AMD Radeon HD 6770 vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M and AMD Radeon HD 6770 are both end-of-life mobile and desktop graphics cards, respectively, separated by roughly two and a half years of architecture development. The data shows a clear overall winner: the GT 755M holds a decisive lead in the sole head-to-head benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, scoring 4,934 versus the HD 6770’s 3,649, a delta of 35.2%. This translates to a higher average benchmark score of 4,033 for the NVIDIA part against 3,649 for the AMD part, placing them in the 24th and 22nd percentiles of all GPUs, respectively. The verdict from the numbers is straightforward for compute workloads, but the architectural differences and specific feature sets tell a more nuanced story for different use cases.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M is the superior choice for compute performance. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 4,934 is 35.2% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 6770’s 3,649. This is a substantial margin, indicating that the NVIDIA card is significantly more efficient in raw throughput for parallel processing tasks. The GT 755M’s average benchmark score of 4,033 also exceeds the HD 6770’s 3,649, reinforcing its overall performance advantage.

However, the AMD card is not without its own merits. While it loses on compute, the HD 6770 shows a higher theoretical pixel and texture fill rate. It delivers 13.60 GPixel/s and 34.00 GTexel/s, compared to the GT 755M’s 8.160 GPixel/s and 32.64 GTexel/s. For tasks that are heavily rasterization-bound, such as certain legacy gaming workloads, the AMD card’s advantage in pixel throughput could be relevant. The data suggests that a user prioritizing raw compute power for applications like OpenCL acceleration should choose the GT 755M. Conversely, a user with a focus on fill-rate-dependent scenarios might find the HD 6770’s specifications more appealing, despite its overall lower compute score. The GT 755M also wins on energy efficiency, with a 50 W TDP versus the HD 6770’s 108 W, making it a far more power-frugal option. The decision ultimately hinges on whether the workload is compute-bound or fill-rate-bound, with the data strongly favoring NVIDIA for the former.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural eras. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M is built on the Kepler architecture, using the GK107 chip, and is manufactured on a 28 nm process node at TSMC. In contrast, the AMD Radeon HD 6770 uses the older TeraScale 2 architecture with the Juniper chip, fabricated on a larger 40 nm process, also at TSMC. This process difference is a key factor in their efficiency profiles. The GT 755M packs 1,270 million transistors into a die size of 118 mm², achieving a transistor density of 10.8M / mm². The HD 6770, with 1,040 million transistors on a 166 mm² die, has a much lower density of 6.3M / mm². This means the NVIDIA chip is significantly more compact and dense, contributing to its lower power draw.

The core configurations differ substantially as well. The GT 755M has 384 shading units, 32 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 raster operations pipelines (ROPs). The HD 6770 counters with 800 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Despite having fewer shading units, the GT 755M achieves a higher FP32 compute rating of 783.4 GFLOPS, but this is far lower than the HD 6770’s 1,360.0 GFLOPS. This is a curious inversion: the AMD card has more than double the shading units and a much higher theoretical FP32 number, yet it loses decisively in the OpenCL benchmark. This suggests architectural efficiency differences are huge; Kepler’s design is better at extracting real-world performance from its compute units than TeraScale 2’s VLIW-based design. The memory subsystems are similar in width (128-bit bus both), but the GT 755M offers 2 GB of GDDR5 vs the HD 6770’s 1 GB, and a higher bandwidth of 86.40 GB/s vs 76.80 GB/s. The GT 755M also runs its memory at a faster effective speed of 5.4 Gbps, versus 4.8 Gbps on the AMD. In terms of API support, the GT 755M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175, while the HD 6770 is limited to DirectX 11.2 (11_0), OpenGL 4.4, and no Vulkan support.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

