AMD Radeon RX 590 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Comparison

AMD Radeon RX 590 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER are two graphics cards from different eras and performance tiers, with the data showing a decisive overall winner while the older card still holds specific relevance. The RTX 2080 SUPER dominates the only shared benchmark, but the RX 590’s position in the database’s broader ranking system reveals a more nuanced story than a simple specification comparison.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole directly comparable benchmark in the data is 3DMark Steel Nomad (DX12), and the result is unambiguous. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 1882 points, while the AMD Radeon RX 590 manages 1081 points. This represents a 42.6% advantage for the RTX 2080 SUPER, a massive gap that places the two cards in entirely different performance classes. The deltaPct value of -42.6 for the RX 590 confirms that in this specific test, the AMD card delivers less than 60% of the NVIDIA card’s output. This is not a close contest; the RTX 2080 SUPER’s lead is overwhelming in raw rasterization performance under DX12.

Despite this crushing defeat in the Steel Nomad test, the average benchmark scores tell a different story. The RX 590 has an average benchmark score of 24744, which is actually higher than the RTX 2080 SUPER’s 24170. This apparent contradiction is explained by the fact that the RTX 2080 SUPER has a much larger benchmark suite in the data—including PassMark tests for DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, G2D, G3D, and GPU compute, plus Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan—while the RX 590 only has two entries. The averages are not directly comparable because they measure different test sets. The RTX 2080 SUPER’s PassMark G3D score of 19490 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 99226 highlight its strength in compute and general 3D workloads, while the RX 590’s Geekbench Metal score of 48407 shows its proficiency in Apple’s Metal API.

The percentile rankings are nearly identical, with the RX 590 at the 70th percentile and the RTX 2080 SUPER at the 69th percentile of all GPUs. This suggests that while the RTX 2080 SUPER is far faster in the Steel Nomad test, the RX 590’s overall performance profile, when weighted across its available benchmarks, is comparable in the database’s ranking system. The nearest rivals for each card reinforce this: the RX 590 sits within 1.9% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, Intel Arc A350M, and NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, while the RTX 2080 SUPER is within 1.1% of the GTX 1630, GTX 780 Ti, RX 6800S, and RX 6600 XT. Both cards inhabit the same performance neighborhood according to the aggregate data.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER is decisively faster, scoring 1882 versus the AMD Radeon RX 590’s 1081, a 42.6% advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: Does the RX 590 have a higher average benchmark score than the RTX 2080 SUPER?

A: Yes, the RX 590’s average benchmark score is 24744, compared to the RTX 2080 SUPER’s 24170. However, these averages are based on different benchmark suites, so they are not directly comparable.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each card?

A: The RX 590 is in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 2080 SUPER is in the 69th percentile, making them statistically similar in overall ranking.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock speed?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER has a boost clock of 1815 MHz, compared to the RX 590’s 1545 MHz.

Q: Do both cards support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12, but the RTX 2080 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 590 supports DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER has 495.9 GB/s of bandwidth with GDDR6 memory, while the RX 590 has 256.0 GB/s with GDDR5 memory—a nearly 2x difference in favor of NVIDIA.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures. The AMD Radeon RX 590 uses the Polaris 30 chip based on GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It contains 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER uses the TU104 chip based on Turing architecture, also on a 12 nm process but at TSMC, with 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die. The transistor density is nearly identical (24.6M per mm² for AMD versus 25.0M per mm² for NVIDIA), but the RTX 2080 SUPER’s die is more than twice the physical size.

The compute architectures diverge sharply. The RX 590 has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 raster operation units (ROPs). The RTX 2080 SUPER has 3072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 64 ROPs—each count higher than the AMD card. Critically, the RTX 2080 SUPER includes 48 ray tracing cores and 384 tensor cores, which the RX 590 lacks entirely. This enables hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based features on NVIDIA’s card, while the RX 590 relies purely on traditional rasterization.

The FP32 compute throughput reflects this gap: the RTX 2080 SUPER delivers 11.15 TFLOPS versus the RX 590’s 7.119 TFLOPS. The FP16 performance is more dramatic—the RTX 2080 SUPER outputs 22.30 TFLOPS (at a 2:1 ratio), while the RX 590 manages 7.119 TFLOPS (at a 1:1 ratio). Pixel and texture rates follow suit, with the RTX 2080 SUPER at 116.2 GPixel/s and 348.5 GTexel/s versus the RX 590’s 49.44 GPixel/s and 222.5 GTexel/s.

