AMD Radeon RX 570X vs AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 570X and the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT sit at very different points on the technology curve, and the recorded data reflects that gap in nearly every dimension. The RX 570X is an end-of-life Polaris-era card built on the Polaris 20 chip, while the RX 7800 XT is an active part from the Radeon RX 7000 series, using the Navi 32 chip on a far denser process node. In the three head-to-head benchmark suites recorded in the database, the RX 7800 XT takes two wins and the RX 570X takes one, an unusual split that rewards closer inspection, because the one contest the older card wins is also the single largest gap between them in either direction.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains three direct comparisons between these two GPUs, and each tells a very different story.

The Geekbench OpenCL result is the standout: the RX 570X scores 38,939 against 18,290 for the RX 7800 XT, a margin of 112.9 percent in favor of the older card. That is more than a doubling of the score in an OpenCL compute workload, and it is the only result in the head-to-head set where the Polaris part comes out ahead. OpenCL performance on older GCN hardware can run high relative to what gaming results would suggest, and this score is the clearest expression of that tendency in the data.

The two Passmark suites go the other way, and decisively so. In Passmark G3D, the RX 7800 XT records 24,176 against 1,923 for the RX 570X, a 92 percent gap that places the two cards in entirely different performance classes for general 3D graphics work. Passmark G2D follows the same direction with a smaller spread: 1,177 for the RX 7800 XT versus 750 for the RX 570X, a 36.3 percent advantage for the RDNA 3 card.

There is also a broader context worth noting. The RX 7800 XT carries additional benchmark entries in the database that the RX 570X does not, including a Geekbench Vulkan score of 54,228, a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4,157, and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 13,473. Its DirectX-specific Passmark results range from 93 in DirectX 12 to 304 in DirectX 9. The RX 570X has only the three suites listed above, so the direct comparison set is limited to those shared tests.

Finally, the average benchmark scores cut in an interesting direction: the RX 570X averages 13,871 while the RX 7800 XT averages 11,627, a difference driven largely by that single outsized Geekbench OpenCL figure pulling the older card's average upward. Averaging across heterogeneous suites can overweight one dominant score, and this pair is a textbook example of that distortion.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these cards spans three GPU generations and nearly everything that comes with them.

The RX 570X uses the Polaris 20 chip on the GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. It packs 5,700 million transistors into a 232 mm² die, yielding a density of 24.6M transistors per mm². The RX 7800 XT uses the Navi 32 chip, codename "Wheat Nas," on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 5 nm process. Its transistor count is 28,100 million in a 346 mm² die, for a density of 81.2M per mm², roughly three times the density of the Polaris part.

The shader resources scale accordingly. The RX 570X has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RX 7800 XT has 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, giving it nearly twice the shading units, close to twice the texture units, and three times the render outputs. The RX 7800 XT also includes 60 RT cores for hardware ray tracing; the RX 570X has none, and neither card lists tensor cores.

Clock speeds differ by an even wider margin than the resource counts. The RX 570X runs a 1168 MHz base and 1244 MHz boost, while the RX 7800 XT runs 1295 MHz base, 2124 MHz game clock, and up to 2430 MHz boost, roughly double the peak frequency on a process node designed to sustain it.

Memory is another categorical gap. The RX 570X carries 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, running at an effective 7 Gbps for 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7800 XT carries 16 GB of GDDR6 on the same 256-bit bus width, at 19.5 Gbps effective for 624.1 GB/s, nearly triple the bandwidth and double the capacity.

Theoretical throughput follows. FP32 compute is 5.095 TFLOPS on the RX 570X versus 37.32 TFLOPS on the RX 7800 XT, and FP16 is 1:1 with FP32 on both cards. Pixel rate is 39.81 GPixel/s versus 233.3 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 159.2 GTexel/s versus 583.2 GTexel/s.

Feature support diverges too. The RX 7800 XT targets DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 570X covers DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3; both support OpenGL 4.6. The bus interface moves from PCIe 3.0 x16 to PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs shift from one DVI, one HDMI 2.0b, and three DisplayPort 1.4a on the RX 570X to one HDMI 2.1a and three DisplayPort 2.1 on the RX 7800 XT.

Power and thermals scale with performance. The RX 570X is a 150 W TDP part with a single 6-pin connector and a 450 W suggested PSU. The RX 7800 XT is a 263 W TDP part with two 8-pin connectors and a 600 W suggested PSU. Both are dual-slot cards. Physical dimensions are 241 mm long for the RX 570X and 267 mm long, 111 mm high, and 50 mm wide for the RX 7800 XT.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split by workload. For gaming and general 3D graphics, the RX 7800 XT is in a different league: the 92 percent Passmark G3D margin and the 36.3 percent G2D margin both favor it, and its hardware ray tracing support, doubled memory capacity, and tripled bandwidth back those numbers up. Anyone whose primary use is modern 3D rendering has an unambiguous answer here.

