
+166%
| 35−40
−166%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | 5.90
−29.1%
| 4.57
+29.1%
|
- GTX 460 SE has 29% lower cost per frame in 1080p
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low
| Counter-Strike 2 | 70−75
+196%
|
24−27
−196%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+189%
|
9−10
−189%
|
Full HD
Medium
| Battlefield 5 | 55−60
+167%
|
21−24
−167%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 70−75
+196%
|
24−27
−196%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+189%
|
9−10
−189%
|
| Escape from Tarkov | 50−55
+189%
|
18−20
−189%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
+200%
|
14−16
−200%
|
| Fortnite | 70−75
+174%
|
27−30
−174%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 50−55
+200%
|
18−20
−200%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 35−40
+179%
|
14−16
−179%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 45−50
+188%
|
16−18
−188%
|
| Valorant | 110−120
+178%
|
40−45
−178%
|
Full HD
High
| Battlefield 5 | 55−60
+167%
|
21−24
−167%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 70−75
+196%
|
24−27
−196%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 212
+165%
|
80−85
−165%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+189%
|
9−10
−189%
|
| Dota 2 | 85−90
+183%
|
30−33
−183%
|
| Escape from Tarkov | 50−55
+189%
|
18−20
−189%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
+200%
|
14−16
−200%
|
| Fortnite | 70−75
+174%
|
27−30
−174%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 50−55
+200%
|
18−20
−200%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 35−40
+179%
|
14−16
−179%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 45−50
+167%
|
18−20
−167%
|
| Metro Exodus | 24−27
+189%
|
9−10
−189%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 45−50
+188%
|
16−18
−188%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 30−35
+175%
|
12−14
−175%
|
| Valorant | 110−120
+178%
|
40−45
−178%
|
Full HD
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 55−60
+167%
|
21−24
−167%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+189%
|
9−10
−189%
|
| Dota 2 | 85−90
+183%
|
30−33
−183%
|
| Escape from Tarkov | 50−55
+189%
|
18−20
−189%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
+200%
|
14−16
−200%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 50−55
+200%
|
18−20
−200%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 45−50
+188%
|
16−18
−188%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 30−35
+175%
|
12−14
−175%
|
| Valorant | 110−120
+178%
|
40−45
−178%
|
Full HD
Epic
| Fortnite | 70−75
+174%
|
27−30
−174%
|
1440p
High
| Counter-Strike 2 | 24−27
+167%
|
9−10
−167%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 95−100
+174%
|
35−40
−174%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 18−20
+171%
|
7−8
−171%
|
| Metro Exodus | 14−16
+200%
|
5−6
−200%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 100−110
+200%
|
35−40
−200%
|
| Valorant | 130−140
+170%
|
50−55
−170%
|
1440p
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 35−40
+192%
|
12−14
−192%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 10−12
+175%
|
4−5
−175%
|
| Escape from Tarkov | 24−27
+178%
|
9−10
−178%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 27−30
+170%
|
10−11
−170%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 30−35
+210%
|
10−11
−210%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 18−20
+200%
|
6−7
−200%
|
1440p
Epic
| Fortnite | 27−30
+180%
|
10−11
−180%
|
4K
High
| Counter-Strike 2 | 8−9
+167%
|
3−4
−167%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 24−27
+167%
|
9−10
−167%
|
| Metro Exodus | 9−10
+200%
|
3−4
−200%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 16−18
+183%
|
6−7
−183%
|
| Valorant | 65−70
+188%
|
24−27
−188%
|
4K
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 18−20
+200%
|
6−7
−200%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 8−9
+167%
|
3−4
−167%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 4−5
+300%
|
1−2
−300%
|
| Dota 2 | 45−50
+188%
|
16−18
−188%
|
| Escape from Tarkov | 12−14
+200%
|
4−5
−200%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 12−14
+225%
|
4−5
−225%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 21−24
+175%
|
8−9
−175%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 12−14
+200%
|
4−5
−200%
|
4K
Epic
| Fortnite | 12−14
+200%
|
4−5
−200%
|
This is how HD 7970 and GTX 460 SE compete in popular games:
- HD 7970 is 200% faster in 900p
- HD 7970 is 166% faster in 1080p
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 12.54 | 4.75 |
| Recency | 9 January 2012 | 15 November 2010 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 6 GB | 1 GB |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 300 Watt | 150 Watt |
HD 7970 has a 164% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, a 500% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 42.9% more advanced lithography process.
GTX 460 SE, on the other hand, has 100% lower power consumption.
The Radeon HD 7970 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 460 SE in performance tests.
Other comparisons
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
