AMD Radeon HD 7770M vs AMD Radeon HD 8950M Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7770M has a higher average benchmark score of 13,536 compared to the AMD Radeon HD 8950M's 13,376. The 7770M leads by 160 points, approximately a 1.2% advantage.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in their respective nearest rival groups?

A: The HD 7770M's closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, which scores 13,543 and is 0.1% ahead. The HD 8950M's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 5500M, scoring 13,356 and trailing by 0.2%. Both GPUs occupy the 54th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The HD 7770M has 1 GB of GDDR5 memory with a 64.00 GB/s bandwidth, while the HD 8950M features 2 GB of GDDR5 with 88.00 GB/s bandwidth. Both use a 128-bit bus, but the 8950M's memory runs at 5.5 Gbps effective versus 4 Gbps on the 7770M.

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute throughput?

A: The HD 8950M delivers 1.651 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, whereas the HD 7770M provides 691.2 GFLOPS. This makes the 8950M roughly 2.4 times faster in theoretical floating-point compute.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same API levels?

A: Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.2.170, but DirectX support differs. The HD 7770M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the HD 8950M supports DirectX 12 (12_0), giving the newer GPU a higher feature level.

Q: What is the transistor and die size comparison?

A: The HD 7770M has 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, while the HD 8950M packs 2,080 million transistors on a 160 mm² die. Both are manufactured on TSMC's 28 nm process, with transistor densities of 12.2M/mm² and 13.0M/mm² respectively.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent successive generations of AMD's Graphics Core Next architecture. The HD 7770M uses the "Chelsea" chip built on GCN 1.0, part of the London generation (HD 7700M series). The HD 8950M employs the "Saturn" chip on GCN 2.0, belonging to the Solar System generation (HD 8900M series). This architectural leap brings substantial improvements.

The HD 8950M significantly expands the shader array: 768 shading units versus 512 on the HD 7770M, a 50% increase. Texture mapping units jump from 32 to 48, also a 50% increase, while render output units remain static at 16. This means the newer GPU can process geometry and fill-rate tasks with proportionally more parallelism.

Transistor count rises from 1,500 million to 2,080 million, a 38.7% increase, and die size grows from 123 mm² to 160 mm². Interestingly, transistor density also improves slightly from 12.2M/mm² to 13.0M/mm², indicating a more efficient layout despite the same 28 nm process node from TSMC. The foundry remains identical, so the density gain comes from architectural refinement rather than process shrinks.

Memory architecture evolves as well. The HD 8950M doubles capacity to 2 GB while keeping the same 128-bit bus width. Memory clock rises from 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) to 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective), producing a 37.5% increase in bandwidth from 64.00 GB/s to 88.00 GB/s. This is critical for texture-heavy workloads and higher resolutions.

The bus interface also advances from PCIe 2.0 x16 on the HD 7770M to PCIe 3.0 x16 on the HD 8950M, doubling available host bandwidth. The HD 8950M is physically designed as an MXM module, while the HD 7770M's form factor is portable-device dependent. Power consumption differs drastically: the HD 8950M draws 100 W versus just 32 W for the HD 7770M, reflecting the much larger compute array.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Direct head-to-head benchmark results between these two GPUs are not available in the data. However, each has its own benchmark suite, and comparing their respective scores reveals meaningful differences. The HD 7770M records a single Geekbench Metal score of 13,536, while the HD 8950M posts a Geekbench OpenCL score of 13,772 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 12,979.

The HD 8950M's OpenCL score of 13,772 is 236 points higher than the HD 7770M's Metal score — a 1.7% advantage. This is modest given the 8950M's 2.4x theoretical FP32 advantage, suggesting that OpenCL and Metal workloads on these mobile GPUs are not purely compute-bound. The HD 8950M's Vulkan score of 12,979 is 557 points below the 7770M's Metal score, a 4.1% deficit, which could reflect driver maturity or API overhead differences rather than raw hardware capability.

Average benchmark scores tell a slightly different story. The HD 7770M averages 13,536, while the HD 8950M averages 13,376 — the older GPU holds a 1.2% edge. Both GPUs sit at the 54th percentile of all GPUs, placing them in identical competitive tiers. The HD 7770M's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13,543, 0.1% ahead), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13,515, 0.2% behind), NVIDIA P106-090 (13,470, 0.5% behind), and AMD Radeon Pro 555 (13,407, 1% behind). The HD 8950M's rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5500M (13,356, 0.2% behind), AMD FirePro M6100 (13,354, 0.2% behind), AMD Radeon Pro 555 (13,407, 0.2% ahead), and AMD Radeon Pro 555X (13,321, 0.4% behind).

