AMD released their second Polaris chip "Baffin" earlier this week. It is a much slower, more cost-efficient chip than "Ellesmere", which we've seen on the Radeon RX 470 and 480 before. AMD is targeting the Radeon RX 460 at light and casual gamers - think of MOBA games like Counter-Strike: Go and DOTA 2. AMD sent us the ASUS Radeon RX 460 STRIX OC 4 GB for our review of the new SKU; note that it is the 4 GB version since a 2 GB version of the RX 460 is also available, but more on that later. ASUS has overclocked their card out of the box to a frequency of 1256 MHz, which is about 5% higher than the AMD reference clock. We unfortunately don't have a RX 460 reference design, so there is no way to draw an accurate comparison to the reference card. Compared to the aging Radeon R7 370 at 900p, the RX 460 STRIX is around 9% faster, matching GTX 950 reference performance; the GTX 960 is 17% faster. The next-fastest Polaris card is the RX 470, which is a whopping 67% faster; the RX 480 is even twice as fast. Overall performance of the RX 460 is pathetic compared to the performance numbers we are used to from recent reviews. However, you do have to consider that this is an entry-level card that comes at low pricing with the goal to give you the ability to play games at low detail settings and low resolutions. I wouldn't recommend the card for 1080p gaming with big AAA titles, even though it should handle older games or MOBA games at that resolution, though with reduced details only.

The ASUS thermal solution is a cost-effective design that works very well thanks to the RX 460 GPU's low heat output. The cooler runs quietly even though ASUS set a set a 65°C temperature target, which is due to the card never reaching 65°C, no matter the game you throw at it. In idle, the card will stop its fans completely for the perfect noise-free experience during desktop work and Internet browsing.

Power efficiency of the card is improved over previous AMD generations, but it is definitely worse than on the RX 480 and RX 470, which are competing with NVIDIA's previous generation in that metric. NVIDIA's latest Pascal cards are more than twice as power efficient. I wish AMD had sent us the 75 W reference design without the power connector since that would have been an interesting card to test, promising excellent performance per watt. ASUS has upgraded their card with a 6-pin power input, which is necessary because the card draws around 100 W during gaming due to the overclock out of the box, though only for a few percent extra performance.

A nice feature on the Radeon RX 460 STRIX is the fan header, which can be used to run a case fan at the same speed as the graphics card's fans. That includes the idle-fan-off feature, which makes this a simple way to reduce your system's noise output, case fans stopped while not gaming and overall heat output low. Once you start gaming and the graphics card starts producing heat, the case fan will start turning as well to move hot air out of your case; I like it.

The RX 460 was initially supposed to retail at $99, which would have been amazing; now, the card starts at $109 for the 2 GB version, which is the memory capacity I would recommend. The card's limited graphics power (shaders) will ensure you'll never be able to play games that make actual use of more than 2 GB VRAM. If you are in the market for a RX 460, your funds are limited, so make sure not to blow them on 2 GB of extra VRAM that doesn't provide any benefits. If you have more money, you should save up to get the cheapest RX 470 4 GB you can find (around $199). There's also the option of buying a used card, with plenty of options available at around the $100 mark, but such cards usually come without a warranty, so you'll be left with nothing if you spend your last 100 bucks on a graphics card and it dies soon after. It's probably safer to go for the RX 460 with 2 GB VRAM. Used cards will also lack DirectX 12 and Vulkan support, which promises to improve performance in upcoming titles and could help lift games into the "playable" category, or would let you dial up graphics settings. ASUS has priced their 4 GB card at $149, which is a $10 increase over the 4 GB base price of $139. Even though a small increase for a card with a good cooler and a mild overclock, I can't recommend the ASUS RX 460 4 GB. I really wish AMD had sent us a 2 GB card - it would have definitely gotten a recommendation.