AMD Radeon HD 7770M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M Comparison

The comparison between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M and the AMD Radeon HD 7770M is a study in generational contrast. The GTX 965M, built on NVIDIA's Maxwell 2.0 architecture from 2015, squares off against the older GCN 1.0-based HD 7770M from 2012. While both are end-of-life mobile parts aimed at different eras of laptop gaming, the benchmark data reveals a clear, though not overwhelming, performance hierarchy.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most direct comparison comes from their respective average benchmark scores, though the two GPUs were tested under different API workloads. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M posts an average benchmark score of 14404, derived from its Geekbench OpenCL score of 14509 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 14299. The AMD Radeon HD 7770M, by contrast, records an average score of 13536, based solely on its Geekbench Metal result of 13536. This puts the GTX 965M approximately 6.4% ahead of the HD 7770M in raw average scoring.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card puts these numbers into sharper perspective. The GTX 965M's 14404 average score sits marginally ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, which scores 14385, a delta of just 0.1%. It also edges past the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (14373, 0.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14352, 0.4% delta). The gap widens slightly against the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics, which trails at 14315, a 0.6% deficit. These are incredibly tight margins, indicating that the GTX 965M is positioned at the very top of a closely-bunched performance cluster.

The HD 7770M's 13536 average score tells a different story about its competitive positioning. It is nearly tied with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, which scores 13543, a negligible delta of -0.1%, meaning the HD 7770M is essentially on par with that card in this metric. It also leads the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13515) by 0.2% and the NVIDIA P106-090 (13470) by 0.5%. The largest delta is against the AMD Radeon Pro 555 (13407), where the HD 7770M holds a 1% advantage. While its absolute score is lower than the GTX 965M's, the HD 7770M still commands a respectable position within its own reference group.

The performance gap between the two cards becomes more pronounced when examining their theoretical compute capabilities. The GTX 965M delivers 1.946 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is roughly 2.8 times higher than the HD 7770M's 691.2 GFLOPS. Similarly, the texture fill rate heavily favors the NVIDIA part, with the GTX 965M achieving 60.80 GTexel/s versus the AMD card's 21.60 GTexel/s. Pixel throughput also shows a significant disparity: the GTX 965M renders at 30.40 GPixel/s, while the HD 7770M manages just 10.80 GPixel/s. These figures suggest that in synthetic workloads that stress raw shading and texturing, the GTX 965M should exhibit a substantial lead.

Memory bandwidth is another area of differentiation, though less dramatic. The GTX 965M's GDDR5 memory runs at 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) across a 128-bit bus, yielding 80.19 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 7770M also uses GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, but at a lower 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) speed, resulting in 64.00 GB/s. This gives the GTX 965M a 25% bandwidth advantage, which can be meaningful in texture-heavy scenes. The NVIDIA card also doubles the frame buffer, offering 2 GB versus the AMD's 1024 MB, a critical factor for modern game assets.

The Verdict

The data points to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M as the clear performance winner in this matchup. Its average benchmark score of 14404 is 868 points higher than the HD 7770M's 13536. This is corroborated by the massive leads in FP32 throughput (1.946 TFLOPS vs 691.2 GFLOPS), texture rate (60.80 GTexel/s vs 21.60 GTexel/s), and pixel rate (30.40 GPixel/s vs 10.80 GPixel/s). The GTX 965M also offers 2 GB of VRAM compared to 1 GB, making it far more suitable for contemporary game loads.

From a pure benchmark perspective, any user seeking maximum performance should select the GTX 965M. Its 56th percentile ranking against all GPUs is slightly higher than the HD 7770M's 54th percentile, reinforcing its superior standing. The NVIDIA card's lead is consistent across every measurable performance metric in the FACT PACK.

However, the HD 7770M is not without its own arguments. Its 32 W TDP is notably efficient for the era, and its benchmark score of 13536 places it in a competitive tier with much newer parts like the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13543) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13515). For users constrained by power limits or thermals in a thin-and-light chassis, the HD 7770M's lower power draw could be a deciding factor. Yet, when evaluating pure graphical capability, the GTX 965M is the definitive choice.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M wins in scenarios demanding high raw performance. Its superior FP32 compute (1.946 TFLOPS vs 691.2 GFLOPS) makes it better suited for general-purpose GPU workloads like video encoding or compute acceleration. The 2x texture rate (60.80 GTexel/s vs 21.60 GTexel/s) and nearly 3x pixel rate (30.40 GPixel/s vs 10.80 GPixel/s) give it a decisive edge in gaming at higher resolutions and detail settings. The 80.19 GB/s memory bandwidth, paired with 2 GB of VRAM, allows it to handle larger textures and more complex scenes without hitting memory ceilings. Its newer API support, including DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, also positions it better for modern titles that leverage these features.

The AMD Radeon HD 7770M wins in efficiency-focused scenarios. With a 32 W TDP, it is a low-power part that can be more easily integrated into compact laptops with modest cooling solutions. Its benchmark score of 13536, while lower absolutely, is remarkably close to newer parts like the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13543) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13515), suggesting it still holds up well in legacy or API-specific workloads like Geekbench Metal. For users running older DirectX 11-era games or applications that do not stress VRAM capacity, the HD 7770M can provide adequate performance at lower power consumption.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M, with an average benchmark score of 14404, compared to the AMD Radeon HD 7770M's average of 13536.

Q: How does the GTX 965M compare to its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11?

A: The GTX 965M has an average score of 14404, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11's average score of 14385.

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

A: The GTX 965M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 80.19 GB/s bandwidth, while the HD 7770M has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How much faster is the GTX 965M in FP32 compute?

A: The GTX 965M delivers 1.946 TFLOPS, which is approximately 2.8 times higher than the HD 7770M's 691.2 GFLOPS.

Q: Which card has a lower power draw?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7770M has a TDP of 32 W, while the FACT PACK lists no TDP value for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M.

Q: What is the percentile ranking difference between the two GPUs?

A: The GTX 965M ranks in the 56th percentile against all GPUs, while the HD 7770M ranks in the 54th percentile.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is stark. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M is built on the GM204 chip using the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It packs 5,200 million transistors into a 398 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 13.1 million per mm². This large, complex chip houses 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 raster operation units (ROPs). Its clock speeds are set at a 924 MHz base with a 950 MHz boost. The card uses an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface and draws power without any external connectors, fitting into a standard MXM Module slot.

The AMD Radeon HD 7770M, in contrast, uses the Chelsea chip based on the older GCN 1.0 architecture. It is also manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process, but with a much smaller footprint: 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 12.2 million per mm². The chip contains 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Notably, the FACT PACK lists no base or boost clock speeds for this part, only a memory clock of 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective). It connects via a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface.

API support also differentiates the two. The GTX 965M supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, reflecting its newer design. The HD 7770M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170, which indicates a more limited feature set despite nominal DirectX 12 compatibility. Both are end-of-life products, but their architectural generations are separated by roughly three years, with the GTX 965M released in 2015 and the HD 7770M in 2012. The GTX 965M's predecessor is the GeForce 800M, while the HD 7770M's predecessor is Vancouver; their successors are GeForce 10 Mobile and Solar System, respectively.