AMD Radeon HD 7770M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Comparison

The GeForce GTX 680 and the Radeon HD 7770M represent two very different interpretations of the GPU landscape from the same era. One is a desktop behemoth designed for maximum throughput, while the other is a mobile chip engineered for efficiency. The benchmark data reveals a counterintuitive outcome: despite a massive difference in raw specifications, the mobile part wins the only head-to-head test available, though the broader score averages tell a more complex story about their true performance strata.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single direct comparison in the data is the Geekbench Metal test. Here, the AMD Radeon HD 7770M scores 13536, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 scores 7897. This yields a deltaPct of -41.7% from the perspective of the NVIDIA card, meaning the GTX 680 trails the HD 7770M by a staggering 41.7% in this specific workload. This is a surprising result that demands scrutiny. The GeForce GTX 680 has a theoretical FP32 throughput of 3.250 TFLOPS, a texture rate of 135.4 GTexel/s, and a pixel rate of 33.86 GPixel/s. The Radeon HD 7770M, by contrast, delivers just 691.2 GFLOPS, 21.60 GTexel/s, and 10.80 GPixel/s. On paper, the NVIDIA chip should dominate in raw compute and rendering throughput. Yet, the Metal benchmark suggests otherwise, implying that the test is highly sensitive to architectural efficiency, driver optimizations, or memory subsystem latency rather than sheer processing power.

Turning to the average benchmark scores, the picture changes. The GTX 680 achieves an avgBenchmarkScore of 14150, while the HD 7770M sits at 13536. The NVIDIA card is ahead by 614 points, a modest 4.5% advantage. The GTX 680’s nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA Tesla K10 with an average score of 14029 (a deltaPct of 0.9), the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti at 14277 (deltaPct -0.9), and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics at 14315 (deltaPct -1.2). This places the GTX 680 in a tight cluster where a 1-2% swing can reorder the rankings. The AMD Radeon HD 7770M, on the other hand, is positioned near the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT which scores 13543 (deltaPct -0.1), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 at 13515 (deltaPct 0.2), and the NVIDIA P106-090 at 13470 (deltaPct 0.5). This indicates the mobile chip is competitive with desktop parts from a different generation bracket.

The discrepancy between the Metal test and the average scores suggests a workload-specific phenomenon. The GeForce GTX 680’s avgBenchmarkScore of 14150 is derived from three tests—Metal (7897), OpenCL (16906), and Vulkan (17646)—which shows the card is far more capable in OpenCL and Vulkan contexts. The Radeon HD 7770M only has a Metal score in the dataset, so its average is skewed by that single result. If the HD 7770M were subjected to OpenCL or Vulkan tests, its average could shift substantially. The data as presented shows the AMD part winning the direct comparison, but the NVIDIA part possesses a higher multi-test average, indicating a broader performance envelope.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon HD 7770M wins decisively in the Geekbench Metal benchmark, a result that likely reflects Apple’s Metal API being well-optimized for GCN 1.0 architecture. The HD 7770M’s 512 shading units and 32 TMUs, while small in number, may execute Metal shaders with better instruction-level parallelism or lower overhead. This makes the AMD chip the choice for applications that rely heavily on Metal, such as certain macOS graphics workloads or games that use Metal as their primary rendering API.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 wins in the broader benchmark suite, specifically OpenCL and Vulkan. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 16906 and Vulkan score of 17646 are far higher than the HD 7770M’s sole Metal result. This indicates the GTX 680 is superior for compute tasks using OpenCL and for modern cross-platform graphics via Vulkan. The GTX 680 also holds a higher avgBenchmarkScore (14150 vs 13536), suggesting it is the more versatile performer across a range of workloads. The NVIDIA card’s 1536 shading units and 128 TMUs provide a wider resource pool for parallel workloads that can utilize them effectively.

In practical terms, the HD 7770M wins where the workload is narrow and Metal-specific, while the GTX 680 wins in general-purpose compute and Vulkan-based rendering. The data does not support the GTX 680 winning in any Metal context, nor does it show the HD 7770M winning in OpenCL or Vulkan. The use-case split is therefore: pick the HD 7770M for Metal-centric tasks, and the GTX 680 for everything else that the benchmarks cover.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon HD 7770M in the Geekbench Metal test?

A: The Radeon HD 7770M scores 13536, which is 41.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680’s score of 7897 in the same test.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference between the two cards?

A: The GTX 680 has an average score of 14150, while the HD 7770M has 13536. This gives the NVIDIA card a 614-point advantage, or roughly a 4.5% lead.

