AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Comparison

# NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 vs AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP

The database places these two video cards at opposite ends of the GPU spectrum. The RTX 3090 is a flagship-class Ampere part, while the RX 580 2048SP is a Polaris-generation budget cut. The benchmark records show a decisive gap, but the comparison is still informative. It shows how far the high end has pulled away from the entry level.

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data splits the two cards cleanly. Across the six benchmark entries in the database, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 wins all six. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP does not win a single head-to-head test. This is not a close contest. The RTX 3090 dominates in every workload category, from DirectX 12 gaming tests to OpenCL compute runs.

The wins break down as follows. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RTX 3090 records a score of 5118 against 849 for the RX 580, a 502.8% advantage. Geekbench OpenCL shows the NVIDIA card at 172758 versus 29668 for the AMD card, a 482.3% gap. The Vulkan test is narrower but still lopsided: 53927 to 38666, a 39.5% lead for the RTX 3090. Every recorded measurement places the RTX 3090 ahead, and often by a wide margin.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 wins with a score of 5118 against 849 for the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, a 502.8% advantage.

Q: How does the GeForce RTX 3090 compare in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 3090 records 172758 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the RX 580 2048SP scores 172. The RTX 3090 leads by 482.3%.

Q: What about the Geekbench Vulkan result?

A: The RTX 3090 scores 53927 in Geekbench Vulkan, versus 38666 for the AMD card, a 39.5% higher result.

Q: Is the RTX 3090 faster in every benchmark?

A: Yes. The database shows the RTX 3090 winning all three head-to-head tests. The RX 580 2048SP does not win any of the recorded comparisons.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest recorded win for the RTX 3090 comes in the Geekbench OpenCL test. Here the NVIDIA card scores 172358, while the AMD card manages 29668. That works out to a 482.3% lead, the biggest single delta in the comparison. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test tells a similar story: 5118 versus 849, a 502.8% margin.

The closest contest is Geekbench Vulkan. The RTX 3090 posts 53927, and the RX 580 2048SP posts 38666. The RTX 3090 still wins by 39.5%. The data shows consistent dominance, but the margins shrink when moving from compute-heavy OpenCL workloads to Vulkan graphics. This pattern suggests the RTX 3090's advantage is largest when raw compute throughput is the limiting factor.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge in almost every measured specification. The RTX 3090 is built on the Ampere architecture (GA102 chip) using an 8 nm process at Samsung, with 28,300 million transistors. The RX 580 2048SP uses the older GCN 4.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with 5,700 million transistors. The die sizes reflect this: the RTX 3090 measures 628 mm², versus 232 mm² for the Polaris 20. Transistor density also favors the RTX 3090 at 45.1 million per mm², compared to 24.6 million per mm².

Memory and bandwidth are heavily asymmetric. The RTX 3090 packs 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, reaching 936.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 580 2048SP uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, for 224.0 GB/s. That is a four-fold memory size difference and a 4.2x bandwidth advantage for the RTX card.

Compute resources are also lopsided. The RTX 3090 carries 10496 shading units, 328 texture mapping units, 112 ROPs, 82 RT cores, and 328 tensor cores. The RX 580 2048SP has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no RT or tensor cores. The pixel and texture fill rates are 189.8 GPixel/s and 556.0 GTexel/s for the RTX 3090, versus 41.09 GPixel/s and 164.4 GTexel/s for the RX 580 2048SP. The RTX 3090 also supports higher FP32 and FP16 throughput at 35.58 TFLOPS each, versus 5.259 TFLOPS for the AMD card.

The RTX 3090 draws up to 350 W, while the RX 580 2048SP is rated at 150 W. The NVIDIA card is triple-slot and requires a 12-pin power connector, with a 750 W PSU suggested. The AMD card is dual-slot, takes a single 8-pin connector, and lists a 450 W PSU suggestion. The RTX 3090 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RX 580 2048SP uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Display outputs also differ. The RTX 3090 offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RX 580 2048SP offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. API support: the RTX 3090 lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 580 2048SP lists DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.

The RTX 3090 is at end-of-life, as is the RX 580 2048SP. The RTX 3090 was released on 2020-08-31, with the GeForce 20 as its predecessor and the GeForce 40 as its successor. The RX 580 2048SP launched 2018-10-14, following the Arctic Islands and succeeded by Vega.

Architecture Differences

The architectural split is the core of this comparison. The RTX 3090 uses the Ampere GA102 die, a design built around dedicated RT and tensor cores. The RX 580 2048SP uses the Polaris 20 die, a GCN 4.0 part with no dedicated AI or ray tracing hardware. This explains the compute gaps.

The RTX 3090 also runs faster clocks. Base clock is 1395 MHz with a 1695 MHz boost. The RX 580 2048SP runs at 1168 MHz base and 1284 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1219 MHz for the RTX 3090 and 1750 MHz for the RX 580 2048SP. The RTX 3090's memory runs at 19.5 Gbps effective, while the RX 580's memory runs at 7 Gbps effective.

The RTX 3090 has 82 RT cores and 328 tensor cores. The RX 580 2048SP has none of either. In the database, the RTX 3090 lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 580 2048SP lists DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.

Physically, the RTX 3090 is a triple-slot card at 336 mm long, 140 mm tall, and 61 mm wide. The RX 580 2048SP is a dual-slot card at 241 mm long; height and width are not recorded. The RTX 3090 is the more substantial card in every recorded dimension.

The Verdict

The data does not present a close contest. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 wins every recorded benchmark by a wide margin, from 39.5% in Geekbench Vulkan to 502.8% in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The RX 580 2048SP is a competent mid-range card from the previous architecture generation, but against the RTX 3090 it is outclassed in every measured test.

The RTX 3090 belongs to a different performance tier entirely. For compute-heavy workloads, the RTX 3090 is the obvious pick. Its RT and tensor cores open up capabilities that the Polaris chip simply does not have. The RTX 3090 also carries four times the memory of the RX 580 2048SP, with 936.2 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. For anyone processing large scenes, high resolution textures, or compute tasks, the RTX 3090 is the card the measurements point to. If a user only needs basic 1080p gaming or legacy API support, the RX 580 2048SP remains a lower-power, dual-slot alternative, but the recorded benchmarks show no category where it beats the RTX 3090.