AMD Radeon HD 7790 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER and the AMD Radeon HD 7790 represent two very different eras of GPU design, separated by six years of architecture evolution. Looking strictly at the data, the RTX 2060 SUPER holds an overwhelming advantage in raw compute, with its average benchmark score of 18093 compared to the HD 7790's 17666. However, the HD 7790's percentile ranking of 61 versus the RTX 2060 SUPER's 62 shows that both cards sit in a similar position relative to all other GPUs, which is surprising given the generational gap. The RTX 2060 SUPER is the clear choice for modern gaming and compute workloads, while the HD 7790 remains relevant only for legacy DirectX 9/10 scenarios or as a low-power secondary card, based on the limited benchmark data available.

The Verdict

The data paints a lopsided picture. The RTX 2060 SUPER delivers 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance against the HD 7790's 1.792 TFLOPS, a four-fold difference in raw compute throughput. In the only directly comparable benchmark category, Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 2060 SUPER scores 76957, though the HD 7790 has no OpenCL score in its record. The HD 7790's sole benchmark entry is Geekbench Metal with a score of 17666, which is a macOS-specific API that the RTX 2060 SUPER does not have a comparable result for. The RTX 2060 SUPER's average benchmark score of 18093 places it 2.4% above the HD 7790's 17666, but this gap understates the real-world difference because the HD 7790's score comes from a single Metal test while the RTX 2060 SUPER's average spans ten different benchmarks including DirectX 9 through 12 and compute workloads.

For any user running modern DirectX 12 titles or GPU compute tasks, the RTX 2060 SUPER is the only viable option from this pair. Its PassMark DirectX 12 score of 61 versus the HD 7790's lack of any DirectX benchmark results means the HD 7790 cannot be evaluated for modern gaming performance. Conversely, the HD 7790's 218 PassMark DirectX 9 score and 111 DirectX 10 score suggest it handles legacy APIs competently, though the RTX 2060 SUPER actually scores higher in both categories with 218 and 111 respectively, making it equal or better even in older APIs. The RTX 2060 SUPER's launch MSRP was 399 USD, while the HD 7790's was 149 USD, but neither card is currently in production, so these figures only reflect historical positioning.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2060 SUPER wins in every category where both cards have comparable data. In PassMark G3D, the RTX 2060 SUPER scores 16462, while the HD 7790 has no G3D result, but the RTX 2060 SUPER's PassMark GPU Compute score of 6721 demonstrates strong compute capability that the HD 7790 cannot match with its 1.792 TFLOPS. The RTX 2060 SUPER also wins on memory bandwidth by a massive margin: 448.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s, a 4.67x difference that directly impacts texture-heavy workloads and high-resolution rendering.

The HD 7790's only potential win is in power efficiency, where its 85 W TDP is less than half of the RTX 2060 SUPER's 175 W, and it requires only a 250 W suggested PSU versus 450 W. This makes the HD 7790 suitable for small form-factor systems or office PCs where power delivery is limited. The HD 7790 also has a smaller physical footprint at 183 mm length versus 229 mm for the RTX 2060 SUPER, which could matter for compact cases. However, the HD 7790's single Geekbench Metal score of 17666 is its only performance data point, and it cannot be directly compared to the RTX 2060 SUPER's OpenCL score of 76957 because they use different APIs.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 2060 SUPER uses the TU106 chip built on TSMC's 12 nm process, packing 10,800 million transistors into a 445 mm² die. The HD 7790 uses the Bonaire chip on a 28 nm process with 2,080 million transistors on a 160 mm² die. The transistor density tells the story of process advancement: the RTX 2060 SUPER achieves 24.3M transistors per mm², while the HD 7790 manages only 13.0M per mm². This density advantage, combined with a much larger die, gives the RTX 2060 SUPER a 5.2x transistor count advantage.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's Turing architecture brings features that did not exist in the HD 7790's GCN 2.0 design. The RTX 2060 SUPER includes 34 ray tracing cores and 272 tensor cores, neither of which the HD 7790 has. The shader configuration is also vastly different: 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs on the RTX 2060 SUPER versus 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 16 ROPs on the HD 7790. The pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s on the RTX 2060 SUPER dwarfs the HD 7790's 16.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s versus 56.00 GTexel/s shows a similar gap. The RTX 2060 SUPER's FP16 performance of 14.36 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) has no counterpart on the HD 7790, which has no FP16 data listed.

Memory architectures differ completely. The RTX 2060 SUPER uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 1750 MHz memory clock (14 Gbps effective), while the HD 7790 uses 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective). The RTX 2060 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 7790 tops out at DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 2060 SUPER also has DisplayPort 1.4a and USB Type-C outputs, while the HD 7790 uses the older DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4a standards.

