AMD Radeon HD 6770

The AMD Radeon HD 6770 is an end-of-life graphics card built on the 40 nm TeraScale 2 architecture, featuring the Juniper chip with 1,040 million transistors on a 166 mm² die. With 800 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output pipelines, this card delivers a pixel rate of 13.60 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 34.00 GTexel/s, while its FP32 compute reaches 1,360.0 GFLOPS. Benchmark data shows a Geekbench OpenCL score of 3802, placing it in the 21st percentile of all GPUs — a modest result that reflects its age and position in the entry-level segment of its era.

Memory Subsystem

The Radeon HD 6770 is equipped with 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 76.80 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 1200 MHz, translating to 4.8 Gbps effective data rate. This configuration was competitive for its launch period, but the 1 GB capacity and 128-bit interface now present clear limitations at high resolutions.

At 1080p, the 76.80 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for older titles and lighter workloads, but the 1 GB frame buffer becomes a bottleneck in modern games with large texture packs. Benchmark results indicate the card’s overall score of 3802 aligns with integrated graphics from Intel’s UHD line, which suggests that memory constraints are not the sole limiting factor — compute throughput also caps performance. For resolutions above 1080p, the combination of a 128-bit bus and 1 GB VRAM will cause significant stuttering and texture pop-in, as the card cannot sustain the data throughput required for high-detail assets.

The GDDR5 type and 4.8 Gbps effective speed were solid choices in 2011, but the 76.80 GB/s bandwidth is roughly one-third of what modern entry-level cards offer. Data from the nearest rivals shows similar average scores, yet those rivals often pair smaller memory buses with higher clock speeds, which partially compensates. The HD 6770’s memory subsystem is adequate for its intended 720p and light 1080p use cases, but it is not future-proofed for higher resolutions or texture-heavy titles.

Who Should Consider It

Given its 21st percentile ranking and Geekbench OpenCL score of 3802, the Radeon HD 6770 targets users running legacy applications or undemanding esports titles at 720p or low-settings 1080p. The card’s 1 GB VRAM and 76.80 GB/s bandwidth are best utilized in games from its 2011 era, where texture sizes were smaller and memory pressure was lower.

For users with a 1366x768 or 1600x900 display, the HD 6770 can handle older titles like early-2010s shooters and strategy games at medium settings. At 1920x1080, the card will struggle with modern releases, as the 1 GB buffer fills quickly, causing frame drops. The data shows a delta of -0.1% against the Intel UHD Graphics 710, meaning the HD 6770 performs essentially identically to that integrated solution — a strong indication that discrete GPU advantages have eroded over time.

Users seeking to play current AAA games at 1080p should look elsewhere, as the 3802 score places it far below the threshold needed for smooth gameplay. However, for retro gaming, office productivity with light GPU acceleration, or as a display adapter for systems where the CPU lacks integrated graphics, the HD 6770 remains functional. The PCIe 2.0 x16 interface is backward compatible with modern slots, but the card’s performance ceiling will be quickly reached in any compute-heavy workload.

Benchmark Performance

The Radeon HD 6770’s Geekbench OpenCL score of 3802 places it in the 21st percentile of all GPUs, positioning it at the very bottom of the performance spectrum. Its nearest rivals show remarkably tight grouping: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 scores 3811, just 0.2% higher, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX110 scores 3834, a 0.8% advantage. The Intel UHD Graphics 710 scores 3808, a mere 0.1% above the HD 6770. The only rival that the HD 6770 beats is the NVIDIA Quadro 3000M, which scores 3752 — a 1.3% deficit for that mobile workstation part.

These deltas are statistically insignificant in real-world terms, meaning the HD 6770 performs within a narrow band of its direct competitors. The GeForce GTX 650, despite being a discrete card from a similar era, offers no meaningful advantage in OpenCL compute — the 0.2% delta is effectively noise. Similarly, the MX110, which is a much newer entry-level mobile chip, only manages a 0.8% lead, highlighting that the HD 6770’s compute performance has not aged as poorly as its memory subsystem might suggest.

The Quadro 3000M, a professional mobile GPU, trails by 1.3%, and the HD 6770’s win there is marginal. In practice, these scores indicate that the HD 6770 is suitable for OpenCL workloads that are not memory-bandwidth sensitive, such as simple image filters or basic physics calculations. For gaming, the 3802 score is far below modern standards; current entry-level GPUs typically score several times higher. The 21st percentile ranking confirms that 79% of all GPUs outperform this card, making it a last-resort option for compute tasks.

FAQ

Q: What is the average benchmark score for the AMD Radeon HD 6770?

