AMD Radeon RX 560DX

How It Compares

The AMD Radeon RX 560DX occupies a distinct position in the hardware landscape, with the data placing it at the 50th percentile among all GPUs tracked. This is a precise midpoint ranking, indicating that the card sits exactly at the median of the entire performance distribution. The average benchmark score of 0, however, suggests that no standardized benchmark runs have been recorded for this specific model, making direct numerical comparisons to other cards impossible from the available data.

Without nearest rival entries or benchmark scores in the fact pack, the analysis must rely on the card's architectural positioning rather than head-to-head performance deltas. The Polaris 21 chip represents AMD's GCN 4.0 architecture, a design that powers a generation of mid-range offerings. The 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries with 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die gives a transistor density of 24.4 million per square millimeter, which was competitive for its era.

The production status is listed as end-of-life, and the release date places it in the spring of 2018. Its predecessor is listed as Polaris and successor as Vega, situating the RX 560DX as a transitional product within AMD's lineup. The card interfaces via PCIe 3.0 x8, which is a reduced lane configuration compared to the full x16 slot width that many contemporaries used, potentially limiting bandwidth in certain workloads.

Who Should Consider It

The RX 560DX targets users who prioritize low power consumption and compact physical dimensions over raw performance. The 4 GB GDDR5 memory configuration with a 128-bit bus and 96.00 GB/s bandwidth suggests this card is oriented toward 1080p gaming at medium to high settings, rather than higher resolutions that would strain the memory subsystem. The 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 18.80 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 65.80 GTexel/s, which are figures that indicate capable 1080p performance for older titles or esports games.

Users with smaller form factor cases will appreciate the 170 mm length (6.7 inches) and dual-slot width, making it a viable option for compact builds. The card requires no external power connectors, which is a significant advantage for systems with modest power supplies or those upgrading from integrated graphics. The display outputs include one DVI, one HDMI 2.0b, and one DisplayPort 1.4a, providing flexibility for multi-monitor setups without requiring adapter cables.

The 65 W TDP draws minimal power, making this an excellent choice for office systems, home theater PCs, or budget gaming rigs where thermal output and electricity consumption are primary concerns. However, users seeking to play the latest AAA titles at 1440p or 4K resolution should look elsewhere, as the 96.00 GB/s bandwidth and 2.106 TFLOPS FP32 compute will likely become bottlenecks in such scenarios.

Power and Cooling

The RX 560DX is remarkably efficient, with a TDP of just 65 W. This low thermal design power means the card generates minimal heat, allowing for simple cooling solutions. The dual-slot design provides ample surface area for heat dissipation even with a modest cooler. The fact that no power connectors are required is noteworthy; the card draws all its power from the PCIe slot itself, which delivers up to 75 W by specification.

The suggested power supply rating is 250 W, which is quite modest by modern standards. This makes the card compatible with a wide range of existing power supplies, including those found in pre-built office machines that may lack dedicated GPU power cables. The absence of external power connectors also simplifies cable management and reduces the risk of installation errors.

For cooling, the dual-slot form factor allows for a larger heatsink and fan assembly than single-slot designs, which should keep temperatures manageable even under sustained load. The low TDP means that even a basic aluminum heatsink with a small fan can effectively cool the Polaris 21 chip. Users building in well-ventilated cases should encounter no thermal issues, and the card's efficiency makes it suitable for passively cooled or low-noise builds when paired with adequate case airflow.

FAQ

Q: What is the memory configuration of the RX 560DX?

A: The card features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory operates at 1500 MHz, translating to 6 Gbps effective data rate.

Q: Does the RX 560DX require external power connectors?

A: No, the card has no power connectors and draws all required power from the PCIe slot. A 250 W power supply is suggested for the overall system.

Q: What display outputs are available on this card?

A: The RX 560DX offers one DVI port, one HDMI 2.0b port, and one DisplayPort 1.4a port, enabling connection to up to three displays simultaneously.

Q: What is the physical size of the card?

