AMD Radeon HD 6770 vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M and AMD Radeon HD 6770 are two end-of-life mobile graphics processors from different architectural eras, and the benchmark data shows they are remarkably close in overall performance despite their generational gap. The AMD Radeon HD 6770 edges out a narrow victory in the only directly comparable benchmark, but the NVIDIA card counters with superior API support and a significantly more power-efficient design. The data indicates these are not cards where one dominates the other; instead, the choice hinges on whether the user prioritizes raw compute throughput or modern feature support and efficiency.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon HD 6770 claims the sole head-to-head benchmark victory, winning the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 3649 against the NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M’s 3580. This represents a 1.9% advantage for the AMD part, a narrow margin that falls within the noise of typical benchmarking variance. The AMD card’s average benchmark score across all tests is 3649, while the NVIDIA card’s average is 3953, but this gap is misleading because it includes additional benchmark results for the NVIDIA card that the AMD card does not have.

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M wins in the broader software ecosystem. It has three separate benchmark scores—Geekbench Metal at 2777, Geekbench OpenCL at 3580, and Geekbench Vulkan at 5502—whereas the AMD Radeon HD 6770 only has a single Geekbench OpenCL result. The Vulkan score of 5502 is particularly significant, as it demonstrates the NVIDIA card’s ability to leverage modern graphics APIs that the AMD card cannot access at all due to its lack of Vulkan support. The NVIDIA card also supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the AMD card is limited to DirectX 11.2 (11_0).

In terms of positioning, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M sits at the 23rd percentile among all GPUs, while the AMD Radeon HD 6770 sits at the 22nd percentile. This one-percentile difference confirms they are essentially peers in the overall performance hierarchy. The NVIDIA card’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon R5 M420 (average score 3956, delta -0.1%), NVIDIA GeForce 830M (3957, -0.1%), and NVIDIA Quadro K2000 (3964, -0.3%), all of which are within a fraction of a percent of its performance. The AMD card’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (3629, +0.6%), NVIDIA GeForce GT 735M (3616, +0.9%), and NVIDIA GeForce 825M (3694, -1.2%), showing a similar clustering of near-identical performers.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear verdict: the AMD Radeon HD 6770 is the marginally faster GPU in raw compute workloads, but the NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M is the more versatile and future-proof option. For users who primarily run OpenCL-based applications, the AMD card’s 1.9% lead in Geekbench OpenCL is real but practically insignificant. For users who want access to Vulkan and Metal APIs, the NVIDIA card is the only choice, as the AMD card has no Vulkan support whatsoever.

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M’s average benchmark score of 3953 is 8.3% higher than the AMD card’s 3649, but this is largely due to the Vulkan result of 5502 inflating the average. When comparing only the overlapping OpenCL test, the AMD card wins. The architecture difference is stark: the AMD Radeon HD 6770 uses the older TeraScale 2 architecture on a 40 nm process, while the NVIDIA card uses the Kepler architecture on a 28 nm process. This translates directly to power consumption, with the NVIDIA card rated at 45 W TDP versus the AMD card’s 108 W TDP—a 2.4x efficiency advantage for NVIDIA.

Pick the AMD Radeon HD 6770 if the workload is strictly OpenCL-based and power consumption is not a primary concern. Pick the NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M if Vulkan support, lower power draw, or integrated form factor (IGP slot width) are important. The AMD card requires a dual-slot design with a 1x 6-pin power connector and a 300 W suggested PSU, while the NVIDIA card is an IGP with no external power connectors listed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark between these two GPUs is Geekbench OpenCL, and the results are extremely close. The AMD Radeon HD 6770 scores 3649, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M scores 3580, giving AMD a 1.9% advantage. This is a negligible difference in real-world terms—a single-digit percentage gap that could easily be reversed with different driver versions or system configurations.

The NVIDIA card’s other benchmarks provide additional context. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 5502 is substantially higher than its OpenCL score of 3580, suggesting the Kepler architecture is particularly well-suited to Vulkan’s low-level overhead model. The Geekbench Metal score of 2777 is lower than both, reflecting the card’s age relative to Apple’s Metal API. The AMD card has no equivalent benchmarks, so these results stand as unopposed evidence of the NVIDIA card’s broader API compatibility.

