AMD Radeon HD 7770M vs AMD Radeon RX 5500M Comparison

AMD Radeon HD 7770M and AMD Radeon RX 5500M are two mobile GPUs separated by seven years of architectural evolution. The data shows a stark generational divide: the RX 5500M delivers roughly 3.7 times the raw Metal score of the HD 7770M, while both cards land at the 54th percentile among all GPUs in the database. This parity in percentile ranking, despite the massive performance gap, reflects how the benchmark database normalizes scores across vastly different eras of hardware.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark between the two cards is Geekbench Metal, and the result is a decisive victory for the newer part. The AMD Radeon RX 5500M scores 50,359 points, while the AMD Radeon HD 7770M scores 13,536 points. That represents a 73.1% deficit for the older card, meaning the RX 5500M is approximately 3.7x faster in this test. The delta is so large that it underscores how much mobile GPU performance has scaled in the intervening years, even within the same vendor’s lineup.

The HD 7770M’s closest rivals in the database are a mixed bag: the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT sits just 0.1% ahead (13,543 vs. 13,536), while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 trails by 0.2% (13,515), and the NVIDIA P106-090 is 0.5% behind (13,470). The AMD Radeon Pro 555 is 1% slower at 13,407. This clustering shows the HD 7770M is positioned right in the middle of a tight performance band, where a single-digit percentage swing separates it from both newer and older competitors.

For the RX 5500M, its average benchmark score of 13,356 across all tests is actually slightly lower than its Geekbench Metal score alone, because the database includes other workloads like Passmark DX9 (100), DX10 (39), DX11 (35), DX12 (28), G2D (414), G3D (5,848), and GPU compute (2,316). Its nearest rivals are nearly identical in average score: the AMD FirePro M6100 matches it exactly at 0% delta (13,354), the AMD Radeon HD 8950M is 0.1% ahead (13,376), the AMD Radeon Pro 555X is 0.3% behind (13,321), and the AMD Radeon Pro 555 is 0.4% behind (13,407). This indicates the RX 5500M’s average performance is tightly grouped with other mid-range mobile parts from its era.

In terms of wins, the RX 5500M takes the single head-to-head benchmark outright (1 win, 0 for the HD 7770M). The HD 7770M has no benchmark victories to claim. The Geekbench Metal result is the only direct comparison available, but it is sufficient to establish the performance hierarchy: the RX 5500M is in a different performance class entirely, despite both cards occupying the same 54th percentile overall.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RX 5500M than the HD 7770M in Geekbench Metal?

A: The RX 5500M scores 50,359 points versus 13,536 for the HD 7770M, a delta of 73.1% in favor of the newer card. That translates to roughly 3.7x the raw score.

Q: Do both GPUs have the same overall performance percentile?

A: Yes, both the HD 7770M and RX 5500M are listed at the 54th percentile among all GPUs in the database. This is notable because their raw scores differ by a factor of nearly 4, suggesting the percentile is relative to their respective release eras.

Q: What are the closest rivals to the HD 7770M in average score?

A: The HD 7770M’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT at 13,543 (0.1% ahead), followed by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 at 13,515 (0.2% behind) and the NVIDIA P106-090 at 13,470 (0.5% behind).

Q: Which GPU has more benchmark results in the database?

A: The RX 5500M has 10 benchmark entries spanning Metal, OpenCL, Vulkan, and multiple Passmark tests. The HD 7770M has only a single Geekbench Metal result, so its average score of 13,536 equals that one test.

Q: Does the RX 5500M win any other benchmark besides Metal?

A: The database lists only one head-to-head benchmark (Geekbench Metal) between these two GPUs, and the RX 5500M wins it. The HD 7770M has no additional benchmark results to compare.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in terms of production status?

A: Both are marked as end-of-life products. The HD 7770M was released in April 2012, while the RX 5500M came later in October 2019.

Architecture Differences

The HD 7770M uses the Chelsea chip based on GCN 1.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The RX 5500M uses the Navi 14 chip based on RDNA 1.0 architecture, also fabricated by TSMC but on a much more advanced 7 nm node. The transistor counts differ dramatically: the HD 7770M has 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, while the RX 5500M packs 6,400 million transistors into a 158 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 12.2 million per mm² for the older chip versus 40.5 million per mm² for the newer one — a 3.3x density improvement.

