AMD Radeon HD 6770 vs Intel HD Graphics P4600 Comparison

The AMD Radeon HD 6770 and the Intel HD Graphics P4600 represent two fundamentally different approaches to graphics processing: a dedicated discrete add-in board versus an integrated processor graphics solution. The benchmark data, drawn from a single Geekbench OpenCL test, shows the AMD part scoring 3,649 against Intel’s 3,389, a 7.7% advantage that places the two parts in adjacent performance percentiles—22nd for AMD and 20th for Intel. This narrow margin belies the deep architectural and feature-set divides between them, making the choice less about raw speed and more about system context and workload suitability.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon HD 6770 wins the only directly comparable benchmark in the data set, the Geekbench OpenCL test, by a 7.7% margin. That score of 3,649 puts it slightly ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (3,629, a 0.6% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 735M (3,616, a 0.9% delta), while trailing the NVIDIA GeForce 825M (3,694, a -1.2% delta). This places it in a performance band where it is competitive with older entry-level discrete mobile GPUs, but its real advantage lies in its dedicated memory subsystem and higher raw throughput metrics.

The Intel HD Graphics P4600, scoring 3,389, sits just below the NVIDIA GeForce GT 740 (3,431, a -1.2% delta) and the NVIDIA Quadro 2000M (3,434, a -1.3% delta), while leading the Intel HD Graphics 530 (3,332, a 1.7% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M (3,316, a 2.2% delta). Its win condition is not performance per se but integration: it consumes no separate PCIe slot, requires no external power connector, and draws its memory from the system pool. For a workstation or office PC where a discrete card is impractical or unnecessary, the P4600 offers a baseline of graphics capability without additional hardware.

In terms of workload split, the AMD card wins on compute-heavy OpenCL tasks and any scenario that benefits from dedicated GDDR5 memory bandwidth. The Intel part wins on system simplicity, power envelope (84 W TDP versus 108 W), and scenarios where the motherboard's display outputs are the only requirement. The data shows a 1–0 win split in benchmarks, but the Intel part's value proposition is qualitative, not quantitative.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon HD 6770 is built on the TeraScale 2 architecture, fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 166 mm² and 1,040 million transistors. That yields a transistor density of 6.3 million per square millimeter. The chip, codenamed Juniper, is part of the Northern Islands generation (HD 6700 series) and was released on 2011-01-20. It uses 800 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs, with a 128-bit memory bus connected to 1024 MB of GDDR5 running at 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective), delivering 76.80 GB/s of bandwidth.

The Intel HD Graphics P4600 uses the Haswell GT2 chip, built on Intel's 22 nm process with the Generation 7.5 architecture. It has 160 shading units, 20 TMUs, and only 2 ROPs. Its clocks are 350 MHz base and 1200 MHz boost, with memory being "System Shared" in size, type, and bus width, and bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This means the Intel part relies on the system's main memory for all graphics data, which is a fundamental bottleneck compared to the AMD card's dedicated VRAM.

The transistor count, die size, and transistor density for the Intel part are not listed in the data. However, the architectural differences are stark: the AMD card has 5 times the shading units (800 vs 160), 2 times the TMUs (40 vs 20), and 8 times the ROPs (16 vs 2). The pixel rate tells the story—13.60 GPixel/s for AMD versus 2.400 GPixel/s for Intel, a 5.7x difference. Texture rate is 34.00 GTexel/s versus 24.00 GTexel/s, a smaller gap of about 41.7%. FP32 compute stands at 1,360.0 GFLOPS for AMD versus 384.0 GFLOPS for Intel, a 3.5x advantage.

The API support also differs. AMD supports DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4, with no Vulkan listed. Intel supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.3, and Vulkan 1.0. The Intel part also has a higher boost clock (1200 MHz vs a base-only 350 MHz for AMD, though AMD's core clock is not listed), but the AMD card's massive advantage in execution units and memory bandwidth overrides this.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single head-to-head benchmark is Geekbench OpenCL, where the AMD Radeon HD 6770 scores 3,649 and the Intel HD Graphics P4600 scores 3,389. The delta is 7.7% in favor of AMD. This is a meaningful but not overwhelming gap—it places the AMD card roughly 8% faster in a compute-oriented workload that stresses parallel throughput.

