AMD Radeon HD 7790 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile and the AMD Radeon HD 7790 represent two very different eras of GPU design, separated by roughly a decade of architectural progress. The RTX 4050 Mobile is a modern, power-efficient notebook part built on TSMC's 5 nm process, while the HD 7790 is a legacy desktop card from 2013 using a 28 nm process. Benchmark data shows a clear performance hierarchy, but the specific strengths and weaknesses of each card tell a more nuanced story.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most direct comparison available comes from the average benchmark scores, where the RTX 4050 Mobile achieves 19049 and the HD 7790 scores 17666. This puts the RTX 4050 Mobile roughly 7.8% ahead on average, a meaningful but not overwhelming margin. However, the available benchmark suites are not identical, so the gap should be interpreted with caution. The RTX 4050 Mobile has a robust set of nine benchmark results, while the HD 7790 only has a single Geekbench Metal score of 17666. That single result anchors the HD 7790's average, making direct cross-suite comparisons limited.

Looking at the RTX 4050 Mobile's individual scores, its strongest showing is in Geekbench Vulkan at 75235, followed closely by Geekbench OpenCL at 74748. These are compute-heavy loads that leverage the card's modern architecture. In Passmark tests, the RTX 4050 Mobile scores 14423 in G3D, 5947 in GPU compute, and lower scores in legacy APIs: 184 in DirectX 9, 130 in DirectX 11, 79 in DirectX 10, and 61 in DirectX 12. The DirectX 12 score is notably low relative to its other results, which may reflect driver overhead or specific workload characteristics, but the card still maintains a strong overall G3D score.

The HD 7790, with only its Geekbench Metal score of 17666, is placed at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX 4050 Mobile sits at the 63rd percentile. This small percentile difference aligns with the modest average score gap. In terms of nearest rivals, the RTX 4050 Mobile is bracketed by the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (avgScore 19036, deltaPct 0.1) and the NVIDIA Tesla K20m (avgScore 19089, deltaPct -0.2), showing it trades blows with those parts. The HD 7790, meanwhile, is closest to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (avgScore 17639, deltaPct 0.2) and the AMD Radeon 780M (avgScore 17588, deltaPct 0.4), indicating it performs in a similar league to those modern integrated and entry-level discrete solutions.

The biggest wins for the RTX 4050 Mobile are in raw compute throughput. Its FP32 performance is listed at 8.986 TFLOPS compared to the HD 7790's 1.792 TFLOPS, a fivefold advantage. Pixel rate tells a similar story: 84.24 GPixel/s versus 16.00 GPixel/s, and texture rate of 140.4 GTexel/s versus 56.00 GTexel/s. These are theoretical peak rates, but they explain why the RTX 4050 Mobile dominates in modern workloads that scale with shader count and memory bandwidth.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4050 Mobile wins in almost every measurable scenario where data exists. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory at 192.0 GB/s bandwidth dwarfs the HD 7790's 1024 MB of GDDR5 at 96.00 GB/s. For modern games and compute tasks with large textures or datasets, that memory capacity and bandwidth advantage is decisive. The RTX 4050 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6, while the HD 7790 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0), Vulkan 1.2.170, and OpenGL 4.6. The newer API feature set enables ray tracing and mesh shaders, which the HD 7790 cannot handle.

The HD 7790's only advantage is its legacy compatibility and lower power draw in certain contexts. It is a dual-slot card with a 1x 6-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 250 W, while the RTX 4050 Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) form factor with no power connectors and a TDP of 50 W. In a desktop system where the HD 7790 is already installed, it may still serve for older DirectX 9 or 10 titles, where its Passmark scores (if they existed) would be less relevant. However, no benchmark data for the HD 7790 in those APIs is provided, so this remains speculative. The HD 7790 also has a faster memory clock in terms of effective speed (6 Gbps versus 16 Gbps for the RTX 4050 Mobile), but that is misleading because the RTX 4050 Mobile's GDDR6 runs at a higher effective rate overall.