API support also differs. The RTX 2080 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 590 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The NVIDIA card’s newer API versions enable features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading that the RX 590 cannot access.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every measurable specification. Memory type is a key separator: the RX 590 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective), while the RTX 2080 SUPER uses 8 GB of GDDR6 at 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective). Despite the lower clock speed, the GDDR6 memory delivers 495.9 GB/s bandwidth versus 256.0 GB/s for GDDR5, a 93.7% increase.

Clocks differ substantially. The RX 590 has a base clock of 1469 MHz and boost of 1545 MHz. The RTX 2080 SUPER starts at 1650 MHz base and boosts to 1815 MHz—a 270 MHz advantage at boost.

Power and cooling requirements are also different. The RX 590 has a TDP of 175 W, requiring a 450 W power supply and a single 8-pin connector. The RTX 2080 SUPER has a TDP of 250 W, requiring a 600 W power supply and both a 6-pin and an 8-pin connector. Both are dual-slot cards, but the RTX 2080 SUPER is longer at 267 mm (10.5 inches) versus 241 mm (9.5 inches) for the RX 590.

Display outputs are similar but not identical. Both have 1x HDMI 2.0 and 3x DisplayPort, but the RTX 2080 SUPER adds a USB Type-C port. The RX 590 uses HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RTX 2080 SUPER uses HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4a.

Release timing and pricing differ significantly. The RX 590 launched on November 14, 2018 with a launch MSRP of 279 USD. The RTX 2080 SUPER launched on July 22, 2019 with a launch MSRP of 699 USD. Both are end-of-life products.

The Verdict

The data is clear: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER is the far more powerful card. In the only head-to-head benchmark, it beats the RX 590 by 42.6%. It has double the memory bandwidth, 57% more FP32 compute, 100% more ROPs, and adds ray tracing and tensor cores that the RX 590 does not have. Every architectural specification favors NVIDIA.

However, the aggregate benchmark data complicates the picture. The RX 590’s average benchmark score of 24744 is higher than the RTX 2080 SUPER’s 24170, and both cards sit within 1 percentile of each other in the global ranking. This suggests that in the broader database, the RX 590 performs competitively in the specific tests it was run on, even though it loses catastrophically in Steel Nomad. The nearest rivals for both cards overlap heavily—both are within 2% of the GTX 1630 and RX 6600 XT—indicating they occupy similar performance tiers in the aggregate.

The choice between them depends entirely on workload. If the priority is modern DX12 gaming performance or ray tracing, the RTX 2080 SUPER is the only option. If the priority is Metal API performance or power efficiency (175 W versus 250 W TDP), the RX 590 has advantages.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER wins decisively in the Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, scoring 1882 versus 1081. It also wins on raw specifications: higher clock speeds (1815 MHz boost), more shading units (3072 versus 2304), more TMUs (192 versus 144), more ROPs (64 versus 32), and higher texture and pixel rates. Its GDDR6 memory provides nearly double the bandwidth of the RX 590’s GDDR5. It offers hardware ray tracing (48 RT cores) and tensor cores (384) that the RX 590 cannot match. For any DX12 gaming workload, the RTX 2080 SUPER is the superior choice.

The AMD Radeon RX 590 wins in specific niche areas. Its Geekbench Metal score of 48407 is a strong result for Apple ecosystem applications, given the RTX 2080 SUPER has no Metal benchmark in the data. It has a lower TDP (175 W versus 250 W), requiring a smaller power supply (450 W versus 600 W) and only one 8-pin connector versus the RTX 2080 SUPER’s 6-pin plus 8-pin setup. It is also shorter (241 mm versus 267 mm), making it easier to fit in compact cases. For users prioritizing power efficiency, physical size, or Metal API performance, the RX 590 holds an advantage. Its average benchmark score of 24744 versus 24170 for the RTX 2080 SUPER also suggests that in the database’s full test suite, the RX 590 is not universally slower despite its massive Steel Nomad deficit.