A: The Geekbench OpenCL score is 3802, which places the card in the 21st percentile of all GPUs.

Q: How does the Radeon HD 6770 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650?

A: The GTX 650 scores 3811, which is 0.2% higher than the HD 6770’s 3802, indicating near-identical OpenCL performance.

Q: What memory configuration does the Radeon HD 6770 use?

A: It has 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 76.80 GB/s and a memory clock of 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective).

Q: Is the Radeon HD 6770 faster than the NVIDIA Quadro 3000M?

A: Yes, the HD 6770 scores 3802 versus the Quadro 3000M’s 3752, giving the HD 6770 a 1.3% advantage.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the Radeon HD 6770?

A: The memory bandwidth is 76.80 GB/s, derived from the 128-bit bus and GDDR5 running at 4.8 Gbps effective.

Q: What is the transistor count and die size?

A: The Juniper chip contains 1,040 million transistors on a 166 mm² die, fabricated on TSMC’s 40 nm process.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The Radeon HD 6770 does not include dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as these features were not part of the TeraScale 2 architecture. The card supports DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4, but offers no Vulkan support, which limits its compatibility with modern APIs. This lack of modern API support means that newer games that rely on Vulkan or DirectX 12 will not run on this card, regardless of its compute performance.

The display outputs include 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.3a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.1, providing multi-monitor flexibility for its era. However, the HDMI 1.3a and mini-DisplayPort 1.1 standards lack support for high refresh rates at 1440p or 4K, capping output at 1080p60 in most configurations. The absence of ray tracing is expected for a 2011 card, but the lack of Vulkan is more impactful, as it excludes the card from many modern game engines that have dropped OpenGL support.

The feature set is strictly legacy: 800 shading units and 40 TMUs provide the compute backbone, but without tensor or RT cores, any AI-accelerated or ray-traced workload is out of reach. The 1,360.0 GFLOPS FP32 performance is the card’s peak compute capability, which is adequate for basic OpenCL tasks but insufficient for modern graphics workloads. Users should treat this card as a display adapter with basic 3D acceleration, not as a feature-rich GPU.

Power and Cooling

The Radeon HD 6770 has a TDP of 108 W, which is modest by modern standards but requires a dedicated power connection. The card uses a single 6-pin power connector, and AMD recommends a 300 W power supply. This makes the card compatible with many older systems, provided the PSU has the necessary 6-pin connector and sufficient wattage headroom.

The dual-slot cooler design is typical for 2011 GPUs, and the card length is 198 mm (7.8 inches), which fits most mid-tower cases. The 108 W TDP means that cooling is not a major challenge, but the dual-slot form factor blocks the adjacent PCIe slot on most motherboards. The 300 W PSU recommendation is conservative, and a quality 300 W unit will suffice for a system with a single hard drive and a modest CPU.

For users upgrading an older system, the 1x 6-pin connector requirement is a key compatibility check — many budget PSUs from that era included this connector, but newer low-wattage units may only have 4-pin or 8-pin options. The card’s 108 W TDP is lower than many modern GPUs, so thermal management is straightforward, but the lack of modern power management features means it draws close to its full TDP under load. The PCIe 2.0 x16 interface provides up to 75 W from the slot, with the remaining power drawn from the 6-pin connector.

How It Compares

vs. Intel UHD Graphics 710: The HD 6770 scores 3802 versus the UHD 710’s 3808, a negligible 0.1% difference. This means the dedicated Radeon card offers no tangible performance advantage over a modern integrated GPU in OpenCL compute, though the HD 6770’s 1 GB GDDR5 and 76.80 GB/s bandwidth may still edge out the UHD 710 in memory-intensive tasks.

vs. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650: The GTX 650 scores 3811, just 0.2% above the HD 6770. Both cards are from the same generation, and the data shows they perform virtually identically in OpenCL. The GTX 650 has no meaningful edge, so the choice between them would come down to driver support and feature set, not raw performance.

vs. NVIDIA GeForce MX110: The MX110 scores 3834, a 0.8% lead over the HD 6770. This newer entry-level mobile GPU is only marginally faster, demonstrating that the HD 6770’s compute capabilities have remained competitive with low-end parts from much later years. The MX110’s advantage is within the margin of error for synthetic benchmarks.

vs. NVIDIA Quadro 3000M: The HD 6770 beats the Quadro 3000M by 1.3%, with scores of 3802 and 3752 respectively. The Quadro 3000M is a mobile workstation part, and its lower score reflects its power-constrained design. The HD 6770’s win is modest, but it shows that the desktop card holds a slight edge over this professional mobile GPU.