For users prioritizing raw compute in OpenCL or Vulkan, the RTX 4050 Mobile is the clear choice. For those needing a simple, low-power solution with no external power requirement, the RTX 4050 Mobile also wins because it is an IGP. The HD 7790, being end-of-life, has no path forward for modern software that requires updated drivers or features.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast. The RTX 4050 Mobile uses the AD107 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 18,900 million transistors into a die size of 159 mm², yielding a transistor density of 118.9M per mm². In contrast, the HD 7790 uses the Bonaire chip on GCN 2.0, fabricated on a 28 nm process, with 2,080 million transistors on a 160 mm² die, giving a density of just 13.0M per mm². The RTX 4050 Mobile achieves nearly ten times the transistor density, enabling far more complex logic in a similar physical footprint.

The RTX 4050 Mobile has 2560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. It also includes 20 ray tracing cores and 80 tensor cores, which are absent from the HD 7790. The HD 7790 has 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The RTX 4050 Mobile's FP16 performance is listed at 8.986 TFLOPS (1:1 with FP32), while the HD 7790 has no FP16 data, indicating a lack of dedicated half-precision support.

Memory architecture differs significantly. The RTX 4050 Mobile uses a 96-bit bus with GDDR6, while the HD 7790 uses a 128-bit bus with GDDR5. Despite the narrower bus, the RTX 4050 Mobile's higher memory clock yields 192.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s. The bus interface also differs: PCIe 4.0 x8 for the RTX 4050 Mobile versus PCIe 3.0 x16 for the HD 7790. The newer PCIe standard offers higher bandwidth per lane, though the x8 configuration may limit performance in some edge cases.

Production status and release timing further separate them. The RTX 4050 Mobile is active, released in early 2023, and succeeded the GeForce 30 Mobile, with a successor in the GeForce 50 Mobile. The HD 7790 is end-of-life, released in March 2013, with predecessors and successors in the Northern Islands and Sea Islands generations respectively. The HD 7790's launch MSRP is 149 USD, a figure that can be stated once but not analyzed further.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile has 8.986 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the HD 7790 has 1.792 TFLOPS. The RTX 4050 Mobile is approximately five times faster in this metric.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile scores 19049 on average, while the HD 7790 scores 17666. This puts the RTX 4050 Mobile about 7.8% higher, with percentile ranks of 63 and 61 respectively.

Q: What memory configurations do they use?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The HD 7790 has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Are there any API differences?

A: Yes. The RTX 4050 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 7790 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile has a TDP of 50 W and is an IGP with no power connectors, while the HD 7790 has a TDP of 85 W and requires a 1x 6-pin power connector with a suggested PSU of 250 W.

Q: How does the RTX 4050 Mobile compare to its nearest rivals?

A: It is within 0.2% of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (avgScore 19036) and 0.2% behind the NVIDIA Tesla K20m (avgScore 19089). The HD 7790 is within 0.4% of the AMD Radeon 780M (avgScore 17588).

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile | AMD Radeon HD 7790 |

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

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | GCN 2.0 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 18,900 million | 2,080 million |

| Die Size | 159 mm² | 160 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 118.9M / mm² | 13.0M / mm² |

| Shading Units | 2560 | 896 |

| TMUs | 80 | 56 |

| ROPs | 48 | 16 |

| RT Cores | 20 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 80 | None |

| Memory Size | 6 GB | 1024 MB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 96 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 192.0 GB/s | 96.00 GB/s |

| FP32 Performance | 8.986 TFLOPS | 1.792 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 8.986 TFLOPS (1:1) | None |

| Pixel Rate | 84.24 GPixel/s | 16.00 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 140.4 GTexel/s | 56.00 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 50 W | 85 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

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

| Release Date | 2023-01-02 | 2013-03-21 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 |

| Length | None | 183 mm (7.2 inches) |

| Launch MSRP | None | 149 USD |