AMD Radeon HD 7970M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data shows a single head-to-head benchmark result between these two end-of-life mobile and desktop parts. In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 scores 15707. That is an 8.4% advantage for the AMD part in this compute workload. The GTX 770, however, is the only one of the two with additional benchmark results in the database: it also records a Geekbench Metal score of 9369 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 19166. The HD 7970M has no Metal or Vulkan results recorded.

For the overall average benchmark score, the HD 7970M sits at 17019, placing it in the 60th percentile of all GPUs. The GTX 770 has an average of 14747, placing it in the 57th percentile. The AMD part is therefore the higher-ranked GPU in the database, and it wins the only directly comparable test. The GTX 770 is the more versatile choice in terms of API coverage, with recorded results across OpenCL, Metal, and Vulkan. The HD 7970M is strictly a compute-oriented part in this dataset, with only OpenCL performance recorded.

Who should pick which: if the workload is OpenCL compute, the HD 7970M is the stronger option by 8.4%. If the workload requires Vulkan or Metal, the GTX 770 is the only one with measured data, and its Vulkan score of 19166 is notably higher than its OpenCL score. The GTX 770 also has a launch MSRP of 399 USD, which is the only pricing information in the database for either card.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectures and different manufacturers. The AMD Radeon HD 7970M uses the GCN 1.0 architecture, built on the Wimbledon chip. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 uses the Kepler architecture, built on the GK104 chip. Both are fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the transistor counts differ significantly. The HD 7970M contains 2,800 million transistors on a die size of 212 mm², giving a transistor density of 13.2M per mm². The GTX 770 contains 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, with a lower density of 12.0M per mm².

The GTX 770 has the larger chip and more transistors, but also a larger die. The HD 7970M packs its transistors more densely. The shading unit counts favor NVIDIA: the GTX 770 has 1536 shading units, while the HD 7970M has 1280. The texture unit count also favors NVIDIA: 128 TMUs on the GTX 770 versus 80 on the HD 7970M. Both cards have 32 ROPs.

Memory configurations are similar in capacity and bus width: both have 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. The memory clock speeds differ, however. The HD 7970M runs its memory at 1200 MHz with 4.8 Gbps effective, yielding 153.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 770 runs at 1753 MHz with 7 Gbps effective, yielding 224.4 GB/s. That is a substantial bandwidth advantage for the NVIDIA card, over 46% higher in raw memory throughput.

The clock speeds of the GPUs themselves are also different. The GTX 770 has a base clock of 1046 MHz and a boost clock of 1085 MHz. The HD 7970M has no base or boost clock listed in the database. The compute rates follow from these differences. The HD 7970M delivers 2.176 TFLOPS of FP32, a pixel rate of 27.20 GPixel/s, and a texture rate of 68.00 GTexel/s. The GTX 770 delivers 3.333 TFLOPS of FP32, a pixel rate of 34.72 GPixel/s, and a texture rate of 138.9 GTexel/s. In raw throughput terms, the GTX 770 is the faster part, but the OpenCL benchmark result tells a different story.

Power and physical characteristics diverge sharply. The HD 7970M is a 100 W part on an MXM Module with no power connectors, using an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface. The GTX 770 is a 230 W dual-slot card requiring 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 550 W power supply. It uses PCIe 3.0 x16 and measures 267 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 38 mm in width. The HD 7970M's display outputs are listed as portable device dependent, while the GTX 770 has 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2.

The API support also differs. The HD 7970M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The GTX 770 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The NVIDIA part has a slightly newer Vulkan version. The HD 7970M's generation is listed as London (HD 7900M), with a release date of 2012-04-23. The GTX 770 is from the GeForce 700 generation, released 2013-05-29. The HD 7970M's predecessor is Vancouver and its successor is Solar System. The GTX 770's predecessor is GeForce 600 and its successor is GeForce 900.

Where Each One Wins

The head-to-head data gives one clear win: the HD 7970M wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 17019 against 15707, a delta of 8.4%. That is the only direct comparison available, so in the single measured compute workload, AMD takes the victory.