There is only one direct benchmark comparison available: Geekbench OpenCL. In this test, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M scored 4,934, while the AMD Radeon HD 6770 scored 3,649. The delta is 35.2% in favor of NVIDIA. This is the single most important data point for comparing their compute capabilities. It shows that the GT 755M is not just slightly faster, but significantly ahead in a real-world compute workload. This result is particularly telling given the HD 6770’s theoretical FP32 advantage of 1,360.0 GFLOPS versus 783.4 GFLOPS. The benchmark results indicate that Kepler’s architecture is far more efficient at executing OpenCL instructions, making the raw shader count less relevant. The NVIDIA part’s victory here is a clear statement about the maturity and efficiency of its architecture over the older AMD design.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card provides additional context. The GT 755M’s average score of 4,033 puts it just 0.5% ahead of the AMD FirePro M4150 and 1.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2, while being 1% behind the Intel HD Graphics 630. This places it in a competitive bracket with other mid-range mobile and entry-level desktop parts. The HD 6770’s average score of 3,649 is 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 and 0.9% ahead of the GeForce GT 735M, but 1.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce 825M. This shows that the HD 6770, despite its age, is still competitive with some much newer low-end parts, but it is clearly a tier below the GT 755M in compute performance. The data implies that the GT 755M’s 35.2% lead in the head-to-head is not a fluke but a reflection of its overall stronger position in the benchmark hierarchy.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M has an average benchmark score of 4,033, which is higher than the AMD Radeon HD 6770’s average score of 3,649.

Q: How much faster is the GT 755M in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The GT 755M scores 4,934 compared to the HD 6770’s 3,649, resulting in a 35.2% higher score for the NVIDIA card.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon HD 6770 have any advantages in raw specifications?

A: Yes, the HD 6770 has a higher pixel rate (13.60 GPixel/s vs 8.160 GPixel/s), a higher texture rate (34.00 GTexel/s vs 32.64 GTexel/s), more shading units (800 vs 384), and a higher FP32 compute rating (1,360.0 GFLOPS vs 783.4 GFLOPS).

Q: What is the difference in memory size and bandwidth?

A: The GT 755M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 86.40 GB/s, while the HD 6770 has 1 GB of GDDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 76.80 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU consumes less power?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M has a TDP of 50 W, which is significantly lower than the AMD Radeon HD 6770’s 108 W.

Q: What are the API differences?

A: The GT 755M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The HD 6770 only supports DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4, with no Vulkan support.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M wins decisively in compute performance, as evidenced by its 35.2% lead in the Geekbench OpenCL test. This makes it the clear choice for applications that leverage general-purpose GPU computing via OpenCL. Its higher memory bandwidth (86.40 GB/s) and larger memory capacity (2 GB) also give it an edge in workloads that are memory-intensive. Furthermore, its significantly lower TDP of 50 W makes it the winner for power-constrained environments, such as thin-and-light laptops. The GT 755M’s support for newer APIs like Vulkan 1.2.175 and DirectX 12 (11_0) also makes it more future-proof for software that utilizes these modern interfaces.

The AMD Radeon HD 6770 wins on theoretical fill-rate specifications. Its pixel rate of 13.60 GPixel/s is 66.7% higher than the GT 755M’s 8.160 GPixel/s, and its texture rate of 34.00 GTexel/s is also higher. For tasks that are purely about rasterization throughput, such as rendering simple geometric scenes at high resolutions, the HD 6770’s architecture may be better suited. It also has a higher FP32 compute rating of 1,360.0 GFLOPS, which could theoretically be an advantage in certain floating-point-heavy workloads, although the OpenCL benchmark suggests this does not translate to real-world performance. The HD 6770’s dual-slot design and 198 mm length suggest it is a more substantial desktop card, potentially with better cooling capabilities in a full tower case.

Specification Differences

The following table highlights the key specification differences between the two GPUs, based solely on the provided data.

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M | AMD Radeon HD 6770 |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Architecture | Kepler | TeraScale 2 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 1,270 million | 1,040 million |

| Die Size | 118 mm² | 166 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 10.8M / mm² | 6.3M / mm² |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 1024 MB |

| Memory Clock | 5.4 Gbps effective | 4.8 Gbps effective |

| Memory Bandwidth | 86.40 GB/s | 76.80 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 384 | 800 |

| TMUs | 32 | 40 |

| Pixel Rate | 8.160 GPixel/s | 13.60 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 32.64 GTexel/s | 34.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 783.4 GFLOPS | 1,360.0 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 50 W | 108 W |

| Slot Width | MXM Module | Dual-slot |

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

| Suggested PSU | None | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | 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 | 1.2.175 | None |

| Release Date | 2013-06-24 | 2011-01-20 |

| Launch MSRP | None | 129 USD |