NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 are separated by nearly a decade of GPU architecture, yet their aggregate benchmark averages place them in the same performance tier. The RTX 2060 holds a negligible lead in average benchmark score, posting 15290 against the GTX 580's 15283, a delta of 0%. Both cards sit at the 58th percentile of all GPUs, indicating that despite their generational gap, they deliver comparable overall throughput in the database's scoring model. The single head-to-head benchmark available, Geekbench OpenCL, tells a dramatically different story, with the RTX 2060 scoring 65014 versus the GTX 580's 15283, a 325.4% advantage that highlights how the newer card's feature set and compute capabilities far outstrip its older rival in specific workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it is decisively one-sided. The RTX 2060 produces a score of 65014, while the GTX 580 manages 15283. This translates to a 325.4% delta in favor of the RTX 2060, meaning the newer card is roughly four times faster in this compute-oriented benchmark. The OpenCL workload is heavily influenced by raw shading throughput, memory bandwidth, and driver optimization for modern compute APIs; the RTX 2060's 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance dwarfs the GTX 580's 1.581 TFLOPS, a gap that explains the massive score disparity. While the average benchmark scores suggest near-parity, this head-to-head result indicates that the GTX 580's performance is concentrated in legacy or rasterization-focused tests, whereas the RTX 2060 excels in compute-heavy scenarios.

The overall win count reflects this asymmetry: the RTX 2060 wins 1 head-to-head test, while the GTX 580 wins 0. The 0% delta in average benchmark score between the two cards (15290 vs 15283) masks the fact that the GTX 580's only benchmark entry in its profile is the Geekbench OpenCL score of 15283, which also serves as its average. In contrast, the RTX 2060's average of 15290 is derived from a broader set of tests, including 3DMark Steel Nomad (1242), Geekbench Vulkan (65846), and multiple Passmark DirectX and G3D scores. This suggests that the GTX 580's aggregate score is a single data point, while the RTX 2060's is a composite, making the head-to-head comparison more meaningful than the averages alone. The RTX 2060's dominance in OpenCL is a clear indicator that for any modern compute task, the GTX 580 is severely outclassed.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is vast, beginning with the manufacturing process. The RTX 2060 is built on a 12 nm process at TSMC, while the GTX 580 uses a 40 nm process, also from TSMC. This process shrink allows the RTX 2060 to pack 10,800 million transistors into a 445 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.3M per mm². The GTX 580, by contrast, contains 3,000 million transistors on a larger 520 mm² die, giving it a density of just 5.8M per mm². The RTX 2060's Turing architecture is a fundamentally modern design, while the GTX 580 relies on the older Fermi 2.0 architecture, which lacks many features that are now standard.

Shader and compute resources differ by an order of magnitude. The RTX 2060 features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, whereas the GTX 580 has 512 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The RTX 2060 also introduces dedicated hardware that the GTX 580 simply does not have: 30 ray tracing cores and 240 tensor cores. These enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based features, respectively, which are entirely absent from the Fermi architecture. The RTX 2060's FP32 throughput is 6.451 TFLOPS, and it also supports FP16 at 12.90 TFLOPS via a 2:1 ratio; the GTX 580's FP32 output is only 1.581 TFLOPS, with no FP16 capability listed. Pixel and texture rates follow suit: the RTX 2060 achieves 80.64 GPixel/s and 201.6 GTexel/s, while the GTX 580 manages 24.70 GPixel/s and 49.41 GTexel/s.

Memory subsystems are equally divergent. The RTX 2060 comes with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 580 has 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a wider 384-bit bus, but its bandwidth is only 192.4 GB/s due to slower memory clocks. The RTX 2060's memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the GTX 580's memory runs at 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective). API support also reflects the generational gap: the RTX 2060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 580 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and has no Vulkan support listed. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6, but the RTX 2060's feature set is clearly aimed at modern workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, while the GTX 580 scores 15283. The difference is 0%, meaning they are statistically tied in aggregate performance.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 2060 in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 2060 scores 65014 in Geekbench OpenCL, compared to the GTX 580's 15283. This represents a 325.4% delta, meaning the RTX 2060 is over four times faster in this specific test.

Q: Does the GTX 580 support hardware ray tracing?

A: No. The GTX 580 has no ray tracing cores listed in its specifications, while the RTX 2060 includes 30 dedicated RT cores for hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RTX 2060 has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 580 has 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 192.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 2060 has a transistor density of 24.3M per mm², compared to the GTX 580's 5.8M per mm². The RTX 2060 achieves this despite having a smaller die size of 445 mm² versus 520 mm².

