AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 and AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 represent two very different approaches to graphics processing: a high-power discrete add-in card from 2013 versus a low-power integrated graphics processor from 2019. The benchmark data reveals a close overall contest, with the GTX 770 holding a slim average score advantage of 14747 to 14385, a difference of about 2.5%. However, the story is more complex than a single average, as the two GPUs trade wins across different application programming interfaces (APIs), making the choice heavily dependent on the user's specific software environment.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 has the higher average score at 14747, compared to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11's 14385. This places the GTX 770 at the 57th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX Vega 11 sits just below at the 56th percentile.

Q: How does the GTX 770 compare to its nearest rival, the RX 5500 XT?

A: The GTX 770's average score of 14747 is only 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT's score of 14692. This indicates that the older GTX 770 is essentially performance-equivalent to this newer discrete GPU in aggregate benchmarks.

Q: What is the RX Vega 11's position relative to a desktop GTX TITAN?

A: The RX Vega 11's average score of 14385 is only 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN's score of 14373. This suggests that the integrated Vega 11 graphics perform on par with one of NVIDIA's early flagship desktop GPUs in these specific tests.

Q: In which benchmark does the RX Vega 11 achieve its largest victory over the GTX 770?

A: The RX Vega 11 wins decisively in the Geekbench Metal test, scoring 17086 against the GTX 770's 9369. This represents a 45.2% advantage for the AMD part in this Apple-oriented API.

Q: Which GPU wins the Vulkan benchmark and by how much?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 wins the Geekbench Vulkan test with a score of 19166, compared to the RX Vega 11's 13543. The delta is a substantial 41.5% in favor of the NVIDIA card.

Q: What is the transistor density difference between the two chips?

A: The AMD RX Vega 11, built on a 12 nm process, has a transistor density of 23.5M / mm², which is nearly double the GTX 770's density of 12.0M / mm². The GTX 770 uses a larger 294 mm² die on a 28 nm process.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is stark, reflecting their different roles and release timelines. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 is built on the Kepler architecture, a design from 2013 manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process node. Its chip, designated GK104, contains 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.0M / mm². This is a classic discrete GPU design with a 256-bit memory bus and dedicated GDDR5 memory.

In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 is a much newer integrated graphics processor (IGP) using the GCN 5.0 architecture, built on a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries. Its Picasso chip packs more transistors (4,940 million) into a smaller die (210 mm²), achieving a much higher density of 23.5M / mm². As an IGP, it has no dedicated memory and instead relies on "System Shared" memory, with its bandwidth being "System Dependent".

The processing resources differ significantly in configuration. The GTX 770 packs 1536 shading units, 128 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 render output units (ROPs). The RX Vega 11 has far fewer of each: 704 shading units, 44 TMUs, and only 8 ROPs. However, the Vega 11 compensates with a higher boost clock of 1400 MHz compared to the GTX 770's 1085 MHz boost. The Vega 11 also supports FP16 computation at a 2:1 ratio (3.942 TFLOPS), a feature that the GTX 770 lacks (FP16 is null). The GTX 770 does support Vulkan 1.2.175, while the Vega 11 supports the newer Vulkan 1.3.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark results carve out distinct territories for each GPU based on the API being used. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 is the clear winner in the Geekbench Metal test, where its score of 17086 dwarfs the GTX 770's 9369. This makes the AMD IGP the superior choice for applications that leverage Apple's Metal API, likely in macOS environments. The 45.2% delta in this test is the largest margin of victory for either GPU in any head-to-head comparison.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770, conversely, dominates in the other two tested APIs. It wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 15707 versus the Vega 11's 12525, a 25.4% advantage. Its strongest showing is in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where it scores 19166 against 13543, a 41.5% lead. These results indicate that the GTX 770 is the stronger performer for cross-platform compute workloads using OpenCL and for Vulkan-based gaming or applications. Users running on Windows or Linux with Vulkan-capable software will see significantly better performance from the NVIDIA card.

Specification Differences

The core specifications reveal the fundamental design philosophy differences between the two products. The GTX 770 is a dual-slot, 267 mm long add-in card that requires a 550 W power supply and uses a 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connector. The RX Vega 11 is an IGP with no slot width, no power connectors, and no dimensions to speak of, as it is integrated into a processor.

Memory configuration is a major differentiator. The GTX 770 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX Vega 11 has no dedicated memory; its size, type, and bus width are all "System Shared", and its bandwidth is "System Dependent". This makes the Vega 11's performance heavily reliant on the host system's RAM.

The clock speeds tell a similar story. The GTX 770 has a base clock of 1046 MHz and a boost clock of 1085 MHz, with memory running at 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The RX Vega 11 has a much lower base clock of 300 MHz but a significantly higher boost clock of 1400 MHz. The GTX 770's TDP is 230 W, while the Vega 11's is a mere 15 W, highlighting the IGP's efficiency. Display outputs also differ, with the GTX 770 offering 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2, while the Vega 11's outputs are "Motherboard Dependent". Finally, the GTX 770 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the Vega 11 supports DirectX 12 (12_1).

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The three head-to-head benchmarks show a clear split in performance leadership. The most dramatic result is in Geekbench Metal, where the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 scores 17086 against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770's 9369. The delta of -45.2% from the GTX 770's perspective means the AMD GPU is over 82% faster in this test. This is a massive victory for the Vega 11, suggesting its architecture is highly optimized for Metal, or that the Kepler architecture lacks proper support for this API.

In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the tables turn. The GTX 770 scores 15707, which is 25.4% higher than the RX Vega 11's 12525. This is a substantial win for the NVIDIA card, indicating that its 1536 shading units and dedicated memory provide a significant advantage in this general-purpose compute API. The 3.333 TFLOPS FP32 performance of the GTX 770, compared to the Vega 11's 1.971 TFLOPS, likely contributes to this lead.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows the largest margin of victory for the GTX 770. It scores 19166, a 41.5% improvement over the RX Vega 11's 13543. This result is particularly notable because the Vega 11 supports the newer Vulkan 1.3 API, while the GTX 770 supports 1.2.175. Despite the older API version, the GTX 770's raw hardware power and dedicated memory bandwidth prove decisive. The GTX 770 wins 2 out of 3 head-to-head benchmarks, but the Vega 11's single, large Metal win keeps the overall average scores close.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear choice based on the user's software ecosystem. For users working within Apple's Metal framework, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 is the unequivocal choice, as its 17086 Metal score is 45.2% higher than the GTX 770's. This is likely the default for macOS users with a compatible AMD processor, and the data confirms it is the superior option for Metal-accelerated tasks.

For users operating in OpenCL or Vulkan environments, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 is the stronger performer. Its 25.4% lead in OpenCL and 41.5% lead in Vulkan make it the more capable GPU for general compute and modern cross-platform graphics APIs. The GTX 770's higher average score of 14747 and superior performance in two of the three benchmarks suggest it has broader applicability for Windows and Linux users. The final decision hinges on which API the user's applications prioritize, as the two GPUs rarely overlap in their areas of dominance.