AMD Radeon Pro 580X vs NVIDIA GeForce MX570 Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro 580X and NVIDIA GeForce MX570 occupy nearly identical positions in the overall performance hierarchy, with average benchmark scores of 38,706 and 38,299 respectively. This places both GPUs within a 1.1% margin of each other, a statistical tie that masks significant architectural and feature differences. The MX570 edges ahead in the single shared benchmark, but the Radeon Pro 580X counters with a broader benchmark suite and a much larger memory pool, making the choice heavily dependent on workload and platform.

Where Each One Wins

The data indicates a clear split based on application type and API usage. The NVIDIA GeForce MX570 wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark available: Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 38,299 against the Radeon Pro 580X’s 36,426, a 4.9% advantage. This suggests the MX570 holds a lead in general-purpose compute tasks that leverage OpenCL, which is common in productivity applications and some creative suites.

However, the AMD Radeon Pro 580X demonstrates its strengths in other benchmark categories. Its Geekbench Metal score of 39,577 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 40,115 are both higher than the MX570’s OpenCL result of 38,299, indicating superior performance in graphics-heavy workloads that use these modern APIs. The 580X’s Vulkan score is 4.7% higher than the MX570’s best result, and its Metal score is 3.3% higher. This makes the 580X the better choice for macOS environments where Metal is the primary graphics API, and for cross-platform Vulkan titles.

The Radeon Pro 580X also wins decisively on memory capacity. With 8 GB of GDDR5 memory versus the MX570’s 2 GB of GDDR6, the 580X can handle larger textures, higher resolution assets, and more complex scenes without exceeding VRAM limits. The MX570’s 2 GB frame buffer is a serious constraint for modern games and 3D applications, even if its raw compute performance is comparable. For professionals working with large datasets or high-resolution displays, the 580X’s memory advantage is a practical win that no benchmark score can fully capture.

In terms of system integration, the 580X uses an Apple MPX bus interface, signaling its design for Apple’s Mac Pro platform, while the MX570 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, making it compatible with standard PC laptops. The MX570’s 15 W TDP versus the 580X’s 185 W TDP means the MX570 wins decisively in power-constrained mobile scenarios, while the 580X is intended for desktop workstations where power and cooling are less restrictive.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different architectural generations and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon Pro 580X is built on the Ellesmere chip using the GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This is a mature design with 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.6 million per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce MX570 uses the GA107S chip with the much newer Ampere architecture, built on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It packs 8,700 million transistors into a smaller 200 mm² die, achieving a significantly higher transistor density of 43.5 million per mm².

The compute layouts differ substantially. The 580X features 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The MX570 has 2,048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. While the shading unit count is similar, the 580X has more than double the texture units, which drives its much higher texture fill rate. The MX570 compensates with dedicated hardware that the 580X lacks entirely: 16 ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores. These enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based features that are simply unavailable on the GCN 4.0 architecture.

Clock speeds and memory architecture also diverge. The 580X runs at a base clock of 1100 MHz with a boost of 1200 MHz, while the MX570 has a lower base of 832 MHz but a boost of 1155 MHz. The 580X uses a 256-bit memory bus with GDDR5 running at 6.8 Gbps effective, producing 218.9 GB/s of bandwidth. The MX570 uses a narrow 64-bit bus with GDDR6 at 12 Gbps effective, yielding only 96.00 GB/s. This 2.3x bandwidth advantage for the 580X is critical for memory-intensive workloads.

The API support reflects their respective eras. The 580X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The MX570 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The MX570’s DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set includes hardware ray tracing and mesh shaders, which the 580X cannot offer. The MX570 also has a slightly newer Vulkan version, though the practical difference is minimal.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark. In this test, the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 scores 38,299 against the AMD Radeon Pro 580X’s 36,426. The MX570 wins by 4.9%, a meaningful margin that suggests its Ampere architecture is more efficient at OpenCL compute tasks despite lower memory bandwidth and fewer texture units. For applications that rely on OpenCL—such as video encoding, physics simulation, and certain scientific workloads—the MX570 holds a clear advantage.

However, the broader benchmark data from the FACT PACK provides additional context. The 580X’s average benchmark score of 38,706 is derived from three tests: Geekbench Metal (39,577), Geekbench OpenCL (36,426), and Geekbench Vulkan (40,115). The MX570’s average of 38,299 comes from a single Geekbench OpenCL result. When comparing the 580X’s best-case API (Vulkan at 40,115) against the MX570’s OpenCL score, the 580X is 4.7% ahead. Similarly, the 580X’s Metal score of 39,577 is 3.3% higher than the MX570’s best result.

The nearest rival data reinforces this near-parity. The 580X is 1.1% ahead of the MX570 in average score, while the MX570 A variant sits between them at 38,691. Interestingly, both GPUs are also within 1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, which scores 38,349. This cluster of results—spanning only a 0.9% delta from the 580X to the RTX 5080 Mobile—indicates that all these GPUs deliver essentially interchangeable raw compute performance, with architectural features and memory capacity differentiating them more than raw throughput.

Specification Differences

The specification tables reveal several key differences where the two cards diverge. The most striking is memory: the 580X offers 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 218.9 GB/s bandwidth, while the MX570 offers 2 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s. This represents a 4x capacity advantage and a 2.3x bandwidth advantage for the AMD card.

Power consumption is equally divergent. The 580X has a TDP of 185 W, while the MX570 draws only 15 W—a 12.3x difference. This makes the MX570 suitable for thin-and-light laptops, whereas the 580X requires a desktop workstation power delivery system. The 580X has no power connectors listed and uses an Apple MPX bus interface, while the MX570 has no power connectors and uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

The compute resources differ in configuration. The 580X has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The MX570 has 2,048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The 580X also has higher pixel and texture rates: 38.40 GPixel/s and 172.8 GTexel/s versus the MX570’s 36.96 GPixel/s and 73.92 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute is 5.530 TFLOPS for the 580X versus 4.731 TFLOPS for the MX570, a 16.9% advantage for AMD. Both have 1:1 FP16 rates.

Process technology and physical characteristics also differ. The 580X uses a 14 nm process with 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. The MX570 uses an 8 nm process with 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die. The MX570’s transistor density is 43.5M per mm² versus 24.6M per mm² for the 580X. Both GPUs are end-of-life products, with the 580X releasing in March 2019 and the MX570 in December 2021.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 580X delivers 5.530 TFLOPS FP32, which is 16.9% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce MX570’s 4.731 TFLOPS.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the MX570 includes 16 ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores as part of the Ampere architecture, and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The Radeon Pro 580X has no ray tracing or tensor cores.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The Radeon Pro 580X has 218.9 GB/s of bandwidth from its 256-bit GDDR5 interface, which is 2.3x the MX570’s 96.00 GB/s from its 64-bit GDDR6 interface.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The Radeon Pro 580X has an average benchmark score of 38,706, which is 1.1% higher than the MX570’s 38,299. The MX570 wins the shared Geekbench OpenCL test by 4.9%.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The Radeon Pro 580X has a TDP of 185 W, while the GeForce MX570 has a TDP of just 15 W, making the MX570 far more suitable for battery-powered laptops.

Q: Which GPU is better for macOS systems?

A: The Radeon Pro 580X uses an Apple MPX bus interface and scores 39,577 in Geekbench Metal, indicating strong macOS integration. The MX570’s display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," suggesting no native Mac support.