AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 represent two very different eras of GPU design, separated by nearly a decade of architectural evolution. The data available for direct comparison is limited, but it is decisive: in the single shared benchmark, the older GTX 580 outperforms the RX 5700 XT by a significant margin. However, the broader benchmark suite reveals a more complex picture, where the RX 5700 XT's modern feature set and overall compute capabilities position it far ahead in most workloads. This analysis walks through the head-to-head data, examines where each card excels, and provides a verdict based strictly on the provided scores and specifications.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark shared between the two cards is Geekbench OpenCL. In this test, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 scores 15,283, while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT scores 9,524. This results in a delta percentage of -37.7% for the RX 5700 XT, meaning the GTX 580 is roughly 38% faster in this specific compute workload. This is a substantial victory for the older card, suggesting that its Fermi architecture's raw compute throughput in OpenCL remains competitive in this particular test.

However, this single result is an outlier when placed against the rest of the RX 5700 XT's benchmark portfolio. The RX 5700 XT’s average benchmark score across all its tested workloads is 16,361, which is 7.1% higher than the GTX 580's average score of 15,283. This indicates that while the GTX 580 wins the one head-to-head contest, the RX 5700 XT is generally the stronger performer across a wider range of tests. The GTX 580's nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (avg score 15,290, delta 0%) and the AMD Radeon 680M (avg score 15,270, delta 0.1%), show that the GTX 580's average score is clustered closely with modern mid-range parts, but the RX 5700 XT's average sits in a higher performance tier.

Looking at the RX 5700 XT's individual scores, it achieves a Passmark G3D score of 16,277, which is a strong showing for DirectX 11 and 12 gaming workloads. Its Passmark GPU Compute score of 7,650 further demonstrates its general compute capability. In contrast, the GTX 580 has no equivalent Passmark scores listed, making it impossible to compare gaming or general compute performance directly outside of the single OpenCL test. The data shows that the RX 5700 XT's wins are broad and consistent across multiple test types, whereas the GTX 580's sole victory is narrow in scope, limited to one specific API test.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 wins in the specific domain of Geekbench OpenCL compute performance. Its score of 15,283 is not only higher than the RX 5700 XT's 9,524 but is also comparable to the scores of much newer cards like the RTX 2060 (15,290) and the RX 7600 (15,171). This suggests that for applications heavily reliant on OpenCL compute, the GTX 580 can still hold its own, despite its age. The win is absolute in this benchmark, with no other test in the pack showing a similar advantage for the GTX 580.

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT wins in nearly every other measurable category, based on the broader benchmark suite. Its average benchmark score of 16,361 is higher than the GTX 580's 15,283, and its Passmark scores (G3D: 16,277, G2D: 922, GPU Compute: 7,650) provide a comprehensive picture of a card that excels in both 2D and 3D workloads. The RX 5700 XT also supports modern APIs like DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the GTX 580 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and has no Vulkan support listed. This means the RX 5700 XT can run modern games and applications that require these newer APIs, while the GTX 580 cannot. In terms of raw specifications, the RX 5700 XT's 9.754 TFLOPS FP32 performance is more than six times higher than the GTX 580's 1.581 TFLOPS, indicating a massive advantage in raw computational power.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the data, the choice depends entirely on the workload. For users prioritizing Geekbench OpenCL compute performance, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 is the clear winner, offering 37.7% higher performance than the RX 5700 XT in that specific test. Its score of 15,283 places it alongside modern mid-range GPUs, making it a viable option for OpenCL-based tasks.

For virtually all other scenarios, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the superior choice. Its higher average benchmark score (16,361 vs 15,283) and support for modern APIs like Vulkan and DirectX 12 (12_1) make it the only card capable of running contemporary software. The RX 5700 XT also has a significantly higher pixel rate (121.9 GPixel/s vs 24.70 GPixel/s) and texture rate (304.8 GTexel/s vs 49.41 GTexel/s), indicating far better performance in rasterization-heavy workloads. The GTX 580's 1,536 MB of memory is also a severe limitation for modern games, while the RX 5700 XT's 8 GB GDDR6 provides ample capacity. The verdict is that the RX 5700 XT is the better all-round GPU, while the GTX 580 holds a niche advantage in OpenCL compute.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score of 15,283, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT's 9,524.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT has an average benchmark score of 16,361, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 has an average benchmark score of 15,283.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 support Vulkan?

A: No, the Vulkan API field for the GTX 580 is listed as null, indicating no support. The RX 5700 XT supports Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the memory size difference between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 has 1536 MB (1.5 GB) of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor count?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT has 10,300 million transistors, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580's 3,000 million transistors.

Q: What is the performance percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 is in the 58th percentile.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the Navi 10 chip using the RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. This modern node allows for a transistor density of 41.0M per mm², fitting 10,300 million transistors into a 251 mm² die. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 uses the GF110 chip with the Fermi 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 40 nm process at the same foundry. Its transistor density is only 5.8M per mm², packing 3,000 million transistors into a much larger 520 mm² die. This fundamental difference in process technology explains the RX 5700 XT's superior efficiency and compute density.

The RX 5700 XT features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output pipelines. The GTX 580 has 512 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. This means the RX 5700 XT has five times the shading units and 2.5 times the TMUs of the GTX 580, leading to its much higher theoretical compute rates. The RX 5700 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 580 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6 but has no Vulkan support. Neither card features dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores. The RX 5700 XT uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the GTX 580 uses the older PCIe 2.0 x16 interface.

Specification Differences

The most significant specification difference is memory: the RX 5700 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the GTX 580 has 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, offering 192.4 GB/s. The RX 5700 XT's memory clock is 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), whereas the GTX 580's is 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective). The RX 5700 XT also has a much higher pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s, compared to 24.70 GPixel/s and 49.41 GTexel/s for the GTX 580. The FP32 compute performance is 9.754 TFLOPS for the RX 5700 XT versus 1.581 TFLOPS for the GTX 580, and the RX 5700 XT also supports FP16 at 19.51 TFLOPS (2:1), which the GTX 580 does not.

The TDP is slightly higher for the GTX 580 at 244 W, compared to 225 W for the RX 5700 XT, despite the latter having vastly more compute power. Both cards are dual-slot and use a 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connector setup, with a suggested PSU of 550 W. The RX 5700 XT is 272 mm long, while the GTX 580 is 267 mm long, with the same height of 111 mm. The RX 5700 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the GTX 580 offers 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a. The RX 5700 XT was released in July 2019 with a launch MSRP of 399 USD, while the GTX 580 was released in November 2010 with a launch MSRP of 499 USD.