AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP vs AMD Radeon RX 590 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single direct benchmark comparison available in the data tells a clear story of generational refinement within the same Polaris family. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the AMD Radeon RX 590 posts a score of 1081 against the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP's 849, yielding a decisive 27.3% advantage for the newer card. This is not a marginal victory; it represents a substantial performance gulf that will manifest in real-world frame rates across DirectX 12 titles. The RX 590's win count stands at one, with the RX 580 2048SP failing to take any benchmark in the head-to-head comparison.

Beyond the direct matchup, the average benchmark scores reinforce the hierarchy. The RX 590 achieves an average benchmark score of 24744, placing it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs tracked. The RX 580 2048SP, by contrast, averages 23061, sitting in the 68th percentile. The 7.3% gap in average scores between the two is less dramatic than the Steel Nomad delta, suggesting that the RX 590's advantage may vary depending on the workload and API involved. In the Geekbench compute tests, the RX 590 delivers a Metal score of 48407, while the RX 580 2048SP produces an OpenCL score of 29668 and a Vulkan score of 38666 — though these are different API tests and not directly comparable, they do indicate the RX 590's higher absolute compute throughput.

Contextualizing against nearest rivals, the RX 590 sits remarkably close to the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, with that competitor averaging 24763 — a mere 0.1% higher, effectively a statistical tie. The Intel Arc A350M trails by just 0.4%, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is 1.2% behind, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 sits 1.9% lower. For the RX 580 2048SP, the competitive picture is tighter still: the Intel Arc B580 is 0.2% ahead, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is 0.5% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is 0.7% behind, and the NVIDIA P106-100 is 0.8% ahead. These deltaPct values are remarkably small, indicating that both cards sit in densely packed performance tiers where a few percentage points separate dozens of products.

Architecture Differences

Both cards share the same GCN 4.0 architecture and belong to the Polaris (RX 500) generation, but they diverge significantly in their silicon implementation. The RX 590 uses the Polaris 30 chip fabricated on a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries, while the RX 580 2048SP uses the older Polaris 20 chip on a 14 nm process. Both chips contain 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, yielding an identical transistor density of 24.6M per mm². The smaller process node is the key enabler for the RX 590's higher clock speeds without a proportional increase in power draw.

Clock speeds show the most striking difference. The RX 590 runs at a base clock of 1469 MHz and boosts to 1545 MHz, while the RX 580 2048SP operates at a substantially lower 1168 MHz base and 1284 MHz boost. This represents roughly a 25.8% higher base clock and a 20.3% higher boost clock for the RX 590, directly translating into its benchmark advantage. Memory clocks also differ: the RX 590's GDDR5 runs at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) versus 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) on the RX 580 2048SP, though both use a 256-bit memory bus. The resulting bandwidth is 256.0 GB/s for the RX 590 versus 224.0 GB/s for the RX 580 2048SP — a 14.3% advantage that helps feed the faster GPU cores.

Compute resources are not identical either. The RX 590 packs 2304 shading units and 144 texture mapping units, while the RX 580 2048SP is cut down to 2048 shading units and 128 TMUs. Both retain 32 ROPs. This 12.5% increase in shader count, combined with higher clocks, produces a theoretical FP32 throughput of 7.119 TFLOPS for the RX 590 versus 5.259 TFLOPS for the RX 580 2048SP — a 35.4% gap in raw compute. Pixel rate measures 49.44 GPixel/s versus 41.09 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 222.5 GTexel/s versus 164.4 GTexel/s. Notably, both cards offer FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, meaning no half-rate penalty for FP16 workloads.

Memory capacity differs meaningfully: the RX 590 ships with 8 GB of GDDR5, while the RX 580 2048SP is limited to 4 GB. For modern games and GPU compute workloads, this 4 GB difference can be critical at higher resolutions or with high-resolution texture packs. Power consumption scales accordingly: the RX 590 is rated at 175 W TDP versus 150 W for the RX 580 2048SP, a 16.7% increase that buys the substantial performance uplift. Both cards are dual-slot designs with a single 8-pin power connector and a 450 W suggested PSU, and both measure 241 mm in length. Display outputs differ slightly: the RX 590 offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RX 580 2048SP adds a DVI port alongside the same HDMI and DisplayPort configuration. Both support DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 590 outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP in every measurable category where direct comparison exists. The 27.3% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is the headline figure, and it is supported by higher clocks, more shading units, faster memory, and double the VRAM capacity. The RX 590 also holds a higher percentile ranking (70th versus 68th) and a higher average benchmark score (24744 versus 23061). For users who prioritize maximum performance within the Polaris family, the RX 590 is the clear choice based on benchmark data alone.

