AMD Radeon RX 590 vs AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data shows a decisive, one-sided contest between the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT and the AMD Radeon RX 590. Across the two shared tests, the RX 6750 XT wins outright, with margins that are nothing short of dominant. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RX 6750 XT scores 2548 against the RX 590’s 1081, a delta of 135.7%. This is not a marginal generational bump; it is a wholesale leap in raw performance, reflecting the architectural gulf between the two cards.

The Geekbench Metal test tells an even more lopsided story. Here, the RX 6750 XT posts 137249, while the RX 590 manages just 48407. That represents a 183.5% advantage for the newer card. In practical terms, the RX 6750 XT is delivering roughly 2.8 times the Metal compute performance of the RX 590. For any workload that leverages Apple’s Metal API—be it creative suites or compute-heavy tasks—the RX 6750 XT is in a completely different league.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the RX 6750 XT’s average benchmark score of 26011 places it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in that aggregate ranking include the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (25891, +0.5%), the AMD FirePro W7100 (25856, +0.6%), the AMD FirePro D700 (25842, +0.7%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (25740, +1.1%). The RX 6750 XT edges out all of these by less than 1.1%, which suggests that in aggregate terms, it sits in a tightly contested performance tier. However, its individual test scores, particularly the 3DMark and Geekbench results, show that its strengths are concentrated in modern, API-heavy workloads.

The RX 590, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 24744, placing it in the 70th percentile. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (24763, -0.1%), the Intel Arc A350M (24647, +0.4%), the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (24442, +1.2%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (24277, +1.9%). The RX 590 is essentially neck-and-neck with the RTX A5000 Mobile, sitting just 0.1% behind, while it holds a 1.9% lead over the GTX 1630. This tells us that the RX 590, despite its age, still holds its own in aggregate against a range of mid-range and entry-level cards, but it is nowhere near the performance class of the RX 6750 XT.

The head-to-head data is unambiguous: the RX 6750 XT wins both shared tests, and the RX 590 wins none. The deltas of 135.7% and 183.5% are not incremental improvements; they are generational overhauls in capability. If you were to extrapolate from the 3DMark result, the RX 6750 XT is delivering over twice the DX12 performance of the RX 590, which directly translates to higher frame rates and higher settings in modern titles.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT has an average benchmark score of 26011, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 590’s 24744. That is a difference of 1267 points, placing the RX 6750 XT in the 71st percentile versus the RX 590’s 70th.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test?

A: The RX 6750 XT scores 2548, while the RX 590 scores 1081. This represents a 135.7% advantage for the RX 6750 XT, meaning it delivers more than double the DX12 performance.

Q: What does the Geekbench Metal result indicate about compute performance?

A: The RX 6750 XT posts 137249 in Geekbench Metal, versus 48407 for the RX 590. The delta is 183.5%, indicating that the RX 6750 XT has nearly three times the Metal compute throughput.

Q: Are there any benchmarks where the RX 590 wins?

A: No. In the two shared head-to-head benchmarks—3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and Geekbench Metal—the RX 6750 XT wins both. The RX 590 records zero wins in the head-to-head comparison.

Q: How does the RX 6750 XT compare to its nearest aggregate rivals?

A: The RX 6750 XT’s average score of 26011 is 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M395X, 0.6% ahead of the AMD FirePro W7100, 0.7% ahead of the AMD FirePro D700, and 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile.

Q: How does the RX 590 compare to its nearest aggregate rivals?

A: The RX 590’s average score of 24744 is 0.1% behind the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, 0.4% ahead of the Intel Arc A350M, 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, and 1.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is stark. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, using the Navi 22 chip, and fabricated on TSMC’s 7 nm process. It packs 17,200 million transistors onto a 335 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 51.3 million per square millimeter. This is a modern, efficient design that supports hardware ray tracing, with 40 dedicated RT cores, and features a 2560 shading unit count.

