AMD Radeon Pro 560 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 Comparison

AMD Radeon Pro 560 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 pits a modern, power-efficient mobile-class GPU from AMD’s GCN 4.0 family against an older, high-power desktop Kepler part from NVIDIA. The database shows a fascinating split: the Radeon Pro 560 dominates in one API, while the GTX 770 takes the other two. Their average benchmark scores differ by roughly 16%, but the distribution of wins tells a more nuanced story about driver maturity, API support, and hardware design priorities.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most dramatic result in the head-to-head comparison is in Geekbench Metal, where the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 20918 against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770’s 9369. That is a 123.3% advantage for the AMD part, a massive margin that reflects both the Pro 560’s native support for modern Metal workloads and the GTX 770’s age. The GTX 770 was released in 2013, and its Metal performance has clearly not kept pace with AMD’s 2017 architecture. For any application that relies heavily on Metal, the Radeon Pro 560 is the clear choice, and the data suggests it is more than twice as fast in this specific API.

However, the tables turn in OpenCL. Here the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 scores 15707, narrowly edging out the AMD Radeon Pro 560’s 15504. The delta is only 1.3%, which is within the margin of run-to-run variance for most benchmark suites. This result indicates that in pure compute throughput, the two cards are essentially equivalent, despite the GTX 770’s much higher rated FP32 throughput of 3.333 TFLOPS versus the Pro 560’s 1.858 TFLOPS. The database suggests that architectural efficiency and driver optimizations can offset raw specifications, as the Pro 560 nearly matches the older card despite having roughly 44% less theoretical FP32 capability.

The Vulkan test shows the largest absolute gap in favor of NVIDIA. The GTX 770 scores 19166, while the Radeon Pro 560 scores 16232, a 15.3% deficit for AMD. This is a significant margin, and it suggests that NVIDIA’s Kepler architecture handles Vulkan workloads more efficiently in this comparison, or that AMD’s GCN 4.0 implementation on this particular part is not fully optimized for Vulkan. The GTX 770 also supports Vulkan 1.2.175, while the Pro 560 supports Vulkan 1.3, yet the older card still wins, indicating that version number alone does not determine performance.

Overall, the AMD Radeon Pro 560 wins 1 of the 3 head-to-head tests, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 wins 2. The average benchmark score for the Pro 560 is 17551, placing it at the 61st percentile of all GPUs in the database. The GTX 770 averages 14747, which puts it at the 57th percentile. The Pro 560’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon 780M, which scores 17588, a 0.2% difference, while the GTX 770’s closest competitor is the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT at 14692, a 0.4% gap. These percentile and rival comparisons show that while the Pro 560 has a higher average, both cards sit in the same broad performance tier relative to the entire GPU landscape.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different eras and different design philosophies. The AMD Radeon Pro 560 uses the Polaris 21 chip built on GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The chip contains 3,000 million transistors on a die size of 123 mm², yielding a transistor density of 24.4M per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 uses the GK104 chip with Kepler architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This older design packs 3,540 million transistors into a much larger 294 mm² die, resulting in a lower transistor density of 12.0M per mm². The process node difference is stark: 14 nm versus 28 nm, which explains why AMD achieves higher density despite fewer total transistors.

Memory configurations differ substantially. The Radeon Pro 560 comes with 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 81.28 GB/s of bandwidth and running at 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective). The GTX 770 offers only 2 GB of GDDR5 but on a 256-bit bus, giving it 224.4 GB/s of bandwidth at 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The GTX 770 has nearly 2.8 times the memory bandwidth of the Pro 560, which is a critical advantage for texture-heavy workloads and high-resolution rendering. However, the Pro 560 has twice the memory capacity, which matters for large datasets and modern applications that exceed 2 GB of VRAM.

Compute resources also diverge. The AMD card has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output pipelines. Its pixel rate is 14.51 GPixel/s and texture rate is 58.05 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA card has 1536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 34.72 GPixel/s and texture rate of 138.9 GTexel/s. The GTX 770 leads in every throughput metric, including FP32 performance at 3.333 TFLOPS versus 1.858 TFLOPS for AMD. Notably, the Pro 560 supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, also rated at 1.858 TFLOPS, while the GTX 770 has no listed FP16 capability. This makes the AMD card more flexible for mixed-precision compute workloads.

