AMD Radeon HD 7790 vs AMD Radeon RX 7700 Comparison

The AMD Radeon HD 7790 and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 represent two distinct eras of graphics hardware, separated by over a decade of architectural evolution. The data shows that the RX 7700 is in a completely different performance class, offering more than an order of magnitude higher compute throughput and memory bandwidth. However, the HD 7790 still holds a notable position in the database, with its single Geekbench Metal score of 17,666 placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, which is actually higher than the RX 7700's 58th percentile ranking, despite the latter's vastly superior raw specifications.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The direct benchmark comparison between these two cards is stark, though the available tests differ significantly. The HD 7790 has only one recorded benchmark result: a Geekbench Metal score of 17,666. This score places it in a tight competitive cluster, with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 scoring 17,639 (0.2% slower), the AMD Radeon 780M scoring 17,588 (0.4% slower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scoring 17,551 (0.7% slower). The only rival that edges it out is the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 with 17,789, a 0.7% advantage. This indicates that in this specific API test, the HD 7790 performs admirably for its era, matching much newer and more powerful hardware in a narrow workload.

The RX 7700's benchmark suite is far more extensive, covering multiple DirectX versions and compute workloads. Its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 15,852, which is lower than the HD 7790's single-score average of 17,666. This is a critical point: the HD 7790's average is inflated by having only one favorable result, while the RX 7700's average is pulled down by low scores in legacy DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 tests. Specifically, the RX 7700 scores only 261 in Passmark DirectX 9, 92 in Passmark DirectX 10, and 186 in DirectX 11. These legacy tests do not reflect modern workloads, but they do drag down the overall average.

In modern workloads, the RX 7700 is decisively ahead. Its Passmark G3D score is 20,974, and its Geekbench OpenCL score is 106,028. The RX 7700's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon R9 370X with an average score of 15,862 (0.1% faster), the AMD Radeon RX 9060 at 16,014 (1% faster), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti at 16,129 (1.7% faster). The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 is 1.1% slower at 15,679. This places the RX 7700 in a competitive mid-range tier, where it is essentially neck-and-neck with these established cards, but it does not dominate them.

The most telling comparison is in compute performance. The RX 7700 delivers 25.18 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, a figure that is 14 times higher than the HD 7790's 1.792 TFLOPS. This massive gap is reflected in the Passmark GPU Compute score of 10,963 for the RX 7700, a workload where the HD 7790 has no recorded result. The RX 7700 also shows its strength in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test with a score of 2,865, a modern benchmark that stresses ray tracing and DX12 Ultimate features, which the HD 7790 cannot even run at a comparable level.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is profound. The HD 7790 is built on AMD's Graphics Core Next 2.0 architecture, using the Bonaire chip, and fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 2,080 million transistors on a die size of 160 mm², yielding a transistor density of 13.0M per mm². This is a Southern Islands generation part, released in March 2013, and is now end-of-life.

In contrast, the RX 7700 uses the RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on the Navi 32 chip with the codename "Wheat Nas". It is fabricated on a much more advanced 5 nm process at TSMC, packing 28,100 million transistors into a 346 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 81.2M per mm², more than six times denser than the HD 7790. The RX 7700 is part of the Navi III (RX 7000) generation, released in September 2025, and remains an active product.

The core configurations differ equally dramatically. The HD 7790 has 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation pipelines. The RX 7700 has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RX 7700 also features 40 dedicated ray tracing cores, a technology entirely absent from the HD 7790. The clock speeds tell a similar story: the RX 7700 has a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz, while the HD 7790 does not have recorded base or boost clocks in the database. The memory subsystem is also a major differentiator, with the RX 7700 using 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, versus the HD 7790's 1 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, offering only 96.00 GB/s.

The feature set reflects the generational leap. The RX 7700 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and has a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. The HD 7790 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), Vulkan 1.2.170, and uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The display outputs also differ, with the RX 7700 offering modern connectivity including HDMI 2.1a, DisplayPort 2.1, and USB Type-C, while the HD 7790 provides older DVI, HDMI 1.4a, and mini-DisplayPort 1.2 options.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Radeon HD 7790 faster than the AMD Radeon RX 7700 in any benchmark?

A: Yes. The HD 7790's only recorded benchmark, Geekbench Metal, scores 17,666, which is higher than the RX 7700's average benchmark score of 15,852. However, this is a single test, and the RX 7700's average is depressed by low scores in legacy DirectX 9 and 10 tests.

Q: What is the most significant performance advantage of the RX 7700?

A: The RX 7700's FP32 compute throughput is 25.18 TFLOPS, which is 14 times higher than the HD 7790's 1.792 TFLOPS. The RX 7700 also has a Passmark G3D score of 20,974 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 106,028, indicating massive superiority in modern compute and DirectX 12 workloads.