The AMD Radeon RX 590, in contrast, is based on the much older GCN 4.0 architecture, utilizing the Polaris 30 chip. It is built on GlobalFoundries’ 12 nm process, with 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. The RX 590 has 2304 shading units, but crucially, it has no RT cores at all. This means it lacks the hardware acceleration for ray tracing that the RX 6750 XT provides.

The memory subsystems also differ fundamentally. The RX 6750 XT uses 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 590 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a wider 256-bit bus, but only achieves 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The combination of newer memory technology and a higher clock speed—2250 MHz versus 2000 MHz—gives the RX 6750 XT a significant bandwidth advantage despite the narrower bus.

The API support also tells the story of generational progress. The RX 6750 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 590 only supports DirectX 12 (12_0). This means the RX 6750 XT can take advantage of features like variable rate shading and mesh shaders, which are part of the DX12 Ultimate feature set. The RX 6750 XT also supports Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 590 supports Vulkan 1.3.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets for these two cards diverge on nearly every key metric. The RX 6750 XT has a base clock of 2150 MHz and a boost clock of 2600 MHz, while the RX 590 runs at 1469 MHz base and 1545 MHz boost. The RX 6750 XT also has a game clock of 2495 MHz, a figure the RX 590 does not list.

Memory is another clear separator: the RX 6750 XT offers 12 GB of GDDR6 with an effective speed of 18 Gbps, whereas the RX 590 offers 8 GB of GDDR5 with an effective speed of 8 Gbps. The bandwidth figures follow suit: 432.0 GB/s versus 256.0 GB/s.

The compute specifications are equally lopsided. The RX 6750 XT has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, while the RX 590 has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The pixel rate for the RX 6750 XT is 166.4 GPixel/s, versus 49.44 GPixel/s for the RX 590. The texture rate is 416.0 GTexel/s for the RX 6750 XT, versus 222.5 GTexel/s for the RX 590. FP32 performance is 13.31 TFLOPS for the RX 6750 XT, versus 7.119 TFLOPS for the RX 590. The FP16 numbers are also different: the RX 6750 XT achieves 26.62 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, while the RX 590 achieves 7.119 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio.

Power and connectivity also differ. The RX 6750 XT has a TDP of 250 W and requires a 600 W power supply, with 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin connectors. The RX 590 has a TDP of 175 W, a 450 W power supply requirement, and a single 8-pin connector. The RX 6750 XT uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the RX 590 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The display outputs also differ: the RX 6750 XT has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RX 590 has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RX 6750 XT is also longer at 267 mm, versus 241 mm for the RX 590.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the superior card in every measurable aspect. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks, with deltas of 135.7% in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 183.5% in Geekbench Metal. Its average benchmark score is 1267 points higher, and it holds a higher percentile rank (71st versus 70th). The RX 6750 XT also has more memory, faster memory, higher clocks, more shading units, more TMUs, more ROPs, and support for ray tracing via its 40 RT cores.

Who should pick the RX 6750 XT? Any user who prioritizes modern gaming performance, particularly in DirectX 12 Ultimate titles, or who needs compute throughput in Metal-based workflows. The RX 6750 XT’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth make it a far more future-proof option for high-resolution textures and demanding workloads. Its higher TDP of 250 W is a trade-off, but the performance gains justify the extra power draw.

Who should pick the RX 590? The data suggests that the RX 590 is a card for a different era. Its aggregate score of 24744 is respectable, and it sits close to the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile and ahead of the Intel Arc A350M, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630. But against the RX 6750 XT, it is outclassed. The RX 590 has no RT cores, supports only DirectX 12 (12_0), and offers less than half the bandwidth. It is a viable option for legacy DirectX 11 or older Vulkan workloads, where its 175 W TDP and single 8-pin connector make it a simpler installation. But for any task that leverages modern APIs or ray tracing, the RX 6750 XT is the only rational choice based on the benchmark evidence.