AMD Radeon RX 5500M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 5500M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 represent two very different eras of GPU design, separated by nearly a decade of architectural progress. The RX 5500M is a modern 7nm mobile part built for efficiency, while the GTX 590 is a dual-GPU flagship desktop card from the Fermi generation. The data shows a decisive victory for the AMD part in the only shared benchmark, but the comparison reveals more than just raw score differences—it highlights how process technology, feature support, and power envelopes have fundamentally shifted the GPU landscape.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unequivocal: the AMD Radeon RX 5500M wins the only head-to-head test available, delivering a Geekbench OpenCL score of 38,725 against the GTX 590's 12,830, a 201.8% advantage. This isn't a close contest; the RX 5500M more than triples the older card's compute output. For any user choosing between these two today, the RX 5500M is the clear pick based on performance alone. Its 54th percentile ranking among all GPUs also edges out the GTX 590's 52nd percentile, reinforcing that the newer part is not just faster in one test but holds a higher standing in the broader performance distribution.

However, the GTX 590 does retain one advantage: its 1,536 MB of memory is paired with a 384-bit bus, whereas the RX 5500M uses 4 GB on a 128-bit bus. The AMD card's 224.0 GB/s bandwidth still exceeds the GTX 590's 164.0 GB/s, so even in memory throughput the newer part leads. The GTX 590's only real claim to relevance is its dual-slot, 279 mm physical footprint and 365 W TDP, which suggest a desktop-only card that demands serious power delivery. The RX 5500M, by contrast, is a portable device part with no power connectors listed, making it the only viable choice for laptop users. In summary, the RX 5500M wins on every measurable performance metric and is the only option for mobile systems; the GTX 590 is a historical artifact with a launch MSRP of 699 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5500M has an average benchmark score of 13,356, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 has an average of 12,830. The RX 5500M's closest rival is the AMD FirePro M6100 at 13,354 (0% delta), while the GTX 590's closest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 455 at 12,831 (0% delta).

Q: How do the two cards compare in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RX 5500M scores 38,725 in Geekbench OpenCL, versus the GTX 590's 12,830. This gives the AMD card a 201.8% performance advantage, the only head-to-head benchmark result available.

Q: What are the architectural generations of each GPU?

A: The Radeon RX 5500M is built on AMD's RDNA 1.0 architecture using the Navi 14 chip, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The GeForce GTX 590 uses NVIDIA's Fermi 2.0 architecture with the GF110 chip, manufactured on a 40 nm process, also at TSMC.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The RX 5500M provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. The GTX 590 offers 164.0 GB/s with 1,536 MB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, making the AMD part the bandwidth leader.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RX 5500M has a TDP of 85 W with no power connectors required, while the GTX 590 has a TDP of 365 W and requires 2x 8-pin power connectors with a suggested PSU of 750 W. This makes the AMD card dramatically more power-efficient.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The RX 5500M supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the GTX 590 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), indicating a lower feature level on the NVIDIA part. Both support OpenGL 4.6, but Vulkan support is listed only for the AMD card (version 1.4), with no Vulkan support listed for the GTX 590.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast. The RX 5500M uses AMD's RDNA 1.0 architecture on a 7 nm TSMC process, packing 6,400 million transistors into a 158 mm² die. The GTX 590 uses NVIDIA's Fermi 2.0 architecture on a 40 nm process, with 3,000 million transistors spread across a much larger 520 mm² die. The transistor density tells the story: the RX 5500M achieves 40.5M transistors per mm² versus the GTX 590's 5.8M per mm², a 7x difference that reflects the newer process node.

The RX 5500M features 1,408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 590 has 512 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. While the GTX 590 has more ROPs, the RX 5500M's shading unit count is nearly triple, and its texture rate of 144.8 GTexel/s dwarfs the GTX 590's 38.91 GTexel/s. The pixel rate also favors AMD: 52.64 GPixel/s versus 19.46 GPixel/s. In FP32 compute, the RX 5500M delivers 4.632 TFLOPS, while the GTX 590 manages 1,244.2 GFLOPS (1.244 TFLOPS), a 3.7x advantage for the newer card. The RX 5500M also lists FP16 performance of 9.265 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the GTX 590 has no FP16 data provided.