Q: How do the two cards compare in memory bandwidth?

A: The RX 7700 has a memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s, using 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. The HD 7790 has only 96.00 GB/s, using 1 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus. This represents a 6.5 times bandwidth advantage for the RX 7700.

Q: Which card has a higher percentile ranking in the database?

A: The HD 7790 ranks in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 7700 ranks in the 58th percentile. This is due to the HD 7790 having a single high Geekbench Metal score, whereas the RX 7700's broader benchmark suite includes lower legacy test scores.

Q: Do these cards support the same modern APIs?

A: No. The RX 7700 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 7790 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RX 7700 also has 40 ray tracing cores, which the HD 7790 lacks entirely.

Q: What are the physical size differences?

A: The RX 7700 is significantly longer at 267 mm (10.5 inches) compared to the HD 7790's 183 mm (7.2 inches). The RX 7700 also has defined height and width dimensions of 135 mm and 50 mm, respectively, while the HD 7790's height and width are not recorded.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 7790 | AMD Radeon RX 7700 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | GCN 2.0 | RDNA 3.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 2,080 million | 28,100 million |

| Die Size | 160 mm² | 346 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 13.0M / mm² | 81.2M / mm² |

| Shading Units | 896 | 2,560 |

| TMUs | 56 | 160 |

| ROPs | 16 | 96 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | None | 40 |

| Base Clock | Not recorded | 1900 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not recorded | 2459 MHz |

| Game Clock | Not recorded | 2041 MHz |

| Memory Size | 1024 MB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 96.00 GB/s | 624.1 GB/s |

| FP32 Compute | 1.792 TFLOPS | 25.18 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Compute | Not recorded | 25.18 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| Pixel Rate | 16.00 GPixel/s | 236.1 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 56.00 GTexel/s | 393.4 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 85 W | 200 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 | 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB Type-C |

| Length | 183 mm (7.2 inches) | 267 mm (10.5 inches) |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2013-03-21 | 2025-09-17 |

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon HD 7790 wins in the narrow context of its single Geekbench Metal result. Its score of 17,666 is 0.2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 and 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon 780M, showing that in this specific API test, it can keep pace with much newer hardware. This makes it a niche winner for users who prioritize Metal API performance in legacy systems, though its 61st percentile ranking suggests it is a capable mid-tier card for its generation.

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 wins decisively in almost every other measurable category. Its FP32 compute of 25.18 TFLOPS is a 14-fold increase over the HD 7790. Its memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s is a 6.5-fold increase. Its pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s dwarf the HD 7790's 16.00 GPixel/s and 56.00 GTexel/s. In modern benchmark suites, the RX 7700 scores 20,974 in Passmark G3D and 106,028 in Geekbench OpenCL, while its nearest rivals (RTX 3060 Ti, RX 9060) are within 1.7% of its average score, confirming it is a competitive modern GPU.

The RX 7700 also wins on feature support. It has 40 ray tracing cores, DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and Vulkan 1.4, enabling hardware ray tracing and the latest graphics features. The HD 7790 cannot run these workloads. The RX 7700 also supports modern display outputs, including HDMI 2.1a and DisplayPort 2.1, while the HD 7790 is limited to older standards.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous for modern use cases: the AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the superior choice for anyone running current games or compute workloads. Its 25.18 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, 624.1 GB/s of memory bandwidth, and 40 ray tracing cores provide a level of performance that the HD 7790 cannot approach. The RX 7700's average benchmark score of 15,852 is competitive with modern cards like the RTX 3060 Ti and RX 9060, and its 58th percentile ranking reflects a solid mid-range position. Users who need DirectX 12 Ultimate features, high-resolution textures, or ray tracing should unequivocally choose the RX 7700.

The HD 7790 is a historical curiosity with one notable strength. Its Geekbench Metal score of 17,666 is higher than the RX 7700's average, and it ranks in the 61st percentile, which is higher than the RX 7700's 58th percentile. However, this is a statistical artifact of having only one benchmark result. The HD 7790 is end-of-life, has no ray tracing support, and its 1 GB of VRAM is insufficient for any modern game. Its only potential use case is in legacy systems where its Metal performance is relevant, but even then, its 0.2% to 0.7% delta against newer rivals like the RTX 4060 and 780M shows it is not a performance leader.

The verdict is simple: the RX 7700 is a modern, active, and capable GPU that wins on every meaningful performance metric and feature. The HD 7790 is a legacy part whose single high benchmark score does not translate to real-world modern performance. For any new build or upgrade, the RX 7700 is the only rational choice based on the recorded data.