AMD Radeon RX 590 vs AMD Radeon RX 6800M Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6800M and the AMD Radeon RX 590 represent two distinct eras of AMD graphics technology, and the benchmark data reflects a generational gap that is both wide and consistent. The RX 6800M, a mobile RDNA 2.0 part, dominates the older Polaris-based desktop card in every recorded test, with the performance delta reaching triple digits in some workloads. The RX 590, while a capable 1080p card in its day, is simply outclassed by the newer architecture's efficiency and raw throughput, as shown by the aggregate scores and individual test results.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data contains two shared benchmark results, and in both, the AMD Radeon RX 6800M delivers a decisive victory. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, a demanding modern API workload, the RX 6800M scores 2,238 points against the RX 590's 1,081 points. This represents a 107% performance advantage, meaning the newer card more than doubles the frame rate or rendering throughput of the older model in this specific scenario. Such a gap indicates that the RX 6800M is not just faster; it is operating in a different performance tier entirely.

The second shared test, Geekbench Metal, shows an even larger disparity. The RX 6800M scores 113,721, while the RX 590 manages 48,407. The delta here is 134.9%, making the RX 6800M more than 2.3 times faster in this Apple-centric compute API. This result is particularly telling because Metal is a low-level API that can expose raw architectural efficiency. The RX 6800M's RDNA 2.0 design, with its dedicated ray tracing cores and improved compute units, clearly extracts far more performance from the same workload than the GCN 4.0 architecture in the RX 590.

Looking at the broader database, the RX 6800M's average benchmark score is 28,874, placing it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, according to the database, include the AMD Radeon RX 570 with an average score of 28,766 (just 0.4% behind), the AMD Radeon RX 470 at 28,996 (0.4% ahead), and the Intel Arc A370M at 29,175 (1% ahead). This clustering suggests the RX 6800M sits at a performance plateau where minor score differences are within margin of error, but it remains competitive with those specific desktop and mobile parts.

In contrast, the RX 590's average benchmark score is 24,744, which places it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile at 24,763 (0.1% ahead), the Intel Arc A350M at 24,647 (0.4% behind), and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT at 24,442 (1.2% behind). The RX 590 actually leads the RX 6600 XT by a small margin in average score, though the RX 6600 XT is a newer card; this demonstrates that average scores can mask significant differences in specific workloads, but the RX 590's position near the 70th percentile shows it is a solid mid-range performer, just not in the same league as the RX 6800M.

The Verdict

The verdict from the data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 6800M is the superior product in every measurable benchmark category shared between the two. With a 107% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and a 134.9% lead in Geekbench Metal, the RX 6800M offers more than double the performance of the RX 590 in these tests. The RX 6800M also holds a higher percentile ranking (74th vs. 70th) and a higher average benchmark score (28,874 vs. 24,744), reinforcing that it is positioned a full performance tier above the older card.

For users choosing between these two, the RX 6800M is the obvious pick for any modern gaming or compute workload. The RX 590, while still functional, is limited by its older GCN 4.0 architecture, which lacks hardware ray tracing and supports only DirectX 12 (12_0), whereas the RX 6800M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) with full ray tracing capabilities. The data suggests that anyone currently on an RX 590 would see a transformative upgrade by moving to the RX 6800M, provided they can accommodate the mobile form factor of the latter. The RX 590's only advantage is its dual-slot desktop design and 1x 8-pin power connector, which are physical attributes rather than performance metrics.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast, explaining the benchmark results. The RX 6800M is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process node. Its chip, Navi 22, contains 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 51.3 million per square millimeter. The RX 590, in contrast, uses the GCN 4.0 architecture (Polaris 30 chip) on GlobalFoundries' 12 nm process, with 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, giving a density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. The RX 6800M packs nearly three times the transistors into a larger die, but the process shrink allows for higher clock speeds and better efficiency.

Clock speeds tell a similar story. The RX 6800M has a base clock of 2,116 MHz and a boost clock of 2,390 MHz, with a game clock of 2,300 MHz. The RX 590 runs at a base of 1,469 MHz and a boost of 1,545 MHz. This is a significant frequency advantage for the RX 6800M, which contributes directly to its higher throughput. In terms of memory, the RX 6800M uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the RX 590 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the RX 6800M's faster memory clocks (16 Gbps effective vs. 8 Gbps) give it a 50% bandwidth advantage.

Compute resources are also heavily skewed. The RX 6800M has 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 raster output units (ROPs), plus 40 dedicated ray tracing cores. The RX 590 has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no ray tracing hardware. Pixel rates highlight the difference: the RX 6800M achieves 153.0 GPixel/s versus 49.44 GPixel/s for the RX 590, a threefold gap. Texture rates are 382.4 GTexel/s versus 222.5 GTexel/s. Floating point performance sees the RX 6800M at 12.24 TFLOPS (FP32) with 24.47 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio), while the RX 590 manages 7.119 TFLOPS FP32 and the same 7.119 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1 ratio). The RX 6800M also supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RX 590 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800M has an average benchmark score of 28,874, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 590's 24,744.

Q: How much faster is the RX 6800M in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RX 6800M scores 2,238 points versus 1,081 for the RX 590, a performance advantage of 107%.

Q: Does the RX 6800M support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RX 6800M includes 40 ray tracing cores, while the RX 590 has no ray tracing hardware.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RX 6800M has 12 GB of GDDR6 with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth on a 192-bit bus, while the RX 590 has 8 GB of GDDR5 with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth on a 256-bit bus.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RX 6800M boosts to 2,390 MHz, while the RX 590 boosts to 1,545 MHz.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the RX 590?

A: The RX 590 had a launch MSRP of 279 USD.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6800M wins in every benchmark category recorded in the head-to-head comparison. Its victories include the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test (2,238 vs. 1,081) and Geekbench Metal (113,721 vs. 48,407), giving it a 2-0 win record. Beyond those, its higher average score (28,874 vs. 24,744) and superior percentile ranking (74th vs. 70th) indicate it wins across a broader spectrum of unlisted workloads as well. The RX 6800M is the clear choice for any application that benefits from raw compute throughput, modern API support (DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4), or ray tracing.

The AMD Radeon RX 590, by contrast, does not win any benchmark in the database comparison. However, it does have qualitative advantages that are not reflected in scores. Its dual-slot desktop form factor and 1x 8-pin power connector make it a simple drop-in replacement for older systems, and its 241 mm length fits most mid-tower cases. It also supports a wider array of physical display outputs (1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a) compared to the RX 6800M's "Portable Device Dependent" outputs, which are tied to a laptop chassis. For users who require a desktop card with traditional connectivity and do not need ray tracing, the RX 590 remains a functional option, but the performance data shows no scenario where it beats the RX 6800M in actual rendering or compute tests.