FAQ

Q: Which card has better raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER offers 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute versus the HD 7790's 1.792 TFLOPS, a 4.0x advantage. Its PassMark GPU Compute score of 6721 further confirms this gap, though the HD 7790 has no equivalent compute benchmark result.

Q: Can the HD 7790 run modern games?

A: The data does not support a direct answer. The HD 7790 has no DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 benchmark results, only a Geekbench Metal score of 17666. Its DirectX 12 (12_0) API support is the minimum level, while the RTX 2060 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

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

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus delivering 448.0 GB/s, while the HD 7790 has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus delivering 96.00 GB/s. The RTX 2060 SUPER has 4.67x the bandwidth and 8x the memory capacity.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient?

A: The HD 7790 has a 85 W TDP and requires a 250 W PSU, while the RTX 2060 SUPER has a 175 W TDP and requires a 450 W PSU. However, the RTX 2060 SUPER delivers 4x the compute performance, so its power-per-performance ratio is likely better, though no efficiency metric is directly provided.

Q: Are these cards still in production?

A: Both are marked as End-of-life. The RTX 2060 SUPER was released on 2019-07-08 and the HD 7790 on 2013-03-21, with respective successors in the GeForce 30 series and Sea Islands generation.

Q: What is the performance gap in the only shared benchmark?

A: There is no shared benchmark between the two cards. The RTX 2060 SUPER has ten benchmark results including Geekbench OpenCL, Vulkan, and PassMark tests, while the HD 7790 has only a single Geekbench Metal score.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Since the headToHeadBenchmarks array is empty, the comparison must rely on the individual benchmark suites. The RTX 2060 SUPER's Geekbench OpenCL score of 76957 and Vulkan score of 77402 demonstrate strong cross-platform compute and graphics performance. The HD 7790's only result is Geekbench Metal at 17666, which is 77% lower than the RTX 2060 SUPER's OpenCL score, though these are different APIs so the comparison is not direct.

In the PassMark suite, the RTX 2060 SUPER shows a peculiar pattern: DirectX 9 score of 218, DirectX 10 score of 111, DirectX 11 score of 130, and DirectX 12 score of 61. The HD 7790 has no PassMark results, so no direct comparison is possible. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011 is its only modern gaming benchmark, and it indicates capable DirectX 12 performance. The average benchmark score of 18093 for the RTX 2060 SUPER versus 17666 for the HD 7790 shows only a 2.4% gap in averages, but this is misleading because the HD 7790's average comes from a single test while the RTX 2060 SUPER's comes from ten tests spanning multiple APIs.

Looking at the nearest rivals for context, the RTX 2060 SUPER's closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile at 18159 average score, which is only 0.4% ahead. The HD 7790's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 at 17639, which is 0.2% behind. This means the HD 7790's single Metal score of 17666 places it in similar company to modern entry-level GPUs, but only in that one specific test. The RTX 2060 SUPER's percentile rank of 62 versus the HD 7790's 61 shows they sit nearly identically in the overall GPU distribution, which suggests that the HD 7790's Metal score is unusually strong for such an old card, or that the RTX 2060 SUPER's average is dragged down by its weaker DirectX 12 score of 61.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every hardware attribute except for bus interface (both PCIe 3.0 x16), slot width (both Dual-slot), and OpenGL support (both 4.6). The RTX 2060 SUPER uses a 12 nm process while the HD 7790 uses 28 nm, resulting in dramatically different transistor counts: 10,800 million versus 2,080 million. The die size is 445 mm² versus 160 mm², and transistor density is 24.3M per mm² versus 13.0M per mm².

Memory specifications are entirely different: 8 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 1024 MB GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s. The RTX 2060 SUPER has 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, while the HD 7790 has 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The RTX 2060 SUPER adds 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores, which the HD 7790 lacks entirely. Clock speeds differ in that the RTX 2060 SUPER lists base and boost clocks of 1470 MHz and 1650 MHz, while the HD 7790 lists no core clocks at all. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) versus 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective). Power consumption is 175 W versus 85 W, with the RTX 2060 SUPER requiring a 1x 8-pin connector and the HD 7790 a 1x 6-pin. The suggested PSU is 450 W versus 250 W. Display outputs differ: the RTX 2060 SUPER has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C, while the HD 7790 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2. Physical dimensions show the RTX 2060 SUPER is longer at 229 mm versus 183 mm, and taller at 113 mm versus no listed height. The RTX 2060 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 7790 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170.