AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 Comparison

# AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570

The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT is the decisive winner in this comparison, delivering 247.5% higher OpenCL performance than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 while consuming less power and offering modern API support. The GTX 570, a Fermi 2.0-era card, trails in nearly every measurable category, making the RX 5500 XT the only sensible choice for current workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT scores an average of 14,692 across all benchmarks, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 scores 13,515. The RX 5500 XT sits in the 57th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the GTX 570's 54th percentile.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the only shared benchmark?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 5500 XT scores 46,965 versus the GTX 570's 13,515, a delta of 247.5% in favor of AMD. This is the sole head-to-head benchmark available, and AMD wins it convincingly.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each card?

A: The RX 5500 XT's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770, which scores 14,747 (0.4% higher). The GTX 570's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon HD 7770M at 13,536, which is 0.2% higher than the GTX 570's score.

Q: Do both cards support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12, but at different feature levels. The RX 5500 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the GTX 570 supports DirectX 12 (11_0). The AMD card also supports Vulkan 1.4, whereas the NVIDIA card has no Vulkan support listed.

Q: Which card has a smaller manufacturing process?

A: The RX 5500 XT uses a 7 nm process from TSMC, while the GTX 570 uses a 40 nm process from the same foundry. The RX 5500 XT also packs 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die, compared to 3,000 million transistors on a 520 mm² die for the GTX 570.

Q: How do the launch MSRPs compare?

A: The RX 5500 XT launched with an MSRP of 169 USD, while the GTX 570 launched at 349 USD. The AMD card is significantly cheaper at launch, and it still outperforms the older NVIDIA card.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs spans generations of design philosophy. The RX 5500 XT uses AMD's RDNA 1.0 architecture on the Navi 14 chip, while the GTX 570 uses NVIDIA's Fermi 2.0 architecture on the GF110 chip. This is a fundamental difference in how each GPU schedules work and handles graphics pipelines.

The manufacturing process tells most of the story. The RX 5500 XT is built on a 7 nm TSMC process, giving it a transistor density of 40.5 million transistors per square millimeter. The GTX 570 uses a 40 nm process with a density of just 5.8 million transistors per square millimeter. That is a 7x density advantage for AMD, which directly translates to efficiency and performance per watt.

Transistor counts reinforce the gap. The RX 5500 XT packs 6,400 million transistors into a 158 mm² die, while the GTX 570 has 3,000 million transistors across a much larger 520 mm² die. The AMD chip achieves more compute with less than one-third of the silicon area.

The RX 5500 XT features 1,408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, delivering a pixel rate of 59.04 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 162.4 GTexel/s. The GTX 570 has 480 shading units, 60 TMUs, and 40 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 21.96 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 43.92 GTexel/s. The AMD card has roughly 3x the shading units and nearly 4x the texture throughput.

Memory architecture differs significantly as well. The RX 5500 XT uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, achieving 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 570 uses 1280 MB of GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus, providing 152.0 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the GDDR6 memory at 14 Gbps effective gives AMD 47% more bandwidth. The GTX 570 uses 3.8 Gbps effective memory.

Clock speeds show AMD's advantage in raw throughput. The RX 5500 XT has a base clock of 1607 MHz, a game clock of 1717 MHz, and a boost clock of 1845 MHz. The GTX 570 has no base, boost, or game clock listed, only a memory clock of 950 MHz. The RX 5500 XT's FP32 compute is 5.196 TFLOPS, while the GTX 570's is 1,405.4 GFLOPS. The AMD card also offers FP16 at 10.39 TFLOPS (2:1), while the GTX 570 has no FP16 capability listed.

Power requirements also differ substantially. The RX 5500 XT has a TDP of 130 W and requires a 300 W PSU with a single 8-pin connector. The GTX 570 has a TDP of 219 W and needs a 550 W PSU with two 6-pin connectors. The AMD card delivers far higher performance while drawing 89 W less.