The RX 570X's case rests entirely on Geekbench OpenCL, where its 112.9 percent lead is real but isolated. Its rival set in the database reflects that compute-leaning profile, with the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile, AMD Radeon 660M, AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, and NVIDIA Tesla K10 all within roughly one percent of its average score. The RX 7800 XT's own rivals, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, AMD Radeon Pro 5500M, NVIDIA Tesla K20c, and AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT, sit within a similar band of its average, but that average is dragged down by test-set composition rather than by gaming weakness, as the G3D result makes plain.

Production status matters as well. The RX 570X is end-of-life; the RX 7800 XT is an active product. The RX 7800 XT carried a launch MSRP of 499 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins the shared benchmark suite with the biggest margin?

A: The RX 570X wins Geekbench OpenCL by 112.9 percent, scoring 38,939 versus 18,290 for the RX 7800 XT. It is the largest gap in either direction across the three shared tests.

Q: Which card is faster for 3D graphics workloads?

A: The RX 7800 XT. It scores 24,176 in Passmark G3D versus 1,923 for the RX 570X, a 92 percent advantage, and it also wins Passmark G2D by 36.3 percent.

Q: How do their memory configurations compare?

A: The RX 570X has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 on the same 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Does either card support ray tracing?

A: Only the RX 7800 XT, which includes 60 RT cores. The RX 570X lists no RT cores.

Q: What power supply does each card require?

A: The database suggests a 450 W PSU for the RX 570X, which has a 150 W TDP and one 6-pin connector. The RX 7800 XT has a 263 W TDP, two 8-pin connectors, and a 600 W suggested PSU.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. The RX 570X is listed as end-of-life, while the RX 7800 XT is an active product.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7800 XT wins everywhere the modern feature set matters. Its Passmark G3D and G2D results, its DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 support, its 60 RT cores, and its 624.1 GB/s of memory bandwidth make it the card for modern gaming, high-resolution 3D work, and any pipeline that depends on current API levels. Its DisplayPort 2.1 and HDMI 2.1a outputs also position it for newer display connectivity. The Vulkan Geekbench score of 54,228 and the Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4,157, though not directly comparable to the older card's entries, further document its strength in current graphics APIs.

The RX 570X wins in exactly one recorded workload: OpenCL compute, where its GCN architecture posts a score more than double the RX 7800 XT's. For legacy OpenCL compute tasks, or for systems constrained to a single 6-pin power connector and a 450 W PSU, it retains a documented edge in that specific domain. Its lower 150 W TDP and 241 mm length also make it the smaller and lighter-socket card of the two.

Specification Differences

• Chip: Polaris 20 versus Navi 32
• Architecture: GCN 4.0 versus RDNA 3.0
• Generation: Polaris (RX 500X) versus Navi III (RX 7000)
• Process node: 14 nm at GlobalFoundries versus 5 nm at TSMC
• Transistors: 5,700 million versus 28,100 million
• Die size: 232 mm² versus 346 mm²
• Transistor density: 24.6M/mm² versus 81.2M/mm²
• Clocks: 1168 MHz base and 1244 MHz boost versus 1295 MHz base, 2124 MHz game, and 2430 MHz boost
• Memory: 8 GB GDDR5 at 7 Gbps effective versus 16 GB GDDR6 at 19.5 Gbps effective; both 256-bit, bandwidth 224.0 GB/s versus 624.1 GB/s
• Shading units: 2,048 versus 3,840
• TMUs: 128 versus 240
• ROPs: 32 versus 96
• RT cores: none versus 60
• Pixel rate: 39.81 GPixel/s versus 233.3 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 159.2 GTexel/s versus 583.2 GTexel/s
• FP32: 5.095 TFLOPS versus 37.32 TFLOPS
• TDP: 150 W versus 263 W
• Power connectors: 1x 6-pin versus 2x 8-pin
• Suggested PSU: 450 W versus 600 W
• Bus interface: PCIe 3.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x16
• Display outputs: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a versus 1x HDMI 2.1a, 3x DisplayPort 2.1
• API support: DirectX 12 (12_0), Vulkan 1.3 versus DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4
• Length: 241 mm versus 267 mm
• Release date: April 2018 versus September 2023
• Production status: End-of-life versus Active