However, the RX 580 2048SP is not without its case. It achieves its lower performance at a reduced 150 W TDP, a 25 W saving that could matter in thermally constrained systems. Its average benchmark score of 23061 still places it in the 68th percentile, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 2080 within a single percentage point — proof of how competitive this older card remains. The RX 580 2048SP also offers a DVI output, which may be relevant for legacy display setups. Yet with no launch MSRP listed for the RX 580 2048SP and a 279 USD launch MSRP for the RX 590, the pricing picture is incomplete, and the data cannot comment on relative value.

For users deciding between these two specific cards, the benchmark data strongly favors the RX 590. The 27.3% direct benchmark win, combined with 8 GB versus 4 GB memory, makes it the more future-proof option for texture-heavy workloads. The RX 580 2048SP's only advantages are its lower TDP and the inclusion of a DVI port — factors that may matter in specific niche scenarios but do not outweigh the performance deficit in any synthetic benchmark recorded here.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon RX 590 than the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP in DirectX 12?

A: In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RX 590 scores 1081 against the RX 580 2048SP's 849, a 27.3% performance advantage.

Q: Do both cards use the same architecture?

A: Yes, both use GCN 4.0 architecture from the Polaris (RX 500) generation, but the RX 590 uses the Polaris 30 chip on 12 nm, while the RX 580 2048SP uses Polaris 20 on 14 nm.

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

A: The RX 590 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the RX 580 2048SP has 4 GB. Both use a 256-bit memory bus, but the RX 590 achieves 256.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 224.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card has higher clock speeds?

A: The RX 590 runs at 1469 MHz base and 1545 MHz boost, compared to the RX 580 2048SP's 1168 MHz base and 1284 MHz boost. The RX 590 also has faster memory at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) versus 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective).

Q: How do the two cards compare in terms of power consumption?

A: The RX 590 has a 175 W TDP, while the RX 580 2048SP has a 150 W TDP. Both require a single 8-pin power connector and a 450 W suggested PSU.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RX 590 has 2304 shading units and 144 TMUs, while the RX 580 2048SP has 2048 shading units and 128 TMUs. Both have 32 ROPs.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 590 wins in every direct benchmark comparison, but its advantages are concentrated in specific areas. The 27.3% Steel Nomad DX12 lead demonstrates that the RX 590 is substantially stronger in modern DirectX 12 gaming workloads. Its 8 GB memory capacity gives it a decisive edge in texture-heavy scenarios and higher-resolution gaming, where 4 GB on the RX 580 2048SP may become a bottleneck. The higher pixel rate of 49.44 GPixel/s versus 41.09 GPixel/s suggests the RX 590 handles fill-rate-bound scenarios better, and the 222.5 GTexel/s texture rate versus 164.4 GTexel/s means texture-heavy scenes will see proportionally larger gains. The 35.4% advantage in FP32 compute (7.119 versus 5.259 TFLOPS) makes the RX 590 the preferred choice for GPU compute tasks, including those leveraging FP16 at 1:1 rates.

The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP's wins are more subtle and situational. Its 150 W TDP makes it the lower-power option, which could be preferable in small form factor builds or systems with limited cooling headroom. The inclusion of a DVI output gives it connectivity flexibility for users with legacy monitors that lack HDMI or DisplayPort. Its average benchmark score of 23061, while lower, still places it within 0.8% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and 0.7% ahead of the RTX 2080 in the nearest rival data — indicating that in mixed workloads, the RX 580 2048SP can hold its own against much more modern competitors. For users who do not need the extra 4 GB of VRAM and are sensitive to power draw, the RX 580 2048SP remains a viable Polaris-generation option, though the performance gap in the direct benchmark is substantial.