The GTX 770 wins in areas where the HD 7970M has no recorded data. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 19166 is the highest of any result for either card. Its Geekbench Metal score of 9369 is another data point that the AMD part cannot match because no Metal result exists for it. For users targeting Vulkan or Metal APIs, the GTX 770 is the only option with measured performance.

In terms of raw hardware specifications, the GTX 770 has advantages that do not translate into a benchmark win in OpenCL. It has higher memory bandwidth (224.4 GB/s versus 153.6 GB/s), higher FP32 throughput (3.333 TFLOPS versus 2.176 TFLOPS), more shading units (1536 versus 1280), more TMUs (128 versus 80), and higher pixel and texture rates. The HD 7970M wins the OpenCL test despite these specification gaps, which suggests the GCN architecture's compute efficiency in OpenCL is strong relative to Kepler in this specific workload.

The percentile data confirms the split. The HD 7970M sits at the 60th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 770 sits at the 57th. The nearest rivals for the HD 7970M include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 with an average score of 17037 and a delta of -0.1%, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT at 17083 with -0.4%, the NVIDIA Tesla M4 at 16932 with 0.5%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 at 17208 with -1.1%. The GTX 770's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT at 14692 with 0.4%, the NVIDIA Quadro M2000 at 14532 with 1.5%, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti at 15063 with -2.1%, and the AMD Radeon Pro 560X at 15082 with -2.2%.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7970M has an average benchmark score of 17019, which is higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770's average of 14747.

Q: What is the result of the direct OpenCL comparison between the two cards?

A: The HD 7970M scores 17019 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the GTX 770 scores 15707. The HD 7970M wins by 8.4%.

Q: Does the GTX 770 have any benchmark results beyond OpenCL?

A: Yes. The GTX 770 also has a Geekbench Metal score of 9369 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 19166. The HD 7970M has no Metal or Vulkan results recorded.

Q: How do the memory specifications compare?

A: Both cards have 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. The HD 7970M has a memory clock of 1200 MHz with 4.8 Gbps effective and 153.6 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 770 has a memory clock of 1753 MHz with 7 Gbps effective and 224.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The HD 7970M has a TDP of 100 W, uses an MXM Module slot, and has no power connectors. The GTX 770 has a TDP of 230 W, is a dual-slot card, requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors, and has a suggested power supply of 550 W.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor count?

A: The GTX 770 has 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, while the HD 7970M has 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only head-to-head benchmark in the database is Geekbench OpenCL. The AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 scores 15707. The delta is 8.4% in favor of the AMD part. This is a clear, single-measurement win.

The size of the win is notable given the hardware differences. The GTX 770 has significantly higher raw specifications: 3.333 TFLOPS of FP32 versus 2.176 TFLOPS, 224.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth versus 153.6 GB/s, and 128 TMUs versus 80. Despite these advantages, the GTX 770 trails by 8.4% in OpenCL compute. The HD 7970M's GCN architecture appears to extract more useful compute performance from its smaller hardware budget in this workload.

The GTX 770's own benchmark suite shows a different pattern. Its Vulkan score of 19166 is 21.9% higher than its OpenCL score of 15707. Its Metal score of 9369 is 40.4% lower than its OpenCL score. The HD 7970M has no comparable data for Vulkan or Metal, so a full cross-API comparison is not possible from the recorded measurements.

The nearest rival data puts both cards in context. The HD 7970M's 17019 average sits within 1.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070's 17208, and just 0.1% behind the GTX 690's 17037. The GTX 770's 14747 average is 2.1% below the GTX 660 Ti's 15063 and 2.2% below the AMD Radeon Pro 560X's 15082. The HD 7970M competes with a much higher tier of GPUs in the database, despite being a mobile MXM part.

The percentile standings reflect this. The HD 7970M's 60th percentile places it above the GTX 770's 57th. Both are end-of-life products, but the AMD part maintains a higher standing in the database's overall ranking. The single benchmark win, the higher average score, and the higher percentile all point the same direction: for OpenCL compute, the HD 7970M is the stronger card. For API coverage and raw specification throughput, the GTX 770 offers more measured data and higher peak results in Vulkan.