Looking at the rival clusters, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M’s nearest competitor is the AMD Radeon R5 M420 with an average score of 3956, just 0.1% higher. The AMD Radeon HD 6770’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce 825M at 3694, which is 1.2% higher. These rival comparisons confirm both cards are solidly mid-pack performers, neither significantly ahead of nor behind their immediate peers. The AMD card’s rival list also includes the NVIDIA RTX 5000 Mobile Ada Generation at 3596, which is 1.5% lower—an interesting data point showing the old TeraScale 2 card holds its own against much newer hardware in this single test.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M has an average benchmark score of 3953, compared to the AMD Radeon HD 6770’s 3649. However, this includes the NVIDIA card’s Vulkan score of 5502, which has no AMD counterpart.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon HD 6770 support Vulkan?

A: No. The AMD Radeon HD 6770 has no Vulkan API support listed, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M supports Vulkan 1.2.175.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon HD 6770 has 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 76.80 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do their transistor counts compare?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M uses 1,270 million transistors on a 118 mm² die (10.8M / mm² density). The AMD Radeon HD 6770 uses 1,040 million transistors on a 166 mm² die (6.3M / mm² density).

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6770 has a pixel rate of 13.60 GPixel/s, which is over three times higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M’s 4.392 GPixel/s.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M has a TDP of 45 W and is an IGP. The AMD Radeon HD 6770 has a TDP of 108 W, is a dual-slot card, requires a 1x 6-pin power connector, and has a 300 W suggested PSU.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M is built on the Kepler architecture using the GK107 chip, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It packs 1,270 million transistors into a 118 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 10.8M / mm². The AMD Radeon HD 6770 uses the TeraScale 2 architecture with the Juniper chip, also manufactured by TSMC but on an older 40 nm process. It contains 1,040 million transistors spread across a larger 166 mm² die, resulting in a lower density of 6.3M / mm².

The compute resources differ dramatically. The AMD card has 800 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has 384 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Despite having fewer than half the shading units, the NVIDIA card’s Kepler architecture is more efficient per unit, and the FP32 output tells the story: AMD delivers 1,360.0 GFLOPS against NVIDIA’s 421.6 GFLOPS. The AMD card also has higher texture rate (34.00 GTexel/s vs 17.57 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (13.60 GPixel/s vs 4.392 GPixel/s).

The API support is a major architectural differentiator. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The AMD card supports DirectX 11.2 (11_0), OpenGL 4.4, and has no Vulkan support. The NVIDIA card also runs Geekbench Metal, which the AMD card cannot. In terms of connectivity, the NVIDIA card uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the AMD card uses the older PCIe 2.0 x16 interface.

Specification Differences

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M and AMD Radeon HD 6770 differ across nearly every specification category. The NVIDIA card is a Kepler-architecture part from the GeForce 700M generation, released on 2013-03-31, while the AMD card is a TeraScale 2 part from the Northern Islands (HD 6700) generation, released earlier on 2011-01-20.

Memory specifications diverge in capacity and bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has 2 GB GDDR5 with a 128-bit bus and 64.00 GB/s bandwidth, running at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective). The AMD card has 1024 MB GDDR5 with a 128-bit bus and higher 76.80 GB/s bandwidth, running at 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective).

Physical and power characteristics could not be more different. The NVIDIA card is an IGP with 45 W TDP, no power connectors listed, and portable-device-dependent display outputs. The AMD card is a dual-slot design measuring 198 mm (7.8 inches) in length, with a 108 W TDP, a 1x 6-pin power connector, a 300 W suggested PSU, and display outputs of 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.3a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.1.

The AMD card has a launch MSRP of 129 USD; the NVIDIA card has no launch MSRP listed. Both are end-of-life products. The NVIDIA card’s predecessor is GeForce 600M and successor is GeForce 800M, while the AMD card’s predecessor is Evergreen and successor is Southern Islands. The NVIDIA card uses 28 nm manufacturing versus the AMD card’s 40 nm, and the NVIDIA card is fabricated with denser transistor packing (10.8M / mm² vs 6.3M / mm²).