These delta percentages show both GPUs clustered tightly with their rivals, all within 1% of each other. The HD 8950M's performance is more consistent across its rival group, while the HD 7770M benefits from a slightly higher peak score.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two GPUs:

• Chip: Chelsea (HD 7770M) vs Saturn (HD 8950M)
• Architecture: GCN 1.0 vs GCN 2.0
• Generation: London (HD 7700M) vs Solar System (HD 8900M)
• Transistors: 1,500 million vs 2,080 million
• Die Size: 123 mm² vs 160 mm²
• Transistor Density: 12.2M/mm² vs 13.0M/mm²
• Memory Clock: 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) vs 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective)
• Memory Size: 1024 MB vs 2 GB
• Memory Bandwidth: 64.00 GB/s vs 88.00 GB/s
• Shading Units: 512 vs 768
• TMUs: 32 vs 48
• Pixel Rate: 10.80 GPixel/s vs 17.20 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 21.60 GTexel/s vs 51.60 GTexel/s
• FP32: 691.2 GFLOPS vs 1.651 TFLOPS
• TDP: 32 W vs 100 W
• Slot Width: Not specified vs MXM Module
• Bus Interface: PCIe 2.0 x16 vs PCIe 3.0 x16
• DirectX Support: 12 (11_1) vs 12 (12_0)
• Release Date: 2012-04-23 vs 2013-05-13
• Predecessor: Vancouver vs London
• Successor: Solar System vs Gem System

Identical specifications include manufacturer (AMD), process node (28 nm), foundry (TSMC), memory type (GDDR5), memory bus width (128 bit), ROPs (16), OpenGL version (4.6), Vulkan version (1.2.170), display outputs (portable device dependent), and production status (end-of-life).

Where Each One Wins

The HD 8950M wins decisively in raw compute and throughput. Its FP32 performance of 1.651 TFLOPS is more than double the HD 7770M's 691.2 GFLOPS, making it the clear choice for compute-heavy applications like OpenCL workloads, where it scores 13,772. The texture rate of 51.60 GTexel/s versus 21.60 GTexel/s is a 139% advantage, which directly benefits games with heavy texture filtering. The higher pixel rate of 17.20 GPixel/s versus 10.80 GPixel/s helps with fill-rate-bound scenarios at higher resolutions.

The HD 8950M also wins on memory capacity and bandwidth. With 2 GB of VRAM versus 1 GB, it can handle larger texture sets and higher-resolution framebuffers. The 88.00 GB/s bandwidth versus 64.00 GB/s provides a 37.5% improvement, reducing bottlenecks in memory-intensive scenes. The PCIe 3.0 interface also offers twice the host bandwidth for data transfers, which matters in mixed CPU/GPU workloads.

The HD 7770M wins on efficiency and portability. Its 32 W TDP is less than one-third of the HD 8950M's 100 W, making it suitable for thinner, lighter laptops with smaller cooling solutions. It does not require an MXM module form factor, giving OEMs more flexibility in portable device designs. This efficiency advantage does not translate into a benchmark win, however — the HD 7770M's Metal score of 13,536 edges out the HD 8950M's average of 13,376.

The HD 7770M also wins on benchmark average. Despite being a generation older, its average benchmark score of 13,536 is 1.2% higher than the HD 8950M's 13,376. This suggests that in Metal-based workloads, the older GCN 1.0 architecture performs competitively or better than the newer GCN 2.0 silicon. The HD 7770M's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, is only 0.1% ahead, whereas the HD 8950M's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5500M, is 0.2% behind. Both GPUs share the 54th percentile ranking, so neither dramatically outperforms the other in the broader GPU landscape.

For gaming and graphics workloads, the HD 8950M is the stronger choice due to its superior texture, pixel, and compute rates. The doubling of VRAM also future-proofs it for games released later in its lifecycle. For power-constrained systems and Metal-based applications, the HD 7770M holds its own with a higher benchmark score and dramatically lower power draw, making it a better fit for ultraportable laptops where thermal headroom is minimal.