Breaking down the numbers, the AMD card's 1,360.0 GFLOPS of FP32 compute is 3.5 times the Intel part's 384.0 GFLOPS. Yet the OpenCL score gap is only 7.7%, suggesting that the benchmark is not purely compute-bound, or that the Intel part's higher boost clock (1200 MHz) and shared-memory architecture mitigate some of the raw compute deficit. The pixel rate difference (13.60 vs 2.400 GPixel/s) is far larger than the score gap, indicating that fill-rate-heavy workloads would show a much bigger separation than this single OpenCL test.

The AMD card's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, scores 3,629, just 0.6% behind—meaning the HD 6770 is effectively at parity with that much newer card in this specific test. The Intel P4600's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 740, scores 3,431, which is 1.2% ahead of Intel. The P4600 also beats the Intel HD Graphics 530 by 1.7% and the GeForce GT 730M by 2.2%. These deltas are all small, clustering the entire field within a few percentage points, making the 7.7% AMD win the largest single gap in the data.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6770 scores 3,649 against the Intel HD Graphics P4600's 3,389, a 7.7% advantage for AMD.

Q: How does the AMD card compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The HD 6770 scores 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (3,629) and 0.9% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 735M (3,616), but trails the NVIDIA GeForce 825M (3,694) by 1.2%.

Q: What are the key compute differences between the two?

A: The AMD card has 800 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, while the Intel part has 160 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 2 ROPs. AMD's FP32 compute is 1,360.0 GFLOPS versus 384.0 GFLOPS for Intel.

Q: Does the Intel part support any features the AMD card does not?

A: Yes, the Intel HD Graphics P4600 supports Vulkan 1.0 and DirectX 12 (11_1), while the AMD card lists no Vulkan support and DirectX 11.2 (11_0).

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The AMD card has 1024 MB of dedicated GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus delivering 76.80 GB/s. The Intel part uses System Shared memory of System Shared type and bus width, with System Dependent bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel rate?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6770 has a pixel rate of 13.60 GPixel/s, which is 5.7 times the Intel P4600's 2.400 GPixel/s.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split: pick the AMD Radeon HD 6770 if you need dedicated compute and memory bandwidth, and pick the Intel HD Graphics P4600 if you need an integrated solution with no additional hardware. The AMD card wins the only benchmark by 7.7%, and its architectural advantages are massive—5x shading units, 8x ROPs, 3.5x FP32 compute, and 76.80 GB/s dedicated bandwidth versus a shared system memory pool. Its 108 W TDP and dual-slot footprint require a 300 W PSU and a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot, plus a 1x 6-pin power connector.

The Intel part, at 84 W TDP and IGP slot width, needs none of that—it uses the Ring Bus interface and motherboard-dependent display outputs. Its 2 ROPs and 24.00 GTexel/s texture rate are far below AMD's, but its 22 nm process and 1200 MHz boost clock show a more modern manufacturing approach. For OpenCL compute, the AMD card is definitively ahead. For a basic display output or low-power office system, the Intel P4600 is the only practical option, and its 20th percentile score is respectable for an integrated part. The verdict from the data: the AMD HD 6770 is the stronger GPU; the Intel P4600 is the stronger integrated compromise.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 6770 | Intel HD Graphics P4600 |

|---|---|---|

| Manufacturer | AMD | Intel |

| Chip | Juniper | Haswell GT2 |

| Architecture | TeraScale 2 | Generation 7.5 |

| Generation | Northern Islands (HD 6700) | HD Graphics-W (Haswell) |

| Process Node | 40 nm | 22 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Intel |

| Transistors | 1,040 million | Not listed |

| Die Size | 166 mm² | Not listed |

| Transistor Density | 6.3M / mm² | Not listed |

| Memory Clock | 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) | System Shared |

| Memory Size | 1024 MB | System Shared |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | System Shared |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | System Shared |

| Memory Bandwidth | 76.80 GB/s | System Dependent |

| Shading Units | 800 | 160 |

| TMUs | 40 | 20 |

| ROPs | 16 | 2 |

| Pixel Rate | 13.60 GPixel/s | 2.400 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 34.00 GTexel/s | 24.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1,360.0 GFLOPS | 384.0 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 108 W | 84 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | Not listed |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | Ring Bus |

| Display Outputs | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.3a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.1 | Motherboard Dependent |

| DirectX | 11.2 (11_0) | 12 (11_1) |

| OpenGL | 4.4 | 4.3 |

| Vulkan | Not listed | 1.0 |

| Release Date | 2011-01-20 | 2013-05-31 |

| Launch MSRP | 129 USD | Not listed |