AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP vs AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive split between these two GPUs, with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT taking two of the three shared benchmark tests by wide margins, while the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP claims one surprising victory. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RX 6750 XT scores 2548 against the RX 580 2048SP's 849, a 200.1% advantage. That is a threefold performance difference in a modern DirectX 12 workload, and it reflects the gulf in raw architecture capability between the two generations.

The Vulkan test tells a similar story, though with a slightly smaller gap. The RX 6750 XT posts 98089 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the RX 580 2048SP manages 38666. The delta here is 153.7% in favor of the newer card. This consistent pattern across both DX12 and Vulkan suggests the RX 6750 XT handles modern low-level graphics APIs far more effectively, which matters for current game titles that lean heavily on these interfaces.

However, the OpenCL result flips the script entirely. The RX 580 2048SP scores 29668 in Geekbench OpenCL, beating the RX 6750 XT's 16360. That is a 44.9% deficit for the newer card, and it is a striking outlier. The RX 580 2048SP, with its older GCN architecture, evidently processes OpenCL compute workloads with greater efficiency in this particular benchmark. This result hints that the RX 6750 XT's RDNA 2 design may prioritize graphics throughput over certain legacy compute paths, or that driver optimization for OpenCL has shifted focus.

Looking at overall averages, the RX 6750 XT holds an avgBenchmarkScore of 26011 across all its recorded tests, placing it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs in the database. The RX 580 2048SP, with an avgBenchmarkScore of 23061, sits at the 68th percentile. The 2950-point gap in average score is meaningful, but the percentile difference of only 3 points shows that both cards occupy a similar tier in the broader GPU landscape, at least when all benchmarks are weighted together.

The RX 6750 XT's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon R9 M395X at 25891 (0.5% behind), the AMD FirePro W7100 at 25856 (0.6% behind), the AMD FirePro D700 at 25842 (0.7% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile at 25740 (1.1% behind). The RX 580 2048SP, meanwhile, sits near the Intel Arc B580 at 23021 (0.2% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 at 23172 (0.5% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 at 22895 (0.7% behind), and the NVIDIA P106-100 at 23249 (0.8% ahead). These rival clusters show that the RX 6750 XT competes in a higher performance stratum, while the RX 580 2048SP holds its ground against a different set of cards, including some surprisingly modern names.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two cards is generational. The RX 6750 XT uses the Navi 22 chip built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The RX 580 2048SP uses the Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The process node difference alone, 7 nm versus 14 nm, explains much of the efficiency and clock speed disparity.

Transistor counts reinforce this divide. The RX 6750 XT packs 17,200 million transistors into a 335 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 51.3 million per square millimeter. The RX 580 2048SP has 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, for a density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. The newer card crams roughly three times the transistors into only 1.4 times the silicon area, which is exactly what a node shrink enables.

Clock speeds follow the expected pattern. The RX 6750 XT runs a base clock of 2150 MHz, a game clock of 2495 MHz, and a boost clock of 2600 MHz. The RX 580 2048SP operates at 1168 MHz base and 1284 MHz boost. The RX 6750 XT's boost clock is more than double the RX 580 2048SP's base clock, and the memory clocks differ just as dramatically: 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective throughput on the RX 6750 XT versus 1750 MHz with 7 Gbps effective on the older card.

Memory subsystems diverge in capacity and width. The RX 6750 XT offers 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 580 2048SP has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a wider 256-bit bus, yet achieves only 224.0 GB/s. The RX 6750 XT nearly doubles the bandwidth while using a narrower bus, thanks to the faster memory type. Capacity is a threefold difference, which has direct implications for texture-heavy workloads and modern game asset streaming.

Core counts also differ substantially. The RX 6750 XT has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, 64 ROPs, and 40 ray tracing cores. The RX 580 2048SP has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no ray tracing cores at all. The pixel rate tells the story clearly: 166.4 GPixel/s for the RX 6750 XT versus 41.09 GPixel/s for the RX 580 2048SP. Texture rate is 416.0 GTexel/s versus 164.4 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 13.31 TFLOPS versus 5.259 TFLOPS. The RX 6750 XT also supports FP16 at 26.62 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the RX 580 2048SP does FP16 at the same 5.259 TFLOPS as FP32, a 1:1 ratio.

Feature support differs at the API level. The RX 6750 XT lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. The RX 580 2048SP lists DirectX 12 (12_0), Vulkan 1.3, and OpenGL 4.6. The DirectX 12 Ultimate designation on the RX 6750 XT enables hardware ray tracing and other modern features that the RX 580 2048SP simply cannot access. The interface also differs: PCIe 4.0 x16 on the RX 6750 XT versus PCIe 3.0 x16 on the RX 580 2048SP.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in DirectX 12 workloads?

A: The RX 6750 XT is dramatically faster. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, it scores 2548 versus 849 for the RX 580 2048SP, a 200.1% advantage.

Q: Does the RX 580 2048SP win any benchmark?

A: Yes. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 580 2048SP scores 29668, beating the RX 6750 XT's 16360 by 44.9%. This is the only head-to-head test the older card wins.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The RX 6750 XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the RX 580 2048SP has 4 GB of GDDR5. The RX 6750 XT also provides 432.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 224.0 GB/s.

