AMD Radeon HD 7770M vs AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The AMD Radeon HD 7770M and AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT represent two very different eras of graphics hardware, and the recorded benchmark data reflects that divide clearly. The HD 7770M has a single recorded benchmark result: a Geekbench Metal score of 13,536. The RX 6500 XT, by contrast, has a broader set of measurements across multiple test suites, with an average benchmark score of 11,842 across those runs. That average is lower than the HD 7770M's lone Metal score, but the two cards are not directly competing in the same test categories, so the numbers must be read with care.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card helps contextualize the scores. The HD 7770M sits at the 54th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 13,536. Its closest competitor in the database is the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, which scores 13,543, a delta of -0.1%. That is a near-photo-finish result: the HD 7770M trails the RX 9070 XT by a negligible margin. The HD 7770M also edges out the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, which scores 13,515, giving the AMD mobile part a 0.2% lead. It is 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA P106-090 (13,470) and 1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 555 (13,407). These deltas are all within a single percentage point, meaning the HD 7770M's Metal score places it in a very tight cluster of similarly performing hardware.

The RX 6500 XT, meanwhile, occupies the 51st percentile with an average score of 11,842. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 at 11,960, which is 1% higher. The RX 6500 XT trails the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960A (11,998) by 1.3%, but it beats the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (11,680) by 1.4%. It also surpasses the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (11,627) by 1.9%. The spread here is slightly wider, but the RX 6500 XT clearly competes in a different performance bracket than the HD 7770M, even if both cards land near the 50th percentile overall.

The RX 6500 XT's individual benchmark runs reveal its strengths and weaknesses. Its best showing is in Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 54,724. In Geekbench OpenCL, it posts 48,289. The Passmark suite tells a more mixed story: the card scores 9,608 in G3D, 4,456 in GPU compute, 815 in G2D, 108 in DirectX 9, 90 in DirectX 11, 60 in DirectX 10, and 38 in DirectX 12. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test yields a score of 235. These numbers show that the RX 6500 XT handles modern API workloads acceptably, but its DirectX 12 score is notably lower than its DirectX 9 and 11 results, which suggests a card optimized for legacy or compute-oriented tasks rather than current-generation rasterization.

No head-to-head benchmark entries exist in the database for these two GPUs, so there is no direct same-test comparison available. The wins tally shows zero for each side. That absence of overlap means the analysis must rely on the separate benchmark contexts and the architectural data to draw conclusions.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures, nodes, and feature sets. The HD 7770M uses the Chelsea chip, based on GCN 1.0 architecture, and belongs to the London generation (HD 7700M series). It is fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with 1,500 million transistors packed into a 123 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. The RX 6500 XT uses the Navi 24 chip, built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, and belongs to the Navi II generation (RX 6000 series). It is manufactured on a 6 nm process, also at TSMC, with 5,400 million transistors on a smaller 107 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 50.5 million per square millimeter. That is more than four times the density of the older chip.

Memory subsystems diverge sharply. The HD 7770M has 1,024 MB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, with memory clocked at 1,000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) and a bandwidth of 64.00 GB/s. The RX 6500 XT has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, with memory at 2,248 MHz (18 Gbps effective) and a bandwidth of 143.9 GB/s. Despite having half the bus width, the RX 6500 XT delivers more than double the bandwidth due to the much faster memory speed.

Compute resources scale accordingly. The HD 7770M has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units. The RX 6500 XT doubles those counts to 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Additionally, the RX 6500 XT includes 16 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the GCN 1.0 design. Pixel rate jumps from 10.80 GPixel/s on the HD 7770M to 90.08 GPixel/s on the RX 6500 XT. Texture rate rises from 21.60 GTexel/s to 180.2 GTexel/s. FP32 compute goes from 691.2 GFLOPS to 5.765 TFLOPS, an eightfold increase. The RX 6500 XT also lists FP16 performance at 11.53 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), a capability the HD 7770M does not report.

Power and interface differences are substantial. The HD 7770M is rated at 32 W TDP and uses a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface, with display outputs described as portable device dependent. The RX 6500 XT has a 107 W TDP, requires a single 6-pin power connector, and a suggested 300 W power supply. It uses PCIe 4.0 x4, a narrower but faster bus, and offers one HDMI 2.1 and one DisplayPort 1.4a output. The RX 6500 XT is a dual-slot card, while the HD 7770M has no slot width listed.

API support reflects the architectural gap. The HD 7770M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RX 6500 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The newer card also has ray tracing hardware, which is a major feature differentiator.

Release timing also separates the two. The HD 7770M was released on April 23, 2012, and is end-of-life. The RX 6500 XT was released on January 18, 2022, and is also end-of-life. The RX 6500 XT lists a launch MSRP of 199 USD, while the HD 7770M has no such field. The HD 7770M's predecessor is Vancouver and its successor is Solar System; the RX 6500 XT's predecessor is Navi and its successor is Navi III.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7770M has an average benchmark score of 13,536, which is higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT's average of 11,842. However, these averages come from different test suites, so they are not directly comparable.

Q: Does the RX 6500 XT support ray tracing?

A: Yes. The RX 6500 XT includes 16 ray tracing cores, a feature built into its RDNA 2.0 architecture. The HD 7770M, based on GCN 1.0, has no ray tracing hardware.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The HD 7770M has 64.00 GB/s bandwidth using 1,024 MB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus. The RX 6500 XT has 143.9 GB/s bandwidth using 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, which is more than double the older card's bandwidth despite a narrower bus.

Q: How do the two cards compare in terms of transistor density?