The GTX 590 is a dual-GPU design from the GeForce 500 generation, succeeding the GeForce 400 and preceding the GeForce 600. The RX 5500M comes from the Radeon RX 5000 series, succeeding Polaris Mobile. The RX 5500M's memory clock is listed as 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective, while the GTX 590's memory clock is 854 MHz with 3.4 Gbps effective. The GTX 590 uses a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface, while the RX 5500M uses PCIe 4.0 x8, which offers higher per-lane bandwidth despite fewer lanes.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification field. The RX 5500M has a base clock of 1375 MHz, a boost clock of 1645 MHz, and a game clock of 1448 MHz; the GTX 590 lists no base, boost, or game clocks, only a memory clock of 854 MHz. Memory size differs: 4 GB GDDR6 for AMD versus 1,536 MB GDDR5 for NVIDIA. The bus width is 128-bit versus 384-bit, and bandwidth is 224.0 GB/s versus 164.0 GB/s, as noted.

The TDP is a major differentiator: 85 W for the RX 5500M versus 365 W for the GTX 590. The GTX 590 is dual-slot, measures 279 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width; the RX 5500M has no dimensions listed, being a mobile part. The GTX 590 requires 2x 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 750 W PSU, while the RX 5500M uses no external power connectors. Display outputs also differ: the GTX 590 features 3x DVI and 1x mini-DisplayPort, while the RX 5500M's outputs are described as "Portable Device Dependent."

In API support, the RX 5500M supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 590 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support listed. The release dates are far apart: the RX 5500M launched on 2019-10-06, while the GTX 590 launched on 2011-03-23. The GTX 590 has a launch MSRP of 699 USD, while the RX 5500M has no launch MSRP listed. The GTX 590's production status is end-of-life, as is the RX 5500M's.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and it is a blowout. The AMD Radeon RX 5500M scores 38,725, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 scores 12,830. The delta is 201.8% in favor of AMD, meaning the RX 5500M delivers more than three times the OpenCL compute performance of the GTX 590. This result aligns with the architectural differences: the RX 5500M's 1,408 shading units and 4.632 TFLOPS FP32 throughput simply overwhelm the GTX 590's 512 shading units and 1,244.2 GFLOPS.

Beyond the head-to-head test, the RX 5500M shows broader strength across other benchmarks not run on the GTX 590. It scores 50,359 in Geekbench Metal, 35,693 in Geekbench Vulkan, and 5,848 in Passmark G3D. The GTX 590 has no scores for these tests, meaning the RX 5500M's 54th percentile ranking versus the GTX 590's 52nd percentile is based on different benchmark sets. The RX 5500M also performs well in legacy DirectX tests: 100 in Passmark DirectX 9, 39 in DirectX 10, 35 in DirectX 11, and 28 in DirectX 12. Its Passmark G2D score is 414, and GPU compute is 2,316.

The GTX 590's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 455 (12,831 average, 0% delta), AMD FirePro W5100 (12,847, -0.1%), AMD Radeon 740M (12,870, -0.3%), and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 (12,773, 0.4%). The RX 5500M's nearest rivals are the AMD FirePro M6100 (13,354, 0%), AMD Radeon HD 8950M (13,376, -0.1%), AMD Radeon Pro 555X (13,321, 0.3%), and AMD Radeon Pro 555 (13,407, -0.4%). These rival comparisons show that the RX 5500M sits in a slightly higher performance tier than the GTX 590, with its average score of 13,356 exceeding the GTX 590's 12,830 by 526 points, or roughly 4.1%. The wins tally confirms the outcome: the RX 5500M wins 1 head-to-head test, while the GTX 590 wins 0.