Power and physical design are poles apart. The Radeon Pro 560 has a TDP of 75 W, is an integrated graphics package (IGP) with no power connectors, and is described as “Portable Device Dependent” for display outputs. The GTX 770 draws 230 W, requires a dual-slot cooler, needs one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector, and recommends a 550 W power supply. The GTX 770 is a full-length card at 267 mm, while the Pro 560 is designed for mobile or compact systems. The GTX 770 also uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, while the Pro 560 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x8, which can reduce bandwidth in some scenarios.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro 560 wins decisively in Metal-based applications. Its 20918 Metal score versus the GTX 770’s 9369 is not just a win, it is a landslide. This suggests the Pro 560 is the better choice for macOS environments, creative suites that leverage Metal, and any workload that uses Apple’s graphics API. The Pro 560 also has a higher average benchmark score overall (17551 versus 14747) and a better percentile ranking (61st versus 57th). Its 4 GB memory capacity gives it an edge in scenarios where the GTX 770’s 2 GB would be a hard limit, such as larger textures or compute datasets.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 wins in OpenCL and Vulkan. The OpenCL margin is slim at 1.3%, but the Vulkan margin is substantial at 15.3%. This makes the GTX 770 the better option for Vulkan-based games and applications, and it edges out the Pro 560 in raw OpenCL compute. The GTX 770’s higher memory bandwidth (224.4 GB/s) and higher texture and pixel rates give it an advantage in traditional rasterization workloads that are bandwidth-bound. Its 1536 shading units and 128 TMUs are simply more numerous than the AMD part’s 1024 and 64, respectively.

The power envelope is a major differentiator. The Pro 560’s 75 W TDP and lack of external power connectors make it suitable for compact and mobile systems, while the GTX 770’s 230 W TDP and dual-slot design require a desktop chassis with adequate cooling and a 550 W power supply. For users with power constraints or small form factor builds, the Pro 560 is the only viable option. For users with a full desktop and a robust PSU, the GTX 770’s higher throughput in OpenCL and Vulkan may be worth the power cost.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded data, the AMD Radeon Pro 560 is the better overall GPU for Metal-centric and power-limited environments. Its 123.3% lead in Metal, higher average score, and higher percentile ranking make it the more balanced choice in the database. The 4 GB memory capacity and 14 nm process node also point to a more modern design with better feature support, including Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12 (12_0).

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 is the better choice for Vulkan-heavy workloads and scenarios where memory bandwidth is the limiting factor. Its 15.3% Vulkan advantage and 1.3% OpenCL edge are meaningful for users who prioritize those APIs. However, its 2 GB memory capacity and 230 W power draw are significant drawbacks. The GTX 770 also supports only DirectX 12 (11_0), compared to the Pro 560’s 12 (12_0), which means it lacks some modern feature-level support.

The data does not crown a single winner. Instead, it highlights two different use cases. The Pro 560 is a modern, efficient part that excels in Metal and offers better capacity and API support. The GTX 770 is an older, power-hungry part that still delivers competitive OpenCL and Vulkan performance. Users should choose based on their primary API and system constraints.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 560 has an average benchmark score of 17551, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 averages 14747. The Pro 560 also ranks at the 61st percentile of all GPUs, compared to the GTX 770’s 57th percentile.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Metal performance?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 20918 in Geekbench Metal, which is 123.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770’s 9369. This is the largest margin in the head-to-head comparison.

Q: Which GPU is better for Vulkan workloads?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 wins in Vulkan, scoring 19166 versus the AMD Radeon Pro 560’s 16232, a 15.3% advantage for NVIDIA.

Q: What are the memory capacity and bandwidth differences?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 560 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 81.28 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do the power requirements differ?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 560 has a TDP of 75 W and uses no power connectors. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 has a TDP of 230 W, requires one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector, and recommends a 550 W power supply.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 560’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon 780M with an average score of 17588, a 0.2% difference. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT with an average score of 14692, a 0.4% difference.

Specification Differences

The AMD Radeon Pro 560 uses the Polaris 21 chip on GCN 4.0 architecture, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 uses the GK104 chip on Kepler architecture. The process nodes differ: 14 nm for AMD versus 28 nm for NVIDIA. The Pro 560 has 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, while the GTX 770 has 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. Transistor density is 24.4M per mm² for AMD and 12.0M per mm² for NVIDIA.

Memory specifications diverge: the Pro 560 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 81.28 GB/s bandwidth, while the GTX 770 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.4 GB/s bandwidth. The Pro 560 has 1024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, whereas the GTX 770 has 1536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Pixel rate is 14.51 GPixel/s for AMD and 34.72 GPixel/s for NVIDIA. Texture rate is 58.05 GTexel/s for AMD and 138.9 GTexel/s for NVIDIA. FP32 performance is 1.858 TFLOPS for AMD and 3.333 TFLOPS for NVIDIA. The Pro 560 supports FP16 at 1.858 TFLOPS, while the GTX 770 has no FP16 listing.

Power and physical specs differ greatly: the Pro 560 has a 75 W TDP, is an IGP, and has no power connectors, while the GTX 770 has a 230 W TDP, is dual-slot, and requires one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector. The GTX 770 suggests a 550 W power supply. The Pro 560 uses PCIe 3.0 x8, while the GTX 770 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The Pro 560 has portable-device-dependent display outputs, while the GTX 770 offers 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The GTX 770 measures 267 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 38 mm in width. API support differs: the Pro 560 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, while the GTX 770 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The GTX 770 has a launch MSRP of 399 USD.