AMD Radeon HD 8790M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M

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Combined performance score

GTX 660M
3.69
+9.5%

GeForce GTX 660M outperforms Radeon HD 8790M by 9% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in performance ranking666691
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money0.660.33
ArchitectureKepler (2012−2018)GCN (2011−2017)
GPU code nameN13E-GEMars XTX
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date22 March 2012 (12 years old)16 November 2012 (11 years old)
Current price$276 $460
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 660M has 100% better value for money than HD 8790M.

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores384384
CUDA cores384no data
Core clock speed835 MHz850 MHz
Boost clock speed950 MHz900 MHz
Number of transistors1,270 million950 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)50 Wattunknown
Texture fill rate30.4 billion/sec21.60
Floating-point performance729.6 gflops691.2 gflops

Size and compatibility

Information on GeForce GTX 660M and Radeon HD 8790M compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.

Laptop sizelargemedium sized
Bus supportPCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0no data
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)MXM-A (3.0)
Supplementary power connectorsno dataNone
SLI options+no data

Memory

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount2 GB2 GB
Memory bus width128bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed2000 MHz4500 MHz
Memory bandwidth64.0 GB/s64 GB/s
Shared memory--

Video outputs and ports

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display ConnectorsNo outputsNo outputs
HDMI+no data
HDCP+no data
Maximum VGA resolutionUp to 2048x1536no data

Technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

Optimus+no data

API support

List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12 API12 (11_1)
Shader Model5.15.1
OpenGL4.54.6
OpenCL1.11.2
Vulkan1.1.1261.2.131
CUDA+no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 660M 3.69
+9.5%
HD 8790M 3.37

GeForce GTX 660M outperforms Radeon HD 8790M by 9% in our combined benchmark results.


Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

GTX 660M 1429
+9.5%
HD 8790M 1305

GeForce GTX 660M outperforms Radeon HD 8790M by 10% in Passmark.

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 660M 10971
+11.6%
HD 8790M 9835

GeForce GTX 660M outperforms Radeon HD 8790M by 12% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 660M 2369
+8.3%
HD 8790M 2187

GeForce GTX 660M outperforms Radeon HD 8790M by 8% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

GTX 660M 1751
+1.4%
HD 8790M 1727

GeForce GTX 660M outperforms Radeon HD 8790M by 1% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

GTX 660M 12861
+6.7%
HD 8790M 12049

GeForce GTX 660M outperforms Radeon HD 8790M by 7% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p30
+11.1%
27−30
−11.1%
Full HD35
+25%
28
−25%
1200p38
+26.7%
30−35
−26.7%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Battlefield 5 10−11
+25%
8−9
−25%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
+7.7%
12−14
−7.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Forza Horizon 4 10−12
+22.2%
9−10
−22.2%
Hitman 3 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Watch Dogs: Legion 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Battlefield 5 10−11
+25%
8−9
−25%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
+7.7%
12−14
−7.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Forza Horizon 4 10−12
+22.2%
9−10
−22.2%
Hitman 3 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Metro Exodus 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Battlefield 5 10−11
+25%
8−9
−25%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Forza Horizon 4 10−12
+22.2%
9−10
−22.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Hitman 3 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Metro Exodus 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry 5 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Far Cry New Dawn 1−2 0−1
Forza Horizon 4 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Hitman 3 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 0−1 0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 0−1 0−1
Far Cry 5 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 1−2 0−1

This is how GTX 660M and HD 8790M compete in popular games:

900p resolution:

  • GTX 660M is 11.1% faster than HD 8790M

1080p resolution:

  • GTX 660M is 25% faster than HD 8790M

1200p resolution:

  • GTX 660M is 26.7% faster than HD 8790M

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the GTX 660M is 100% faster than the HD 8790M.

All in all, in popular games:

  • GTX 660M is ahead in 33 tests (58%)
  • there's a draw in 24 tests (42%)

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 3.69 3.37
Recency 22 March 2012 16 November 2012

We couldn't decide between GeForce GTX 660M and Radeon HD 8790M. The differences in performance seem too small.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

User ratings

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M
GeForce GTX 660M
AMD Radeon HD 8790M
Radeon HD 8790M

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User ratings: view and submit

Here you can see the user rating of the graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


3.6 177 votes

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Questions and comments

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