Q: Are both cards end-of-life?

A: Yes, both the RTX 2060 and the GTX 580 have a production status of "End-of-life" in the database.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The process node is 12 nm for the RTX 2060 versus 40 nm for the GTX 580. The RTX 2060 uses the TU106 chip and Turing architecture, while the GTX 580 uses the GF110 chip and Fermi 2.0 architecture. Transistor count is 10,800 million versus 3,000 million, and die size is 445 mm² versus 520 mm², leading to transistor densities of 24.3M per mm² and 5.8M per mm², respectively.

Clock speeds show the RTX 2060 has a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, while the GTX 580 has no base or boost clock listed. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the RTX 2060 versus 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective) for the GTX 580. Memory size is 6 GB of GDDR6 versus 1536 MB of GDDR5, with bus widths of 192-bit and 384-bit, respectively. Bandwidth is 336.0 GB/s versus 192.4 GB/s.

Shading units are 1920 versus 512, TMUs are 120 versus 64, and ROPs are 48 for both. The RTX 2060 has 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, while the GTX 580 has none. Pixel rate is 80.64 GPixel/s versus 24.70 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 201.6 GTexel/s versus 49.41 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 6.451 TFLOPS versus 1.581 TFLOPS, with FP16 only available on the RTX 2060 at 12.90 TFLOPS.

TDP is 160 W for the RTX 2060 versus 244 W for the GTX 580. Power connectors are 1x 8-pin versus 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin, and suggested PSU is 450 W versus 550 W. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 versus PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C for the RTX 2060, versus 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a for the GTX 580. Dimensions differ: the RTX 2060 is 229 mm long and 113 mm tall, while the GTX 580 is 267 mm long and 111 mm tall, with width not listed for the GTX 580. API support shows DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6 for both, and Vulkan 1.4 for the RTX 2060 with none listed for the GTX 580. The release dates are 2019-01-06 for the RTX 2060 and 2010-11-08 for the GTX 580.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2060 wins decisively in compute performance, as evidenced by its 325.4% lead in Geekbench OpenCL. This makes it the clear choice for any workload involving general-purpose GPU computing, such as video encoding, machine learning inference, or physics simulations. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth also make it better suited for modern games with high-resolution textures, where the GTX 580's 1536 MB of VRAM would quickly become a bottleneck. The RTX 2060's hardware ray tracing cores and tensor cores provide features that the GTX 580 cannot offer at all, making it the only option for ray-traced gaming or DLSS-based upscaling.

The GTX 580, despite its age, holds its own in terms of aggregate average benchmark score, matching the RTX 2060 at 15283 versus 15290. Its wider 384-bit memory bus, while slower in effective bandwidth, may still offer some advantages in certain legacy rasterization workloads that are not captured in the single head-to-head test. The GTX 580 also has a higher TDP of 244 W, but this is a drawback rather than a benefit. In practical terms, the GTX 580 wins in scenarios where software is optimized for older architectures or where the user has no need for modern API features like Vulkan or DirectX 12 Ultimate. For pure compatibility with early 2010s game titles, the GTX 580's Fermi architecture may be more predictable, but the data does not provide any benchmark wins for it.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear verdict for anyone choosing between these two cards: the RTX 2060 is the superior product for virtually all modern use cases. Its 325.4% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL is overwhelming, and its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, ray tracing, and tensor cores makes it a far more future-proof investment. The GTX 580's only claim to parity is its average benchmark score, which is derived from a single OpenCL result, whereas the RTX 2060's average is based on a broader array of tests. The RTX 2060 also consumes less power (160 W versus 244 W) and requires a smaller PSU (450 W versus 550 W), making it more efficient.

For a user who needs a card for legacy DirectX 9 or DirectX 10 applications, the GTX 580's Passmark DirectX 9 score of 190 and DirectX 10 score of 98 (from the RTX 2060's benchmark set, though the GTX 580 lacks these entries) might suggest some historical relevance, but the RTX 2060's Passmark scores are not directly comparable since the GTX 580 has no such benchmarks listed. The RTX 2060 is the recommended pick for any gamer or professional who values modern API support, high compute throughput, and ample VRAM. The GTX 580 is only suitable for collectors or those running software that explicitly requires Fermi-era hardware, but from a performance standpoint, the RTX 2060 wins every measurable head-to-head comparison in this dataset.