Q: Which card has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The GTX 680 ranks in the 55th percentile, while the HD 7770M is in the 54th percentile. The difference is minimal, indicating they occupy similar tiers in the overall database.

Q: Does the GTX 680 perform better in OpenCL or Vulkan compared to Metal?

A: Yes, the GTX 680 achieves an OpenCL score of 16906 and a Vulkan score of 17646, both significantly higher than its Metal score of 7897. This suggests Metal is a weak point for this architecture.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for the Radeon HD 7770M?

A: The HD 7770M’s closest competitors include the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13543, deltaPct -0.1), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13515, deltaPct 0.2), and the NVIDIA P106-090 (13470, deltaPct 0.5).

Q: Is the GTX 680’s average score closer to any particular rival?

A: The GTX 680’s average of 14150 is closest to the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics, which scores 14315, representing a deltaPct of -1.2. The NVIDIA Tesla K10 is also near, with a score of 14029 and a deltaPct of 0.9.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every core specification. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 has 1536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The AMD Radeon HD 7770M has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This means the GTX 680 has three times the shading units, four times the TMUs, and double the ROPs. The pixel rate is 33.86 GPixel/s for NVIDIA versus 10.80 GPixel/s for AMD, and the texture rate is 135.4 GTexel/s versus 21.60 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 3.250 TFLOPS for the GTX 680 and 691.2 GFLOPS for the HD 7770M.

Memory configurations also diverge sharply. The GTX 680 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 192.3 GB/s. The HD 7770M uses 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, yielding just 64.00 GB/s. The memory clock is 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA and 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) for AMD. The GTX 680 has a base clock of 1006 MHz and a boost clock of 1058 MHz, while the HD 7770M lists no base or boost clocks in the data.

The power envelope is radically different. The GTX 680 has a TDP of 195 W and requires dual-slot cooling with 2x 6-pin power connectors and a suggested PSU of 450 W. The HD 7770M has a TDP of 32 W, no listed slot width, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for NVIDIA and PCIe 2.0 x16 for AMD. Display outputs are 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2 for the GTX 680, while the HD 7770M is listed as "Portable Device Dependent." The GTX 680 measures 256 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 38 mm in width; the HD 7770M has no dimensions listed.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 is built on the GK104 chip using the Kepler architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 3,540 million transistors on a die size of 294 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 12.0M per mm². The AMD Radeon HD 7770M uses the Chelsea chip with the GCN 1.0 architecture, also on TSMC’s 28 nm node. It has 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, giving a slightly higher density of 12.2M per mm². The GTX 680 is part of the GeForce 600 generation, with a predecessor in GeForce 500 and a successor in GeForce 700. The HD 7770M belongs to the London (HD 7700M) generation, with a predecessor in Vancouver and a successor in Solar System.

API support shows subtle differences. Both support DirectX 12, but the GTX 680 is listed as 12 (11_0) while the HD 7770M is 12 (11_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6. The Vulkan versions are close: 1.2.175 for NVIDIA and 1.2.170 for AMD. The GTX 680’s release date is 2012-03-21, and the HD 7770M’s is 2012-04-23, making them near-contemporaries. Neither has RT cores or tensor cores. The GTX 680 has a launch MSRP of 499 USD, which can be stated once per the rules, while the HD 7770M has no launch MSRP listed.

The Verdict

The data paints a nuanced picture for buyers. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 is the superior choice for users prioritizing OpenCL compute or Vulkan rendering. Its average benchmark score of 14150 is higher than the HD 7770M’s 13536, and its 55th percentile rank edges out the AMD part’s 54th. The GTX 680 also offers a massive specification advantage in shader count, memory bandwidth, and pixel throughput, which translates to better performance in workloads that scale with those resources. This card is for desktop users with a 450 W PSU and dual-slot space who need a versatile performer.

The AMD Radeon HD 7770M, despite its lower raw specs, wins the only direct head-to-head test in the Metal API. Its score of 13536 versus 7897 is a decisive 41.7% victory, which cannot be ignored. This makes the HD 7770M the logical pick for any application that is specifically optimized for Metal, such as certain macOS-based tasks or games that use that API exclusively. Its 32 W TDP also makes it suitable for portable devices, as reflected in its "Portable Device Dependent" display output designation. Users who value efficiency and Metal performance over raw compute should choose the HD 7770M.

The final decision hinges on the workload. The GTX 680 is the generalist with higher average scores and broader API strength, while the HD 7770M is the specialist that wins the Metal benchmark decisively. Neither card is a clear winner across all metrics; the GTX 680 leads in average score, but the HD 7770M leads in the single direct comparison. The data suggests that a user’s choice should be dictated by the specific API and application requirements, not by the theoretical specifications.