AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 Comparison

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT belong to different eras of GPU design, separated by twelve years of architectural evolution. The database records show the GTX 580 winning the only shared benchmark test, the Geekbench OpenCL score, while the RX 7900 XT brings a far broader set of capabilities and modern feature support. This analysis walks through the recorded measurements to clarify where each card stands, not as a direct comparison of equals, but as a study in how far GPU design has moved.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 580 claims the sole head-to-head victory in the database. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 15,283 beats the RX 7900 XT’s 12,756 by a margin of 19.8%. This is a notable outcome, as OpenCL compute workloads often favor older architectures with simpler execution paths. The GTX 580 also holds a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs, sitting at the 58th percentile, while the RX 7900 XT is at the 55th percentile despite its much newer design.

However, the RX 7900 XT wins in every other measurable category that the database tracks, even if those tests are not shared head-to-head. It records a Passmark G3D score of 29,009, a Passmark GPU Compute score of 16,828, and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 71,068. It also posts scores in DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 tests, plus a 2D graphics test. The GTX 580 has no recorded scores in any of these modern tests, which limits its profile to that one OpenCL result.

The use-case split is therefore clear: the GTX 580 dominates the single compute workload recorded for both, while the RX 7900 XT demonstrates a much wider range of measurable performance across modern graphics APIs. For a user relying on OpenCL compute, the older card shows a surprising edge. For anyone needing direct support of current DirectX features or Vulkan, the RX 7900 XT is the only one with data to back that usage.

Architecture Differences

The GTX 580 is built on the GF110 chip using the Fermi 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It packs 3,000 million transistors onto a die size of 520 mm², giving a transistor density of 5.8 million per square millimeter. The RX 7900 XT uses the Navi 31 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, also from TSMC but on a 5nm process. It contains 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, which is a density of 109.1 million per square millimeter.

The compute resources differ dramatically. The GTX 580 has 512 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. The RX 7900 XT has 5,376 shading units, 336 texture units, and 192 ROPs. The RX 7900 XT also includes 84 ray tracing cores, a feature that the GTX 580 lacks entirely. The pixel rate for the RX 7900 XT is recorded at 459.6 GPixel/s versus 24.70 GPixel/s for the GTX 580. Texture rate stands at 804.4 GTexel/s versus 49.41 GTexel/s.

The floating-point performance further separates them. The GTX 580 achieves 1.581 TFLOPS in FP32, while the RX 7900 XT reaches 51.48 TFLOPS in FP32 and 103.0 TFLOPS in FP16 with a 2:1 ratio. The memory subsystems are also different. The GTX 580 uses 1536 MB GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 192.4 GB/s. The RX 7900 XT uses 20 GB GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus, producing 800.0 GB/s. The RX 7900 XT supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the GTX 580 is limited to PCIe 2.0 x16.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test. The GTX 580 scores 15,283 and the RX 7900 XT scores 12,756, with the delta at 19.8% in favor of the older card. This is a surprising result, as the architectural gap suggests the RX 7900 XT should be faster in raw compute. The result indicates that the OpenCL workload in this specific test does not scale with the newer GPU's larger shader count or higher clock speeds, possibly due to driver overhead or testing methodology.

No other benchmark is recorded for both cards, so this single result stands as the only direct numerical comparison. The RX 7900 XT does, however, have a much richer set of individual scores. Its Passmark G3D score of 29,009 is orders of magnitude higher than its Passmark DirectX 10 score of 158, DirectX 11 score of 340, DirectX 12 score of 110, and DirectX 9 score of 322. The GTX 580 has none of these measurements, so its only recorded performance is the OpenCL figure.

The RX 7900 XT's Geekbench Vulkan score of 71,068 dwarfs its own OpenCL score of 12,756, suggesting that the card's performance varies heavily depending on the API. The GTX 580 has no Vulkan score recorded, as its API support list does not include Vulkan. This explains why the head-to-head is limited to OpenCL only.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification field. The GTX 580 uses a 40nm process, while the RX 7900 XT uses 5nm. The GTX 580 has a transistor count of 3,000 million versus 57,700 million for the RX 7900 XT. The die sizes are close (520 mm² vs 529 mm²), but density is vastly different. Clocks: the GTX 580 has no base or boost clocks listed, only a memory clock of 1002 MHz with 4 Gbps effective speed; the RX 7900 XT has base 1387 MHz, boost 2394 MHz, game 2025 MHz, and memory clock of 2500 MHz at 20 Gbps.

Memory capacity: 1536 MB vs 20 GB. Bus width: 384 bit vs 320 bit. Bandwidth: 192.4 GB/s vs 800.0 GB/s. Shading units: 512 vs 5,376. TMUs: 64 vs 336. ROPs: 48 vs 192. Ray cores: none vs 84. Pixel rate: 24.70 GPixel/s vs 459.6 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 49.41 GTexel/s vs 804.4 GTexel/s. FP32: 1.581 TFLOPS vs 51.48 TFLOPS. FP16: not listed vs 103.0 TFLOPS.

TDP: 244 W vs 300 W. Power connectors: 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin vs 2x 8-pin. Suggested PSU: 550 W vs 700 W. Bus interface: PCIe 2.0 x16 vs PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs: 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI vs 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C. Dimensions: GTX 580 is 267 mm long and 111 mm high; RX 7900 XT is 276 mm long, 110 mm high, and 51 mm wide. Both are dual-slot and end-of-life in production status.

FAQ

Q: Which card scores higher in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 scores 15,283, while the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT scores 12,756, giving the GTX 580 a 19.8% lead in that specific test.

Q: Does the RX 7900 XT have ray tracing hardware?

A: Yes, it has 84 ray cores. The GTX 580 has no such hardware, as its Fermi architecture predates this feature.

Q: What is the memory capacity and bandwidth difference?

A: The GTX 580 has 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 192.4 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 7900 XT has 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus with 800.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card supports the Vulkan API?

A:** The RX 7900 XT lists Vulkan version 1.4 in its API support. The GTX 580 does not list Vulkan support at all.

Q: How do the transistor counts compare?

A:** The GTX 580 has 3,000 million transistors on a 40nm process. The RX 7900 XT has 57,700 million transistors on a 5nm process, despite a very similar die size.

Q: What is the highest recorded benchmark score for the RX 7900 XT?

A:** The highest is its Geekbench Vulkan score of 71,068. Its OpenCL score is 12,756, and its Passmark G3D score is 29,009.

The Verdict

The data presents a peculiar case. The GTX 580 is a 2010-era card with a single benchmark win over a 2022-era flagship, but that win is isolated to one OpenCL test. For any modern workload, the RX 7900 XT is the only card with recorded support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan, and ray tracing, giving it a functional advantage that the GTX 580 cannot match.

Buyers who rely on OpenCL compute in legacy applications might find the GTX 580’s score appealing, but the card is end-of-life, has no modern API support, and offers only 1.5 GB of memory. The RX 7900 XT, despite its lower OpenCL score, delivers far more memory, higher bandwidth, and a complete set of modern features. The data does not support the GTX 580 as a practical choice for any current workload; its benchmark win is a statistical oddity rather than a functional recommendation.

The RX 7900 XT is the only card with a comprehensive profile, even if its average benchmark score is pulled down by low DirectX scores. For a new system today, the RX 7900 XT is the only option with data relevant to modern software. The GTX 580 remains a historical artifact in the database, notable for its OpenCL peak but obsolete in every other measurable dimension.