Q: Does the RX 6750 XT support ray tracing?

A: Yes. It has 40 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The RX 580 2048SP has no ray tracing cores and only supports DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RX 6750 XT has an average benchmark score of 26011, placing it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs. The RX 580 2048SP averages 23061, placing it in the 68th percentile.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RX 6750 XT boosts to 2600 MHz, while the RX 580 2048SP boosts to 1284 MHz. The RX 6750 XT also has a base clock of 2150 MHz, nearly double the RX 580 2048SP's 1168 MHz base.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear hierarchy. The RX 6750 XT wins two of the three shared benchmarks, and it wins them by enormous margins: 200.1% in DX12 and 153.7% in Vulkan. Its average benchmark score is 2950 points higher, and it occupies the 71st percentile versus the 68th. For anyone running modern DirectX 12 or Vulkan games, the RX 6750 XT is the obvious choice based on recorded performance.

But the OpenCL result complicates a simple dismissal of the RX 580 2048SP. That card wins the compute test by 44.9%, and its architecture appears better suited to OpenCL workloads in this specific measurement. The RX 580 2048SP also draws less power, with a TDP of 150 W versus 250 W, and it uses a single 8-pin connector compared to the RX 6750 XT's 6-pin plus 8-pin arrangement. Its suggested PSU is 450 W versus 600 W. For a system with limited power delivery or for OpenCL-centric compute tasks, the older card remains relevant.

The RX 6750 XT's nearest rivals in the database are all within 1.1% of its average score, including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile. The RX 580 2048SP's nearest rivals include the Intel Arc B580 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, both within 0.8%. This suggests the two cards inhabit different competitive neighborhoods despite the modest percentile gap. The RX 6750 XT competes near mobile RTX 3080 Ti territory, while the RX 580 2048SP hangs around desktop RTX 3080 and Arc B580 performance levels in the database's composite scoring.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category. Process node: 7 nm TSMC for the RX 6750 XT, 14 nm GlobalFoundries for the RX 580 2048SP. Transistors: 17,200 million versus 5,700 million. Die size: 335 mm² versus 232 mm². Base clock: 2150 MHz versus 1168 MHz. Boost clock: 2600 MHz versus 1284 MHz. The RX 6750 XT also has a game clock of 2495 MHz, a figure the RX 580 2048SP does not report.

Memory differences are extensive. The RX 6750 XT uses 12 GB GDDR6 at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed on a 192-bit bus, yielding 432.0 GB/s. The RX 580 2048SP uses 4 GB GDDR5 at 1750 MHz with 7 Gbps effective on a 256-bit bus, yielding 224.0 GB/s. The RX 6750 XT has more shading units (2560 versus 2048), more TMUs (160 versus 128), and double the ROPs (64 versus 32). It has 40 ray tracing cores; the RX 580 2048SP has none.

Compute rates diverge sharply: pixel rate 166.4 GPixel/s versus 41.09 GPixel/s, texture rate 416.0 GTexel/s versus 164.4 GTexel/s, FP32 13.31 TFLOPS versus 5.259 TFLOPS, FP16 26.62 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 5.259 TFLOPS (1:1). Power draw is 250 W versus 150 W. Power connectors are 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin versus 1x 8-pin. Suggested PSU is 600 W versus 450 W. Bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 plus 3x DisplayPort 1.4a versus 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. DirectX support is 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_0). Vulkan support is 1.4 versus 1.3. The RX 6750 XT measures 267 mm in length, 110 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The RX 580 2048SP measures 241 mm in length. Release dates are 2022-03-02 for the RX 6750 XT and 2018-10-14 for the RX 580 2048SP. Both are end-of-life products. The RX 6750 XT has a launch MSRP of 549 USD.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6750 XT wins in modern graphics workloads. Its 200.1% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 153.7% lead in Geekbench Vulkan make it the clear pick for current DirectX 12 and Vulkan titles. The 40 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support give it access to features the RX 580 2048SP cannot run. The 12 GB memory capacity, triple that of the older card, also positions it better for texture-heavy games and higher resolutions. The 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, nearly double the older card's throughput, supports these larger memory pools effectively.

The RX 580 2048SP wins in OpenCL compute, at least according to the recorded Geekbench result. Its 29668 score versus 16360 is a 44.9% margin, and this is the only shared benchmark where it leads. The card's lower power draw (150 W versus 250 W) and simpler power requirements (1x 8-pin versus 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin) also make it easier to integrate into systems with modest power supplies. Its 450 W suggested PSU, versus 600 W for the newer card, lowers the barrier for older or smaller builds.

For a gamer targeting modern APIs, the RX 6750 XT is the only rational choice. For a compute-focused workload that relies on OpenCL, or for a system with strict power limits, the RX 580 2048SP has a legitimate case. The data does not support the RX 580 2048SP as a general-purpose alternative, but it does show that the older GCN architecture retains a niche in specific compute scenarios. The two cards are not interchangeable; they serve different priorities, and the benchmark results make those priorities explicit.