AMD Radeon HD 6770 vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 Comparison

The AMD Radeon HD 6770 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 are two end-of-life graphics cards from the same era, but the benchmark data reveals a clear, albeit narrow, performance hierarchy. Based on the Geekbench OpenCL results, the AMD Radeon HD 6770 edges out the NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 with a score of 3649 against 3594. This constitutes a 1.5% performance advantage for the AMD card, a margin that, while small, is consistent across the single benchmark test available. Both cards sit in the bottom quartile of all GPUs, with the HD 6770 at the 22nd percentile and the GT 545 at the 21st, indicating they are positioned for basic computing tasks rather than high-end workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, which measures general-purpose compute performance. In this test, the AMD Radeon HD 6770 scores 3649, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 scores 3594. The resulting delta of 1.5% means the AMD card is the clear winner in this head-to-head matchup. This is a modest but definitive lead, suggesting that for OpenCL-accelerated applications, the HD 6770 will provide slightly better throughput than its NVIDIA counterpart.

When placed in the broader context of their respective nearest rivals, the picture becomes more nuanced. The HD 6770’s score of 3649 puts it just 0.6% ahead of an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, which scores 3629. It also leads the GeForce GT 735M (3616) by 0.9% and the RTX 5000 Mobile Ada Generation (3596) by 1.5%. However, it trails the GeForce 825M, which scores 3694, by 1.2%. This indicates that the HD 6770 is performing right at the level of a modern entry-level mobile GPU, which confirms its architectural efficiency for its time.

On the other side, the GT 545’s score of 3594 puts it in a tight cluster with its rivals. It is essentially tied with the RTX 5000 Mobile Ada Generation, which scores 3596, showing a negligible -0.1% difference. It trails the GeForce GT 735M (3616) by 0.6% and the GeForce GTX 1050 (3629) by 1%. The most significant gap is the 1.5% deficit to the AMD Radeon HD 6770, which is its closest rival in this dataset. The data shows that the GT 545 is at the very bottom of this performance tier, slightly underperforming even some mobile-oriented chips.

The implication of these numbers is that while the HD 6770 wins the head-to-head, neither card offers a commanding lead. The 1.5% delta between them is smaller than the variance seen among their other rivals. For instance, the HD 6770’s 1.2% loss to the GeForce 825M is nearly as large as its victory over the GT 545. This suggests that in real-world applications, the performance difference between the two cards could be easily masked by driver optimizations or specific workload characteristics. The benchmark result is a statistical edge, not a generational leap.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6770 achieves a score of 3649, which is 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 545’s score of 3594.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon HD 6770 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050?

A: The HD 6770 scores 3649, which is 0.6% higher than the GTX 1050’s score of 3629, making them nearly equivalent in this test.

Q: What is the performance gap between the NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 and the RTX 5000 Mobile Ada Generation?

A: The GT 545 scores 3594, while the RTX 5000 Mobile Ada Generation scores 3596, resulting in a negligible -0.1% difference, effectively a tie.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 outperform any of its listed rivals?

A: No. The GT 545 has a negative deltaPct against all its nearest rivals, showing it trails the RTX 5000 Mobile Ada Generation (-0.1%), GeForce GT 735M (-0.6%), GeForce GTX 1050 (-1%), and AMD Radeon HD 6770 (-1.5%).

Q: Which card sits at a higher percentile of all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6770 is at the 22nd percentile, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 is at the 21st percentile, indicating the AMD card is marginally better positioned.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6770 has an average benchmark score of 3649, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 has an average of 3594, a difference of 55 points in favor of the AMD card.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon HD 6770 is the superior card. It wins the only head-to-head test, posts a higher average benchmark score, and sits at a higher percentile among all GPUs. The 1.5% performance edge is real, though narrow. Users who prioritize raw compute performance in OpenCL applications should opt for the HD 6770.

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 545, however, is not without its own merits when viewed through the lens of system integration. Its significantly lower power draw and smaller physical footprint are data-backed advantages. It consumes 70 W of power compared to the HD 6770’s 108 W and fits in a single-slot design versus the HD 6770’s dual-slot requirement. For a system with limited power delivery or physical space, the GT 545 could be the more practical choice, even if it sacrifices a small amount of performance. The data suggests a trade-off: a bit of speed for a lot of efficiency.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets for these two cards reveal stark contrasts in their design philosophies. The memory subsystem is a primary differentiator. The AMD Radeon HD 6770 uses 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, achieving a bandwidth of 76.80 GB/s. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 uses 1536 MB of DDR3 memory on a 192-bit bus, but its bandwidth is only 38.40 GB/s. The AMD card has twice the memory bandwidth, which is critical for compute tasks.

The GPU core configurations also differ dramatically. The HD 6770 packs 800 shading units, 40 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 render output units (ROPs). The GT 545 has only 144 shading units and 24 TMUs, though it also has 16 ROPs. This results in vastly different theoretical throughput rates: the HD 6770 achieves a pixel rate of 13.60 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 34.00 GTexel/s, while the GT 545 manages only 4.320 GPixel/s and 17.28 GTexel/s, respectively. The FP32 compute performance is also lopsided at 1,360.0 GFLOPS for the AMD card versus 414.7 GFLOPS for the NVIDIA card.

Power and physical requirements are another major point of divergence. The HD 6770 has a TDP of 108 W, requires a 1x 6-pin power connector, and suggests a 300 W power supply. It is a dual-slot card measuring 198 mm in length. The GT 545, conversely, has a TDP of only 70 W, requires no external power connectors, and suggests a 250 W power supply. It is a single-slot card with a length of 145 mm, making it far easier to install in compact systems.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures, which explains their performance and efficiency profiles. The AMD Radeon HD 6770 is based on the Juniper chip using the TeraScale 2 architecture, part of the Northern Islands (HD 6700) generation. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 uses the GF116 chip with the Fermi 2.0 architecture, from the GeForce 500 generation. Both are fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC, but the chip designs are radically different in scale.

The transistor counts and die sizes reflect this. The AMD Juniper chip contains 1,040 million transistors on a 166 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 6.3 million transistors per mm². The NVIDIA GF116 chip is larger, at 238 mm², and contains more transistors, 1,170 million, but has a lower density of 4.9 million per mm². This suggests the AMD architecture is more densely packed, which contributes to its higher compute throughput per unit of silicon.

The architectures also differ in their API support. The AMD card supports DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6. While both are limited to the DirectX 11 feature level, the newer API versions on the NVIDIA card could imply better compatibility with modern software, even if the underlying hardware is older. Neither card supports Vulkan, according to the data.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon HD 6770 wins in every performance metric recorded. It is the clear choice for any application that relies on raw compute throughput, such as OpenCL-accelerated tasks. Its higher pixel rate, texture rate, and FP32 performance make it better suited for graphics rendering and general-purpose GPU computing. With 800 shading units, it has far more parallel processing power than the NVIDIA card’s 144 units. If the workload is performance-sensitive, the HD 6770 is the only logical option from this pair.

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 wins in the areas of power efficiency and physical integration. Its 70 W TDP is significantly lower than the HD 6770’s 108 W, meaning it generates less heat and requires less cooling. The single-slot design and shorter 145 mm length make it compatible with small form factor cases and motherboards with limited clearance. It also does not require a 6-pin power connector, simplifying installation in older or lower-wattage power supplies. The GT 545 also offers a larger memory pool of 1536 MB, which could be beneficial for holding larger textures, albeit at a much lower bandwidth. For a user building a low-power media center PC or a basic office machine, the GT 545’s efficiency and size are its winning attributes, even if it loses the performance battle.