AMD Radeon RX 560 XT vs AMD Radeon RX 570 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data splits these two Polaris-generation cards into a clear hierarchy, but the margin is not uniform across workloads. The AMD Radeon RX 570 wins both head-to-head benchmark entries in the database, taking 2 wins to 0 for the RX 560 XT. That alone suggests a straightforward ordering, but the size of the gap tells a more nuanced story about where each card is competitive.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 570 scores 32,084 against the RX 560 XT’s 31,387. That is a delta of -2.2% from the perspective of the RX 560 XT, meaning the older card trails by only 2.2% in this compute-oriented test. This is a narrow margin, almost within run-to-run variance for many workloads. The RX 560 XT is not embarrassed here; it is merely a step behind. For OpenCL compute tasks, the RX 560 XT remains a viable option, especially if the workload does not push texture or shading throughput to its limit.

The Vulkan result is a different story. The RX 570 posts 42,752, while the RX 560 XT manages 36,879. The delta is -13.7%, a substantial gap that indicates the RX 570 pulls far ahead in graphics API workloads that leverage modern driver overhead and parallel execution. Vulkan tends to expose raw shading and texture throughput more directly, and the RX 570 has more of both. For gaming or any Vulkan-based compute, the RX 570 is the clear winner.

Looking at overall standing, the RX 560 XT holds a 79th percentile rank among all GPUs in the database, while the RX 570 sits at the 74th percentile. That seems counterintuitive given the head-to-head results, but the average benchmark scores explain it: the RX 560 XT averages 34,133 across its recorded tests, while the RX 570 averages 28,766. The RX 570’s average is dragged down by its inclusion of a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 880 and a Geekbench Metal score of 39,349, tests that the RX 560 XT does not appear in. The RX 560 XT’s two recorded scores are both Geekbench tests, which tend to cluster higher. So the percentile gap is a function of test selection, not raw capability.

For use-case planning: if the workload is Vulkan-heavy, the RX 570 wins decisively. If the workload is OpenCL compute, the RX 560 XT is nearly on par, trailing by just over two percent. For DX12, the RX 570 has a recorded 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 880, while the RX 560 XT has no equivalent entry, so the data simply does not allow a direct comparison there.

The Verdict

The data points to one conclusion: the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the stronger card in every head-to-head benchmark recorded. It wins both Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, with the Vulkan margin being particularly large at -13.7% for the RX 560 XT. Anyone choosing between these two for a modern gaming or Vulkan compute workload should pick the RX 570 without hesitation.

The RX 560 XT is not without a niche. Its OpenCL score is only 2.2% behind, which means for general-purpose GPU compute tasks that do not rely heavily on texture units or shading rate, the difference may be negligible. The RX 560 XT also has a higher percentile rank (79 vs 74), which reflects its consistency across the limited set of tests recorded for it. But that percentile advantage is misleading when head-to-head data exists, and the database clearly shows the RX 570 outperforming it.

The RX 570 also has a broader benchmark footprint, with entries for 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan. The RX 560 XT only appears in OpenCL and Vulkan. For users who need cross-platform performance estimates, the RX 570 offers more recorded evidence. The RX 560 XT’s lack of a Metal score means macOS or iOS-adjacent workloads cannot be assessed from the data, whereas the RX 570’s Metal score of 39,349 provides a reference point.

In short: the RX 570 is the default recommendation from the data. The RX 560 XT is only worth considering if OpenCL compute is the sole workload and the 2.2% deficit is acceptable. No other scenario in the recorded benchmarks favors the RX 560 XT.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct comparisons between these cards, both from Geekbench. The first is OpenCL, where the RX 570 scores 32,084 and the RX 560 XT scores 31,387. The RX 570 wins by 2.2%. This is a modest lead, and it suggests that the RX 560 XT’s reduced shading unit count does not cripple it in compute tasks that are memory-bound or latency-bound. Both cards share the same 256-bit memory bus and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, so memory throughput is identical. The difference must come from the compute units themselves.

The RX 570 has 2,048 shading units against the RX 560 XT’s 1,792, a difference of 256 units. That is a 14.3% deficit in raw shading hardware, but the OpenCL gap is only 2.2%. This implies that OpenCL performance is not purely shading-limited, or that the RX 560 XT’s lower base clock (1074 MHz vs 1168 MHz) is partially offset by its boost clock behavior. The RX 560 XT boosts to 1226 MHz, while the RX 570 boosts to 1244 MHz, so the boost clocks are close. The OpenCL result suggests that memory bandwidth and driver efficiency matter more than raw shading count in this test.

The second head-to-head is Vulkan, and here the gap widens dramatically. The RX 570 scores 42,752 against the RX 560 XT’s 36,879, a 13.7% lead. This aligns much more closely with the hardware difference. The RX 570 has more texture mapping units (128 vs 112) and a higher texture fill rate (159.2 GTexel/s vs 137.3 GTexel/s). Vulkan workloads often stress texture sampling and shader execution in parallel, and the RX 570’s extra TMUs and shading units pay off. The RX 560 XT’s FP32 throughput is 4.394 TFLOPS, while the RX 570 reaches 5.095 TFLOPS, a 16% gap that tracks the Vulkan delta closely.