The RX 5500M features a base clock of 1375 MHz, a boost clock of 1645 MHz, and a game clock of 1448 MHz. The HD 7770M has no base, boost, or game clock listed, but its memory runs at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective). The RX 5500M’s memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), a substantial increase in memory speed.

Shader resources are also vastly different: the HD 7770M has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, while the RX 5500M has 1,408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The pixel rate jumps from 10.80 GPixel/s to 52.64 GPixel/s, and the texture rate from 21.60 GTexel/s to 144.8 GTexel/s. FP32 compute scales from 691.2 GFLOPS to 4.632 TFLOPS, and the RX 5500M adds FP16 support at 9.265 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) — a feature completely absent from the HD 7770M.

The RX 5500M supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 7770M only reaches DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. OpenGL is 4.6 for both. Neither GPU has ray tracing or tensor cores. The RX 5500M uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, whereas the HD 7770M uses the older PCIe 2.0 x16. Both are portable-device dependent for display outputs.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. Memory capacity is 1024 MB (1 GB) for the HD 7770M versus 4 GB for the RX 5500M. Memory type advances from GDDR5 to GDDR6, though both use a 128-bit bus. Bandwidth scales from 64.00 GB/s to 224.0 GB/s, a 3.5x increase. Power draw jumps from 32 W to 85 W, reflecting the much higher performance envelope of the newer chip.

Process node shrinks from 28 nm to 7 nm, transistor count grows from 1,500 million to 6,400 million, and die size expands slightly from 123 mm² to 158 mm². The RX 5500M has a transistor density of 40.5M per mm² versus 12.2M per mm² for the HD 7770M. Shading units increase from 512 to 1,408, TMUs from 32 to 88, and ROPs from 16 to 32. Pixel rate goes from 10.80 GPixel/s to 52.64 GPixel/s, texture rate from 21.60 GTexel/s to 144.8 GTexel/s, and FP32 from 691.2 GFLOPS to 4.632 TFLOPS. FP16 is not supported on the HD 7770M but is rated at 9.265 TFLOPS on the RX 5500M.

The RX 5500M has explicit base, boost, and game clock speeds (1375 MHz, 1645 MHz, 1448 MHz), while the HD 7770M lists only a memory clock of 1000 MHz. Memory speed also differs: 4 Gbps effective for the HD 7770M versus 14 Gbps effective for the RX 5500M. The bus interface advances from PCIe 2.0 x16 to PCIe 4.0 x8. Power connectors are listed as "None" for the RX 5500M, while the HD 7770M has no power connector entry. The generations are "London (HD 7700M)" versus "Navi Mobile (RX 5000M)", with predecessors "Vancouver" and "Polaris Mobile" respectively. The HD 7770M has a successor ("Solar System"), while the RX 5500M does not.

The Verdict

The data points to a single clear conclusion: the AMD Radeon RX 5500M is the superior GPU for any workload measured in the database. Its Geekbench Metal score of 50,359 is 73.1% higher than the HD 7770M’s 13,536, and it offers 4x the memory, 3.5x the bandwidth, and nearly 7x the FP32 compute. The HD 7770M’s only statistical claim to fame is its identical 54th percentile ranking, but that is an artifact of era-relative normalization rather than competitive performance.

For users considering these two cards today, the RX 5500M is the only rational choice if performance matters. It wins the sole head-to-head benchmark decisively, and its architectural advantages — 7 nm process, RDNA 1.0, GDDR6, PCIe 4.0, and a full 12_1 DirectX feature level — make it a more future-proof part. The HD 7770M, meanwhile, is a relic of the GCN 1.0 era: 28 nm, 1 GB of GDDR5, and a 32 W power budget that limits its ceiling. Its nearest rivals in the database are a mix of much newer and much older parts, but none of them change the fact that the RX 5500M outclasses it by a wide margin.

There is one scenario where the HD 7770M might be preferable: power-constrained systems. Its 32 W TDP is less than half the RX 5500M’s 85 W, and it lacks any supplementary power connector requirements (though the RX 5500M also lists none). For a thin-and-light laptop with minimal cooling, the older chip could theoretically fit where the newer one cannot. But the data does not include any efficiency benchmarks, so this is purely speculative. Based strictly on measurable performance, the RX 5500M wins outright, and the HD 7770M should only be considered if the workload is so light that its 1 GB frame buffer and GCN 1.0 feature set are sufficient.