AMD Radeon HD 8690M vs AMD Radeon HD 8750M Comparison

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon HD 8690M is the clear winner in this head-to-head, based on the sole benchmark available. It beats the AMD Radeon HD 8750M in Geekbench OpenCL by 2.8%, scoring 6137 against 5970. The HD 8690M also occupies a higher overall position, sitting in the 36th percentile of all GPUs, while the HD 8750M sits in the 34th. If you are choosing strictly on compute performance data, the HD 8690M is the pick. The HD 8750M is not without merit—it has more shading units and texture units—but the benchmark results show that architectural efficiency and clock speed trump raw unit counts in this pairing.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs are built on the same foundational technology, but they are distinct chips with different configurations. The HD 8690M uses the "Sun" chip, while the HD 8750M uses the "Mars" chip. Both employ the GCN 1.0 architecture and are fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process node. The transistor counts differ significantly: the HD 8690M packs 690 million transistors on a 56 mm² die, whereas the HD 8750M contains 950 million transistors on a larger 77 mm² die. Interestingly, both have the same transistor density of 12.3M / mm², indicating the denser packing is identical per square millimeter.

The memory subsystems are a major divergence. The HD 8690M comes with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 32.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 8750M instead uses 1024 MB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth. Even though the HD 8750M has double the bus width, the slower DDR3 memory type results in lower overall bandwidth. Clock speeds also favor the HD 8690M: it runs at a base of 925 MHz with a boost of 975 MHz, while the HD 8750M runs at 775 MHz base and 825 MHz boost. Memory clocks follow suit, with the HD 8690M at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) versus the HD 8750M's 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective).

In terms of compute units, the HD 8750M actually has more: 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, versus the HD 8690M's 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. However, the HD 8690M compensates with higher clocks and faster memory. Both share the same API support, including DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170, and both use a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface. Neither GPU has ray tracing or tensor cores.

Where Each One Wins

The HD 8690M wins in the only benchmark test available, the Geekbench OpenCL compute test. Its score of 6137 edges out the HD 8750M's 5970 by 2.8%. The HD 8690M also wins in memory bandwidth (32.00 GB/s vs 28.80 GB/s), pixel fill rate (7.800 GPixel/s vs 6.600 GPixel/s), and raw FP32 throughput is nearly identical but still favors the HD 8690M (624.0 GFLOPS vs 633.6 GFLOPS—actually the HD 8750M is slightly higher here, but the difference is marginal).

The HD 8750M does not win any benchmark tests. However, it holds advantages in shading units (384 vs 320), texture units (24 vs 20), and texture fill rate (19.80 GTexel/s vs 19.50 GTexel/s). It also has a larger transistor count and die size. In practical terms, the HD 8750M might have an edge in texture-heavy workloads if clock speeds could keep up, but the data does not show a benchmark win to confirm that. The HD 8750M also offers a larger memory bus (128-bit vs 64-bit), but the slower DDR3 memory negates that advantage in bandwidth measurements.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8690M scores 6137, which is 2.8% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 8750M's 5970.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same modern APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8750M has 384 shading units, while the AMD Radeon HD 8690M has 320.

Q: How does memory bandwidth compare between the two?

A: The HD 8690M delivers 32.00 GB/s using GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus, while the HD 8750M delivers 28.80 GB/s using DDR3 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: What is the process node for both GPUs?

A: Both are manufactured on a 28 nm process by TSMC.

Q: Which GPU has a higher overall percentile ranking?

A: The HD 8690M sits in the 36th percentile of all GPUs, while the HD 8750M sits in the 34th.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only head-to-head benchmark result is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it clearly favors the AMD Radeon HD 8690M. The HD 8690M scores 6137, while the HD 8750M scores 5970. That is a delta of 2.8% in favor of the HD 8690M. This is a notable win because the HD 8750M has a higher theoretical FP32 performance (633.6 GFLOPS vs 624.0 GFLOPS) and more shading units (384 vs 320). The fact that the HD 8690M still wins despite lower compute unit counts suggests that its higher clock speeds (925 MHz base / 975 MHz boost vs 775 MHz / 825 MHz) and faster GDDR5 memory are more impactful in real-world compute tasks.

Looking at the nearest rivals provides context. The HD 8690M sits 0.3% above the Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 (6117), 1% above the NVIDIA RTX A400 (6078), and 1% above the NVIDIA GeForce MX230 (6077). It trails the AMD Radeon HD 6950 by 1.2% (6210). The HD 8750M, meanwhile, is 0.2% below the NVIDIA Quadro K4000 (5982), 0.2% above the NVIDIA Quadro K620M (5957), 0.3% above the AMD Radeon HD 8730M (5955), and 0.3% below the NVIDIA Quadro K4000M (5986). These deltas are all within a narrow band, indicating that both GPUs are closely matched with their immediate competitors.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal a clear split between the two. Here are the fields where the two differ:

• Chip: HD 8690M uses "Sun"; HD 8750M uses "Mars".
• Generation: HD 8690M is in "Solar System (HD 8600M)"; HD 8750M is in "Solar System (HD 8700M)".
• Transistors: HD 8690M has 690 million; HD 8750M has 950 million.
• Die Size: HD 8690M is 56 mm²; HD 8750M is 77 mm².
• Base Clock: HD 8690M is 925 MHz; HD 8750M is 775 MHz.
• Boost Clock: HD 8690M is 975 MHz; HD 8750M is 825 MHz.
• Memory Clock: HD 8690M is 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective); HD 8750M is 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective).
• Memory Size: HD 8690M has 2 GB; HD 8750M has 1024 MB.
• Memory Type: HD 8690M uses GDDR5; HD 8750M uses DDR3.
• Memory Bus: HD 8690M has a 64-bit bus; HD 8750M has a 128-bit bus.
• Memory Bandwidth: HD 8690M is 32.00 GB/s; HD 8750M is 28.80 GB/s.
• Shading Units: HD 8690M has 320; HD 8750M has 384.
• TMUs: HD 8690M has 20; HD 8750M has 24.
• Pixel Rate: HD 8690M is 7.800 GPixel/s; HD 8750M is 6.600 GPixel/s.
• Texture Rate: HD 8690M is 19.50 GTexel/s; HD 8750M is 19.80 GTexel/s.
• FP32: HD 8690M is 624.0 GFLOPS; HD 8750M is 633.6 GFLOPS.
• Release Date: HD 8690M is 2013-02-28; HD 8750M is 2013-02-25.

Both share the same ROP count (8), process node (28 nm), foundry (TSMC), bus interface (PCIe 3.0 x8), API support, and production status (end-of-life). Neither has a TDP listed, slot width, power connectors, or suggested PSU. Both have a predecessor of "London" and successor of "Gem System". No launch MSRP is provided for either.