A: The RX 6500 XT has a transistor density of 50.5 million per square millimeter, fabricated on a 6 nm process. The HD 7770M has a density of 12.2 million per square millimeter on a 28 nm process. The newer chip packs 5,400 million transistors into a 107 mm² die, while the older chip has 1,500 million transistors in a 123 mm² die.

Q: Which card has a higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The RX 6500 XT delivers 5.765 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, compared to the HD 7770M's 691.2 GFLOPS. That is an approximately eightfold advantage for the newer card.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. Both the AMD Radeon HD 7770M and the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT are listed as end-of-life products in the database.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded data, the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT is the more capable piece of hardware in nearly every measurable architectural category. It has double the shading units, TMUs, and ROPs, eight times the FP32 throughput, more than double the memory bandwidth, and a much higher pixel and texture rate. It also adds ray tracing support and a modern API set including DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4. The HD 7770M, by contrast, is a low-power mobile part from 2012 with a 32 W TDP, a 128-bit memory bus, and older GCN 1.0 architecture.

However, the benchmark scores tell a more nuanced story. The HD 7770M's Geekbench Metal score of 13,536 places it at the 54th percentile, which is actually higher than the RX 6500 XT's 51st percentile. The RX 6500 XT's average score of 11,842 is pulled down by its low DirectX 10, 11, and 12 Passmark results, which range from 38 to 90. Its strong Vulkan score of 54,724 and OpenCL score of 48,289 suggest the card excels in compute-oriented or modern API workloads, but its DirectX 12 Passmark score of 38 indicates weak performance in that specific rasterization test.

For users prioritizing raw compute in OpenCL or Vulkan, the RX 6500 XT is clearly superior. For users looking at the single Geekbench Metal data point, the HD 7770M appears competitive with much newer cards like the RX 9070 XT, but that is a single test with no corroborating evidence. The absence of head-to-head benchmarks means a direct performance comparison cannot be established from the database.

The verdict depends on the workload. The RX 6500 XT is the better choice for modern gaming, ray tracing, and high-throughput compute tasks. The HD 7770M, with its lower TDP and portable-device design, is suited for legacy applications or scenarios where power draw is critical. Neither card is current, and both are end-of-life.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two GPUs:

• Chip: Chelsea (HD 7770M) versus Navi 24 (RX 6500 XT)
• Architecture: GCN 1.0 versus RDNA 2.0
• Generation: London (HD 7700M) versus Navi II (RX 6000)
• Process node: 28 nm versus 6 nm
• Transistors: 1,500 million versus 5,400 million
• Die size: 123 mm² versus 107 mm²
• Transistor density: 12.2M / mm² versus 50.5M / mm²
• Memory clock: 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) versus 2248 MHz (18 Gbps effective)
• Memory size: 1024 MB versus 4 GB
• Memory type: GDDR5 versus GDDR6
• Memory bus width: 128 bit versus 64 bit
• Memory bandwidth: 64.00 GB/s versus 143.9 GB/s
• Shading units: 512 versus 1024
• TMUs: 32 versus 64
• ROPs: 16 versus 32
• Ray tracing cores: none versus 16
• Pixel rate: 10.80 GPixel/s versus 90.08 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 21.60 GTexel/s versus 180.2 GTexel/s
• FP32: 691.2 GFLOPS versus 5.765 TFLOPS
• FP16: not listed versus 11.53 TFLOPS (2:1)
• TDP: 32 W versus 107 W
• Slot width: not listed versus dual-slot
• Power connectors: none listed versus 1x 6-pin
• Suggested PSU: none listed versus 300 W
• Bus interface: PCIe 2.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x4
• Display outputs: portable device dependent versus 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a
• DirectX support: 12 (11_1) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2)
• Vulkan support: 1.2.170 versus 1.4
• Release date: 2012-04-23 versus 2022-01-18
• Predecessor: Vancouver versus Navi
• Successor: Solar System versus Navi III
• Launch MSRP: none versus 199 USD
• Benchmark scores: single Geekbench Metal score versus multiple tests across 3DMark, Geekbench, and Passmark
• Percentile: 54 versus 51

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT wins in every major architectural specification. It has more shading units, TMUs, and ROPs; higher clock speeds with a base of 2310 MHz, game clock of 2610 MHz, and boost of 2815 MHz; larger memory capacity at 4 GB; faster memory at 18 Gbps effective; and more than double the bandwidth. Its FP32 compute is eight times higher, and its pixel and texture rates are roughly eightfold higher. It also adds ray tracing cores, which the HD 7770M completely lacks. In any compute-heavy or modern graphics workload, the RX 6500 XT is the clear winner.

The HD 7770M wins in specific niche areas. Its 32 W TDP is dramatically lower than the RX 6500 XT's 107 W, making it far more suitable for power-constrained portable devices. Its 128-bit memory bus is wider than the RX 6500 XT's 64-bit bus, though the newer card compensates with faster memory. The HD 7770M also holds a higher percentile ranking at 54 versus 51, and its Geekbench Metal score of 13,536 exceeds the RX 6500 XT's average of 11,842. In the single recorded benchmark where both cards have comparable data, the HD 7770M comes out ahead, though the tests are not the same.

For use-case selection, the RX 6500 XT is the pick for desktop gaming, ray-traced titles, DirectX 12 Ultimate workloads, and high-throughput compute tasks like OpenCL or Vulkan. The HD 7770M is the pick for legacy systems, low-power laptops, or any scenario where the 32 W power envelope is a hard constraint. Its portable-device-dependent display outputs and lack of a slot width indicate it was designed for mobile integration, not as a standalone desktop card. The RX 6500 XT, with its dual-slot design and 6-pin power connector, is a proper desktop expansion card. The data shows two GPUs built for different purposes, and the right choice depends entirely on the target platform and workload.