A: The card measures 170 mm (6.7 inches) in length and occupies a dual-slot width. This compact size makes it suitable for smaller chassis.

Q: Which API versions does the card support?

A: The card supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, ensuring compatibility with modern games and applications that utilize these graphics APIs.

Q: What is the transistor count and die size?

A: The Polaris 21 chip contains 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, manufactured on a 14 nm process by GlobalFoundries, yielding a density of 24.4 million transistors per square millimeter.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark data for the RX 560DX is notably sparse, with no recorded scores in the fact pack and an average benchmark score of zero. This scarcity of performance data means that quantitative comparisons to rival cards cannot be made using benchmark results. The percentile ranking of 50 places it exactly at the median of all GPUs, suggesting that its performance is neither exceptional nor deficient relative to the entire spectrum of graphics cards.

The computational capabilities can be inferred from the specifications. The FP32 compute throughput of 2.106 TFLOPS and matching FP16 performance at a 1:1 ratio indicates that the card processes both single-precision and half-precision workloads at equal speed, which was not always the case in this architecture generation. The pixel fill rate of 18.80 GPixel/s and texture fill rate of 65.80 GTexel/s are derived from the 16 ROPs and 56 TMUs operating at the boost clock of 1175 MHz.

The base clock of 1090 MHz and boost clock of 1175 MHz represent a modest 85 MHz difference, suggesting that thermal headroom is limited or that the card is designed to operate near its maximum frequency most of the time. With a 65 W TDP, the power management likely keeps clocks stable without significant fluctuation. The performance characteristics align with what one would expect from a mid-range card of its generation, capable of handling esports titles and older AAA games at 1080p with reasonable settings.

Memory Subsystem

The memory subsystem of the RX 560DX is built around 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, a capacity that was standard for mid-range cards at its release. The 128-bit memory interface provides a bus width that, combined with the 1500 MHz memory clock, yields a total bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s. This bandwidth figure is sufficient for 1080p gaming but may become a limiting factor at higher resolutions where the GPU must access larger textures and buffer data more frequently.

The 6 Gbps effective memory speed indicates that the GDDR5 memory operates at a moderate frequency, prioritizing power efficiency over maximum throughput. For a card with a 65 W TDP, this trade-off makes sense, as faster memory would increase power consumption and thermal output. The 4 GB capacity allows for high-resolution textures in games that support them, though modern titles with large texture packs may exceed this limit.

At 1440p and above, the 96.00 GB/s bandwidth could constrain performance in memory-intensive scenes. The pixel rate of 18.80 GPixel/s suggests that the card can fill 1080p frames at a reasonable rate, but the memory bandwidth may prevent it from maintaining high frame rates in games that require frequent texture streaming. Users planning to play at 4K should be aware that the memory subsystem will likely be the primary bottleneck.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The RX 560DX does not include dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as these features were not part of the GCN 4.0 architecture. The absence of RT cores means that any ray tracing workloads would be handled by the general-purpose shading units, which would result in significantly reduced performance compared to cards with dedicated hardware. Similarly, the lack of tensor cores means that AI-accelerated features such as DLSS are not supported.

The card does support DirectX 12 (12_0), which includes features such as asynchronous compute and bindless resources that can improve performance in modern games. The Vulkan 1.3 support is noteworthy, as this API version includes ray tracing extensions, though the hardware lacks the dedicated cores to leverage them efficiently. OpenGL 4.6 support ensures compatibility with older applications and professional software that relies on this API.

The feature set is otherwise complete for its era, with support for modern display outputs including HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.4a. These connections support high refresh rates at 1080p and HDR content. The PCIe 3.0 x8 interface, while reduced from the full x16 width, provides sufficient bandwidth for the card's performance level, though it may slightly limit performance in scenarios where the GPU must transfer large amounts of data to system memory. The Polaris 21 chip and GCN 4.0 architecture represent a mature design that prioritized efficiency and compatibility over cutting-edge features.