AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile Comparison

The GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile is the clear performance leader in the recorded data, while the Radeon RX 580 2048SP is the more power-hungry, older design with a lower benchmark footprint. The data shows a decisive generational gap, but the RX 580 2048SP still holds relevance in specific legacy contexts.

The Verdict

The benchmark results are unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile wins every head-to-head test recorded, with an average benchmark score of 27435 compared to the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP's 23061. That is a 19% advantage in average score, and in the two directly comparable tests, the GeForce leads by 268.1% in Geekbench OpenCL and 180.3% in Geekbench Vulkan. The RTX 4070 Mobile also sits higher in the overall distribution, at the 73rd percentile of all GPUs versus the RX 580 2048SP's 68th percentile.

The data implies the RTX 4070 Mobile is the choice for anyone running modern, API-heavy workloads. Its Vulkan score of 108367 versus 38666 suggests it handles contemporary graphics interfaces with far more headroom. The RX 580 2048SP, however, is not without a niche: its 150 W TDP and dual-slot cooler indicate a desktop card that can be installed in older systems, and its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is respectable for its era.

The verdict from the data: the RTX 4070 Mobile is for users who need maximum compute throughput and modern API support in a portable form factor. The RX 580 2048SP is for users with legacy PCIe 3.0 systems who need a dual-slot card with a power connector, accepting lower scores. The GeForce is also the more efficient chip, with a 115 W TDP versus 150 W, despite its far higher performance.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 27435, while the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP has 23061, a difference of approximately 19% in favor of the GeForce.

Q: How do the two compare in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile scores 108367, which is 180.3% higher than the RX 580 2048SP's 38666. This indicates a massive advantage in Vulkan workloads.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s. The RX 580 2048SP has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s. The GeForce has more capacity and bandwidth, despite the narrower bus.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile has a pixel rate of 81.36 GPixel/s, which is nearly double the RX 580 2048SP's 41.09 GPixel/s. This suggests the GeForce can handle higher resolutions with fewer fill-rate bottlenecks.

Q: Is the RX 580 2048SP still in production?

A: The data lists the RX 580 2048SP as "End-of-life," while the RTX 4070 Mobile is marked "Active." The GeForce is the current option; the AMD card is a legacy product.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile packs 121.8 million transistors per square millimeter on a 5 nm node, versus 24.6 million per square millimeter on the RX 580 2048SP's 14 nm node. This is a 5x density advantage for the NVIDIA chip.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design eras. The RTX 4070 Mobile uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm TSMC process, with 22,900 million transistors in a 188 mm² die. The RX 580 2048SP uses the GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process, with 5,700 million transistors in a 232 mm² die. The die size advantage belongs to AMD, but the transistor count and density belong to NVIDIA, which explains the performance gap.

The RTX 4070 Mobile integrates 36 ray tracing cores and 144 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the RX 580 2048SP, which lists no ray tracing or tensor hardware. This makes the GeForce a modern accelerator for ray-traced workloads and AI inference, while the AMD card is a pure rasterization design. The shading unit counts also differ drastically: 4608 on the GeForce versus 2048 on the AMD, a 2.25x ratio. The texture mapping units are 144 versus 128, and the render output units are 48 versus 32, all favoring NVIDIA.

API support is another divider. The RTX 4070 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 580 2048SP supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The GeForce's newer API versions suggest better compatibility with future titles and advanced features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading, though the data does not test those directly.

The memory subsystem also differs architecturally. The GeForce uses GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, while the AMD uses GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. Despite the narrower bus, the GeForce achieves higher bandwidth (256.0 GB/s vs 224.0 GB/s) due to the faster memory clock (2000 MHz vs 1750 MHz, or 16 Gbps effective vs 7 Gbps effective).

Specification Differences

The key specification differences are stark. The RTX 4070 Mobile has a base clock of 1395 MHz and a boost of 1695 MHz, while the RX 580 2048SP has a base of 1168 MHz and a boost of 1284 MHz. The GeForce's higher clocks contribute to its compute advantage.

The FP32 compute is 15.62 TFLOPS for the GeForce versus 5.259 TFLOPS for the AMD, a nearly 3x difference. The texture rate is 244.1 GTexel/s versus 164.4 GTexel/s, and the pixel rate is 81.36 GPixel/s versus 41.09 GPixel/s. The GeForce's FP16 is also 15.62 TFLOPS (1:1), while the AMD is 5.259 TFLOPS (1:1), meaning no half-rate penalty for either.