For context, the RX 560 XT’s nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB (avg score 34,154, delta -0.1%), the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (34,207, delta -0.2%), the AMD Radeon RX 480 (33,997, delta 0.4%), and the AMD Radeon HD 7950 (33,951, delta 0.5%). The RX 560 XT sits in a tight cluster around 34,000 average score, meaning it is essentially tied with those cards. The RX 570’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (28,874, delta -0.4%), the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (28,580, delta 0.7%), the AMD Radeon RX 470 (28,996, delta -0.8%), and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 (28,421, delta 1.2%). The RX 570’s average score of 28,766 places it in a different performance tier, despite the head-to-head wins. This is because the average includes the low 3DMark Steel Nomad score, which pulls the mean down.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in Vulkan performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 wins decisively. It scores 42,752 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the RX 560 XT scores 36,879. That is a 13.7% lead for the RX 570.

Q: How close are the two cards in OpenCL compute?

A: Very close. The RX 570 scores 32,084 and the RX 560 XT scores 31,387, a difference of only 2.2%. For OpenCL compute tasks, the RX 560 XT is nearly on par.

Q: Does the RX 560 XT have any benchmark where it wins?

A: No. The database records two head-to-head tests (Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan), and the RX 570 wins both. The RX 560 XT has zero wins in the head-to-head data.

Q: Why does the RX 560 XT have a higher percentile rank than the RX 570?

A: The RX 560 XT is at the 79th percentile while the RX 570 is at the 74th. This is because the RX 560 XT’s average benchmark score (34,133) is higher than the RX 570’s average (28,766), but that average is based on different test sets. The RX 570 includes a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 880 and a Metal score of 39,349, which lower its average.

Q: What is the memory configuration of both cards?

A: Both cards have 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth and an effective memory clock of 7 Gbps. Memory performance is identical between the two.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RX 570 has 2,048 shading units, while the RX 560 XT has 1,792. The RX 570 also has 128 texture mapping units versus 112 on the RX 560 XT.

Architecture Differences

Both cards are built on the same GCN 4.0 architecture and the 14 nm process node from GlobalFoundries. They share the same transistor count of 5,700 million and the same die size of 232 mm², making transistor density identical at 24.6 million per square millimeter. The underlying technology is the same, so architectural differences are limited to configuration and clock settings.

The chip names differ: the RX 560 XT uses the Ellesmere chip, while the RX 570 uses Polaris 20. Both are part of the Polaris (RX 500) generation, and both share the same predecessor (Arctic Islands) and successor (Vega). The core clocks differ, with the RX 560 XT running at a 1074 MHz base and 1226 MHz boost, while the RX 570 runs higher at 1168 MHz base and 1244 MHz boost. That clock advantage contributes to the RX 570’s higher compute throughput.

The shading unit count is the most significant architectural difference. The RX 570 has 2,048 shading units and 128 TMUs, while the RX 560 XT has 1,792 shading units and 112 TMUs. Both have 32 ROPs. This means the RX 570 has more parallel execution resources for both pixel and texture work. The FP32 compute rate reflects this: the RX 570 hits 5.095 TFLOPS, while the RX 560 XT is at 4.394 TFLOPS. FP16 is identical to FP32 on both cards at a 1:1 ratio. Pixel fill rate is nearly equal (39.81 GPixel/s vs 39.23 GPixel/s), but texture fill rate differs more substantially (159.2 GTexel/s vs 137.3 GTexel/s).

Both cards support DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. Neither has ray tracing or tensor cores, which is expected for this generation. Display outputs differ slightly: the RX 560 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RX 570 adds a DVI port alongside the same HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. Both are dual-slot cards with a single 6-pin power connector and a recommended 450 W PSU. Both are PCIe 3.0 x16.

Specification Differences

The following specification fields differ between the two cards. All other fields in the database are identical.

• Chip: RX 560 XT uses Ellesmere; RX 570 uses Polaris 20.
• Base clock: RX 560 XT at 1074 MHz; RX 570 at 1168 MHz.
• Boost clock: RX 560 XT at 1226 MHz; RX 570 at 1244 MHz.
• Shading units: RX 560 XT has 1,792; RX 570 has 2,048.
• Texture mapping units: RX 560 XT has 112; RX 570 has 128.
• Pixel rate: RX 560 XT at 39.23 GPixel/s; RX 570 at 39.81 GPixel/s.
• Texture rate: RX 560 XT at 137.3 GTexel/s; RX 570 at 159.2 GTexel/s.
• FP32 performance: RX 560 XT at 4.394 TFLOPS; RX 570 at 5.095 TFLOPS.
• FP16 performance: RX 560 XT at 4.394 TFLOPS; RX 570 at 5.095 TFLOPS.
• Display outputs: RX 560 XT has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a; RX 570 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.
• Release date: RX 560 XT released 2019-03-12; RX 570 released 2017-04-17.
• Launch MSRP: RX 560 XT has none recorded; RX 570 has a launch MSRP of 169 USD.
• Geekbench OpenCL score: RX 560 XT at 31,387; RX 570 at 32,084.
• Geekbench Vulkan score: RX 560 XT at 36,879; RX 570 at 42,752.
• 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score: RX 560 XT has none recorded; RX 570 has 880.
• Geekbench Metal score: RX 560 XT has none recorded; RX 570 has 39,349.
• Average benchmark score: RX 560 XT at 34,133; RX 570 at 28,766.
• Percentile vs all GPUs: RX 560 XT at 79; RX 570 at 74.
• Head-to-head wins: RX 560 XT has 0; RX 570 has 2.