The Verdict

The RX 5500 XT is the clear choice for virtually any use case. It wins the only direct benchmark by 247.5%, offers modern API support including Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 (12_1), and does so with lower power consumption. The GTX 570's only advantages are its wider memory bus (320-bit vs 128-bit) and higher ROP count (40 vs 32), but these do not translate into competitive performance.

For users with older software that relied on Fermi-era features, the GTX 570 might have historical relevance, but the data shows no scenario where it outperforms the RX 5500 XT. The GTX 570 lacks Vulkan support entirely, has only DirectX 12 (11_0) support, and trails in every benchmark category where data exists. The RX 5500 XT also has a lower launch MSRP of 169 USD versus 349 USD for the GTX 570, making the AMD card the better choice on both performance and cost.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | RDNA 1.0 | Fermi 2.0 |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 6,400 million | 3,000 million |

| Die Size | 158 mm² | 520 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 40.5M / mm² | 5.8M / mm² |

| Shading Units | 1408 | 480 |

| TMUs | 88 | 60 |

| ROPs | 32 | 40 |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 1280 MB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 320 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 224.0 GB/s | 152.0 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) | 950 MHz (3.8 Gbps effective) |

| Pixel Rate | 59.04 GPixel/s | 21.96 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 162.4 GTexel/s | 43.92 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 5.196 TFLOPS | 1,405.4 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 130 W | 219 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 8-pin | 2x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | None |

| Length | 180 mm (7.1 inches) | 267 mm (10.5 inches) |

| Launch MSRP | 169 USD | 349 USD |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Only one benchmark is shared between these two cards, and it is a decisive victory for AMD. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 5500 XT scores 46,965, while the GTX 570 scores 13,515. This represents a 247.5% advantage for the RX 5500 XT, meaning AMD's card is roughly 3.5x faster in this compute workload.

The RX 5500 XT's additional benchmark results paint a fuller picture of its capabilities. It scores 54,842 in Geekbench Metal, 44,191 in Geekbench Vulkan, and 9,083 in Passmark G3D. In Passmark DirectX tests, it scores 133 in DirectX 9, 56 in DirectX 11, 46 in DirectX 10, and 40 in DirectX 12. Its Passmark GPU compute score is 4,446, and its Passmark G2D score is 774. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 1,032.

The GTX 570 has only one benchmark entry beyond the shared OpenCL test, and there are no additional data points to analyze. Its average benchmark score of 13,515 is driven entirely by that single Geekbench OpenCL result.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 5500 XT wins in every category where data exists. Its strengths lie in compute performance, modern API compatibility, and efficiency. The 247.5% OpenCL advantage makes it the obvious pick for GPU compute tasks, while Vulkan 1.4 support ensures compatibility with current graphics workloads. Its DirectX 12 (12_1) feature level is also higher than the GTX 570's DirectX 12 (11_0), which matters for newer games that use advanced DXR or mesh shader features.

The GTX 570 has no benchmark wins to claim. Its 320-bit memory bus and 40 ROPs are its only specification advantages, but these do not translate into any measurable performance gains. The card's PCIe 2.0 x16 interface is also older than the RX 5500 XT's PCIe 4.0 x8, though this matters less for gaming than for data transfer workloads.

For users prioritizing raw compute, the RX 5500 XT's 5.196 TFLOPS FP32 performance is nearly 3.7x the GTX 570's 1,405.4 GFLOPS. For power-sensitive builds, the RX 5500 XT's 130 W TDP and 300 W PSU requirement are far more accommodating than the GTX 570's 219 W TDP and 550 W PSU recommendation. The RX 5500 XT also fits in a shorter 180 mm length versus the GTX 570's 267 mm, making it suitable for small-form-factor systems.

The GTX 570's only niche would be legacy software that specifically requires Fermi-era driver behavior, but the benchmark data provides no evidence of any performance advantage in that scenario. The RX 5500 XT is the superior card on every measurable axis.