GPU Comparison

# NVIDIA GeForce 830M vs AMD Radeon HD 6770

The NVIDIA GeForce 830M and AMD Radeon HD 6770 represent two very different eras of GPU design, with the former built for mobility on a 28 nm process and the latter a desktop card from the 40 nm era. Benchmark data shows the 830M holds an 18.5% lead in Geekbench OpenCL performance, scoring 4324 against the HD 6770's 3649, despite the AMD card featuring significantly more raw compute hardware. This comparison reveals how architecture efficiency can overcome brute-force specifications, though the HD 6770 still holds advantages in memory bandwidth and pixel throughput that matter for certain workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU scores higher in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 830M wins decisively with a score of 4324, which is 18.5% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 6770's 3649. This delta is substantial given both cards occupy similar overall percentile rankings (24th vs 22nd percentile among all GPUs).

Q: How do these cards compare in overall benchmark percentiles?

A: The 830M sits at the 24th percentile of all GPUs, while the HD 6770 ranks at the 22nd percentile. Despite the HD 6770 having a lower average benchmark score (3649), its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 at 3629 (0.6% behind), indicating the HD 6770 is competitive with much newer hardware in certain tests.

Q: What memory configurations do these GPUs use?

A: The 830M uses 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 14.40 GB/s bandwidth, while the HD 6770 has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, providing 76.80 GB/s. The HD 6770's bandwidth advantage is over 5x higher, which is notable for memory-intensive workloads.

Q: Which card has more shading units and texture mapping units?

A: The HD 6770 has 800 shading units and 40 TMUs, compared to the 830M's 256 shading units and 16 TMUs. The HD 6770 also has double the ROPs (16 vs 8), yet it still loses in OpenCL performance, highlighting architectural differences.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The 830M is rated at 33 W TDP with no power connectors and IGP slot width, while the HD 6770 draws 108 W TDP with a dual-slot design and requires a 6-pin power connector plus a 300 W suggested PSU. The 830M uses over 3x less power.

Q: Which API support differs between the two cards?

A: The 830M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 6770 supports DirectX 11.2 (11_0), OpenGL 4.4, and has no Vulkan support. This gives the 830M access to modern graphics APIs that the HD 6770 cannot utilize.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast. The NVIDIA GeForce 830M uses the Maxwell architecture on the GM108 chip, built on TSMC's 28 nm process with 1,020 million transistors packed into a 77 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 13.2 million transistors per square millimeter, reflecting a modern, tightly-packed design. The AMD Radeon HD 6770, in contrast, uses the aging TeraScale 2 architecture on the Juniper chip, fabricated on TSMC's 40 nm process with 1,040 million transistors spread across a much larger 166 mm² die, giving a density of just 6.3 million transistors per square millimeter.

The memory subsystems differ dramatically. The 830M runs DDR3 memory at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) with a 64-bit bus, producing 14.40 GB/s bandwidth. The HD 6770 uses GDDR5 at 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) on a 128-bit bus, achieving 76.80 GB/s, a 5.3x advantage. This makes the HD 6770 far better suited to bandwidth-hungry tasks, though the 830M compensates with a more efficient memory controller and cache hierarchy.

Compute resources are also lopsided. The HD 6770 boasts 800 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, enabling a pixel rate of 13.60 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 34.00 GTexel/s. The 830M has only 256 shading units, 16 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, yielding 9.200 GPixel/s and 18.40 GTexel/s. The HD 6770's FP32 throughput of 1,360.0 GFLOPS is over 2.3x the 830M's 588.8 GFLOPS. Yet the 830M still wins in OpenCL, suggesting Maxwell's scheduler and instruction efficiency overcome the raw unit deficit.

The 830M operates at a base clock of 1082 MHz with a boost up to 1150 MHz, while the HD 6770 has no listed base or boost clocks, only its memory clock. This clock advantage further aids the 830M's efficiency story. The 830M connects via PCIe 3.0 x8, whereas the HD 6770 uses the older PCIe 2.0 x16 interface. The HD 6770 is a dual-slot card measuring 198 mm (7.8 inches) in length, while the 830M is an integrated graphics processor with no dedicated dimensions, it is portable device dependent in its display outputs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, where the NVIDIA GeForce 830M scores 4324 against the AMD Radeon HD 6770's 3649. This 18.5% delta in favor of the 830M is counterintuitive given the HD 6770's massive hardware advantage in shading units, texture units, and memory bandwidth. The result indicates that Maxwell's architecture extracts far more real-world performance per compute unit than TeraScale 2.

This performance gap becomes more interesting when examining each card's nearest rivals. The 830M's average benchmark score of 3957 places it within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M (3953) and 0.2% of the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 (3964), while the AMD Radeon R5 M420 matches it at 3956. The HD 6770's average score of 3649 positions it just 0.6% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (3629), a card from a much later generation, and 0.9% ahead of the GeForce GT 735M (3616). This suggests the HD 6770 remains surprisingly relevant in compute workloads despite its age, though it cannot match the 830M's overall efficiency.