Power and physical design differ significantly. The RTX 4070 Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors and a 115 W TDP. The RX 580 2048SP is a dual-slot card, 241 mm long, requiring a 1x 8-pin power connector and a suggested 450 W power supply, with a 150 W TDP. The AMD card is designed for desktop installation; the NVIDIA is for portable devices, as its display outputs are "Portable Device Dependent."

The bus interface also differs: PCIe 4.0 x8 for the GeForce versus PCIe 3.0 x16 for the AMD. The newer PCIe 4.0 standard offers more bandwidth per lane, which can help with data transfer in compute tasks, though the AMD's wider x16 connection may be more compatible with older motherboards.

The release dates are years apart: the RTX 4070 Mobile was released in January 2023, while the RX 580 2048SP was released in October 2018. The GeForce's predecessor is the GeForce 30 Mobile series, and its successor is the GeForce 50 Mobile. The AMD's predecessor is Arctic Islands, and its successor is Vega.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data is limited to two tests, but both are decisive wins for the RTX 4070 Mobile. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GeForce scores 109197 against the AMD's 29668, a delta of 268.1%. This is a compute-heavy test that measures raw throughput, and the GeForce's 4608 shading units and 144 tensor cores provide a massive advantage.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the GeForce scores 108367 against 38666, a delta of 180.3%. Vulkan is a low-overhead API, and the GeForce's newer architecture and higher memory bandwidth (256.0 GB/s vs 224.0 GB/s) allow it to maintain a strong lead even in more balanced workloads. The AMD card's score is higher in Vulkan than in OpenCL (38666 vs 29668), suggesting it handles the modern API relatively better, but it still trails by a wide margin.

The average benchmark score tells a broader story. The GeForce's 27435 places it near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (27565, delta -0.5%) and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (27425, delta 0%). The AMD's 23061 places it near the Intel Arc B580 (23021, delta 0.2%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172, delta -0.5%). This means the RTX 4070 Mobile competes with last-generation desktop flagship GPUs, while the RX 580 2048SP competes with mid-range modern desktop cards.

The GeForce also has more recorded benchmark results: 9 tests including Passmark DirectX 10, 11, 12, 9, G2D, G3D, and GPU compute. The AMD has only 3 recorded tests: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench OpenCL, and Geekbench Vulkan. The Passmark scores for the GeForce show a G3D score of 19587 and a GPU compute score of 8399, which are not available for the AMD, making direct comparison in those workloads impossible from the data.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4070 Mobile wins everywhere the data has recorded. It wins both head-to-head tests, has a higher average score, higher percentile rank, and superior specifications in almost every category. The data implies it is the clear choice for compute-heavy tasks like OpenCL rendering and Vulkan gaming. Its 8 GB memory capacity is double the AMD's 4 GB, which matters for larger textures and datasets. Its ray tracing and tensor cores give it capabilities the AMD lacks entirely.

The RX 580 2048SP wins in one specific area: physical compatibility with desktop systems. It is a dual-slot card with a 241 mm length and a 1x 8-pin power connector, designed for standard desktop cases with PCIe 3.0 x16 slots. The RTX 4070 Mobile is an IGP with no power connectors, meant for laptops or all-in-one systems. For a user building a desktop with an older motherboard, the AMD card is the only option that fits the form factor.

The AMD also has a lower percentile gap: it sits at the 68th percentile versus the GeForce's 73rd, which is a smaller difference than the raw scores suggest. This indicates that the RX 580 2048SP is still a capable card relative to the entire GPU market, even if it is not competitive with the GeForce. Its 224.0 GB/s bandwidth on a 256-bit bus is also notable, as the wider bus can be advantageous in certain memory-access patterns, though the data does not provide a test that isolates this.

In summary, the GeForce is the performance king for modern workloads and portable devices. The AMD is the legacy desktop card for users with older systems who need a dual-slot, power-connected GPU. The data does not support any scenario where the RX 580 2048SP outperforms the RTX 4070 Mobile in raw speed, but it does offer a path for upgrading older desktops without changing the power supply or motherboard.