Radeon RX 560 and Radeon RX 460 are two budget mid-range graphics cards from AMD. Radeon RX 560 is a newer graphics card and an upgrade over RX 460. These graphics cards are aimed at gamers on a budget who want to play each and every latest on decent graphics settings and resolution. On these graphics cards, you can run latest games on medium to high settings at 1080p resolution with comfortable frame rates. Both these graphics cards pretty much similar and offers almost similar kind of performance in games. This may confuse users on which card to get for their PC. So here in this post, I am going to make a complete comparison between Radeon RX 560 and RX 460 graphics cards based on their specifications, performance, and pricing.
GPU Architecture
Both Radeon RX 560 and RX 460 are based on the Polaris GPU architecture from AMD but have different sets of GPUs. The GPU in Radeon RX 560 is Baffin XT and in Radeon RX 460 it is Baffin PRO. The GPU of Radeon RX 560 is a bit more powerful and has 1024 Stream Processors while Radeon 460 has 896 Stream Processors. The difference of 128 Stream Processors makes some performance difference in games, especially at higher graphics settings. Also, the Core Clock of Radeon RX 560 is considerably higher than that of Radeon RX 460. Below is the complete comparison of GPUs of these budget mid-range graphics cards.
GPU Comparison | Radeon RX 560 GPU | Radeon RX 460 GPU |
GPU Name | Baffin XT | Baffin PRO |
Fabrication Process | 14nm | 14nm |
Transistors | 3000 million | 3000 million |
Stream Processors | 1024 | 896 |
Compute Units | 16 | 14 |
ROPs | 16 | 16 |
TMUs | 64 | 56 |
Memory
Both Radeon RX 560 and RX 460 come with 2GB and 4GB GDDR5 memory configuration having a memory interface of 128-bit. Also, the memory speeds of both these graphics cards are the same at 7000 MHz and offer the same amount of memory bandwidth which is 112 Gbps.
Features
In terms of features, both these graphics cards are neck to neck. Both Radeon RX 560 and RX 560 come with features like CrossFire, FreeSync, DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan, HDR and more. Radeon RX 560 comes with FreeSync 2 and RX 460 comes with FreeSync 1 technology. FreeSync is a variable refresh rate technology from AMD to eliminate stuttering and screen tearing in games by altering refresh rates dynamically. So in terms of features list, both these graphics cards are almost the same and there is almost nothing to differentiate about.
Gaming Performance
The performance of Radeon RX 560 is certainly a bit better than Radeon RX 460. This is because of the extra 128 Stream Processors and higher GPU Clock frequencies of Radeon RX 560. You will get an average of 20 FPS more than the Radeon RX 460 in gaming at 1080p. The benchmarks of Radeon RX 560 and RX 460 are not out yet but below you can see the gaming performance of Radeon RX 560 in the latest games at 1080p.
Power Consumption
The power consumption of both these graphics cards is nearly the same. The reference Radeon RX 560 has a power consumption of 80W and Radeon RX 460 consumes about 75W of power at max. Both Radeon RX 560 and RX 460 do require an external 6-pin PCI Express power connector for its working.
Price
In terms of price, you can get Radeon RX 460 a bit cheaper than Radeon RX 560. You can check the current prices of both these graphics cards from the link given below.
Radeon RX 560 vs RX 460 Specifications
Specifications | Radeon RX 560 | Radeon RX 460 |
Stream Processors | 1024 | 896 |
GPU Architecture | Polaris | Polaris |
Memory Size | 2GB / 4GB GDDR5 | 2GB / 4GB GDDR5 |
Memory Interface | 128 | 128 |
Memory Bandwidth | 112 GB/s | 112 GB/s |
Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 | PCI Express 3.0 |
DirectX | 12 | 12 |
OpenGL | 4.5 | 4.5 |
Vulkan API | Yes | Yes |
CrossFire | Yes | Yes |
VR Ready | No | No |
FreeSync | Yes (FreeSync 2) | Yes |
Power Consumption | 80W | 75W |
Recommended PSU | 400W | 400W |
See also: Radeon RX 460 vs GeForce GTX 1050 Comparison
Final Thoughts
In the end, I would like to say that both Radeon RX 560 and RX 460 are great budget mid-range graphics cards for 1080p gaming. They are almost similar but the newer RX 560 is a bit faster with some newer or updated technologies. On the other hand, Radeon RX 460 is a bit cheaper than RX 560 and will offer better value for money with almost similar performance. So if you are on a very tight budget and can get Radeon RX 460 at a very cheaper price compared to RX 560 then you should definitely go for Radeon RX 460 otherwise if you want the latest graphics card with a slightly higher price then you should go for Radeon RX 560. If you have any queries or doubts regarding these graphics cards then you can ask me about them by leaving a comment below.
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I have the option to get either one of these and was wondering if the extra $49.00 is worth the money to get the 560? If I get the 460 I will eventually upgrade it to a better card so I am leaning towards to 460 just because it is cheaper and will do the job I need it to while I save up to replace the card. This is going on a new rig and I am on a super tight budget which is why I am up in the air about which card I want.
Well if you are on a tight budget then RX 460 is a better choice. You can game at 1080p without any issues and can overclock this card for better performance too.