The delta between the two cards' average scores is approximately 8.4%, but the head-to-head OpenCL test shows an 18.5% gap, indicating the 830M's advantage is more pronounced in that specific workload. Both cards hold similar overall percentile rankings (24th vs 22nd), implying that their real-world performance differences are modest across a broad range of applications, even if the 830M leads in this particular benchmark.

The Verdict

The data points to the NVIDIA GeForce 830M as the stronger performer in synthetic compute benchmarks, despite having roughly one-third the shading units and one-fifth the memory bandwidth of the AMD Radeon HD 6770. The 18.5% OpenCL lead is meaningful and consistent with the 830M's higher percentile ranking. For users prioritizing modern API support, the 830M's DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility make it the more future-proof choice, whereas the HD 6770 lacks Vulkan entirely and stops at OpenGL 4.4.

However, the HD 6770 is not without merit. Its 76.80 GB/s bandwidth and 13.60 GPixel/s pixel rate suggest it could outperform the 830M in memory-bound or fill-rate-limited scenarios, even if the OpenCL results do not reflect this. The HD 6770's 2.3x higher FP32 throughput (1,360.0 GFLOPS vs 588.8 GFLOPS) indicates untapped potential in workloads that scale well with raw compute units, though Maxwell's efficiency clearly compensates in the tested benchmark.

For a laptop user needing a low-power integrated solution, the 830M's 33 W TDP versus the HD 6770's 108 W TDP is a decisive factor. The 830M requires no power connectors and fits an IGP form factor, while the HD 6770 needs a 6-pin connector and a 300 W PSU. The HD 6770 is an end-of-life desktop card from 2011 with a launch MSRP of 129 USD, whereas the 830M is also end-of-life but from 2014, representing a newer design philosophy. Users with modern software stacks should favor the 830M; those with legacy applications that favor AMD's compute layout might still find the HD 6770 viable.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce 830M | AMD Radeon HD 6770 |

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

| Architecture | Maxwell | TeraScale 2 |

| Chip | GM108 | Juniper |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 1,020 million | 1,040 million |

| Die Size | 77 mm² | 166 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 13.2M / mm² | 6.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1082 MHz | None |

| Boost Clock | 1150 MHz | None |

| Memory Clock | 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) | 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 1024 MB |

| Memory Type | DDR3 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 14.40 GB/s | 76.80 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 256 | 800 |

| TMUs | 16 | 40 |

| ROPs | 8 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 9.200 GPixel/s | 13.60 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 18.40 GTexel/s | 34.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 588.8 GFLOPS | 1,360.0 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 33 W | 108 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

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

| Suggested PSU | None | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

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

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

| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.4 |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | None |

| Dimensions | None | 198 mm (7.8 inches) |

| Release Date | 2014-03-11 | 2011-01-20 |

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce 830M wins in scenarios where architectural efficiency and modern API support matter most. Its 18.5% OpenCL benchmark advantage demonstrates that Maxwell's scheduling and execution efficiency deliver superior compute performance per watt and per transistor. The 830M's Vulkan 1.4 support opens doors to modern cross-platform graphics workloads that the HD 6770 cannot access. Its 2 GB memory capacity, while slower, provides more headroom for larger datasets than the HD 6770's 1 GB. The 33 W TDP and IGP form factor make the 830M the clear choice for portable devices where thermal and power constraints are paramount. The 830M's higher clock speeds (1082 MHz base, 1150 MHz boost) also contribute to its responsiveness in clock-sensitive tasks.

The AMD Radeon HD 6770 wins in scenarios that leverage its hardware advantages. With 76.80 GB/s bandwidth, over 5x the 830M, the HD 6770 is better suited for memory-bandwidth-intensive operations like large texture streaming or high-resolution framebuffer work. Its 13.60 GPixel/s pixel rate and 34.00 GTexel/s texture rate outpace the 830M by 47.8% and 84.8%, respectively, suggesting advantages in fill-rate-bound games or applications. The 800 shading units and 1,360.0 GFLOPS FP32 throughput provide raw compute headroom for parallel workloads that can saturate all units, even if Maxwell's efficiency wins the OpenCL test. The HD 6770's dual-slot cooler and dedicated power connector also imply sustained performance under load, whereas the 830M's IGP design may be subject to thermal throttling in thin laptops. The HD 6770's 128-bit memory bus and GDDR5 memory type are generational advantages that the 830M's 64-bit DDR3 cannot match. For users with older software optimized for TeraScale 2's architecture, the HD 6770 may deliver more consistent results, and its 198 mm length makes it a manageable addition to desktop systems with the requisite 300 W PSU.