AMD Radeon RX 580 OEM

The AMD Radeon RX 580 OEM is a Polaris-generation graphics card built on the Ellesmere chip with GCN 4.0 architecture. Fabricated on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process, the die contains 5,700 million transistors across a 232 mm² area, yielding a transistor density of 24.6M per mm². It operates at a base clock of 1120 MHz and a boost clock of 1266 MHz. The card launched with a launch MSRP of 229 USD and is currently end-of-life.

Memory Subsystem

The RX 580 OEM carries 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 2000 MHz, translating to 8 Gbps effective. This configuration gives the card a balanced memory subsystem: the 8 GB capacity handles large texture sets and high-resolution frame buffers, while the 256-bit bus width ensures the shading units receive data without excessive latency. At high resolutions, the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is the more critical figure. The card can sustain the fill rate demands of 1440p rendering, where the pixel rate of 40.51 GPixel/s and texture rate of 182.3 GTexel/s become the limiting factors. The 8 GB VRAM is also beneficial for games that load large geometry and texture sets into memory. The memory subsystem is well matched to the compute resources; there is no obvious imbalance between the 2304 shading units, the 144 texture mapping units, and the available bandwidth.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The RX 580 OEM has no dedicated ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. All graphics and compute work is handled by the GCN 4.0 shader array. Ray-traced effects, when present, must be executed via compute shaders, which is significantly less efficient than dedicated hardware. The card supports DirectX 12 at feature level 12_0, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. DirectX 12 feature level 12_0 includes core D3D12 features but does not include the DXR ray tracing tier. Vulkan 1.3 support provides access to the latest graphics pipeline features, though hardware ray tracing extensions are not available on this architecture. The FP16 throughput is 5.834 TFLOPS, matching the FP32 rate at a 1:1 ratio — a notable feature, as some competing architectures offered reduced FP16 rates. The display outputs are one HDMI 2.0b port and three DisplayPort 1.4a ports, providing flexible multi-monitor support and high refresh rate capability over DisplayPort. For users who do not need hardware ray tracing, the feature set is complete for traditional rasterization.

Benchmark Performance

The RX 580 OEM sits at the 50th percentile among all GPUs in the benchmark database. This median ranking means it outperforms half of the tracked graphics cards and is outperformed by the other half. The compute throughput is 5.834 TFLOPS FP32, produced by 2304 shading units. The texture fill rate is 182.3 GTexel/s from 144 texture mapping units, and the pixel fill rate is 40.51 GPixel/s from 32 ROPs. These metrics place the card in a performance tier suited to 1080p gaming at high settings and 1440p gaming at medium settings. The 50th percentile ranking is consistent with a card that was mid-range at release and has since been overtaken by newer architectures. The pixel fill rate of 40.51 GPixel/s is the most restrictive metric at higher resolutions; with only 32 ROPs, the card will struggle to maintain high frame rates at 1440p in geometry-heavy scenes. The texture rate of 182.3 GTexel/s is less of a concern, as most modern games are not texture-bound at this performance level. The FP16 performance, at parity with FP32, is a differentiator for compute workloads. Overall, the benchmark data indicates a card that is capable but not exceptional.

Who Should Consider It

The RX 580 OEM is appropriate for gamers targeting 1080p with high detail settings or 1440p with medium settings. The 8 GB VRAM capacity ensures that texture quality can be set to high without exhausting the frame buffer. The 256.0 GB/s bandwidth supports these resolutions adequately. Esports titles at 1080p with competitive settings will run comfortably, as those workloads are light on fill rate and bandwidth. The card is not recommended for 4K gaming; the 32 ROPs and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for playable frame rates in modern titles at high settings. Users who prioritize hardware-accelerated ray tracing should not consider this card, as it lacks dedicated RT cores. The card supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, ensuring compatibility with current games. Given its end-of-life status, it is best suited to budget builds, secondary systems, or compute tasks that benefit from the 1:1 FP16 ratio.

How It Compares

The benchmark database lists no nearest rivals for the RX 580 OEM, so direct percentage deltas against specific competing models cannot be provided. Instead, the card's position is defined by its 50th percentile ranking, placing it at the exact midpoint of all GPUs tracked. Its predecessor, Arctic Islands, and its successor, Vega, define its place in AMD's product stack. The RX 580 OEM represents the higher end of the Polaris generation, with all 2304 shading units enabled and the full 8 GB memory configuration. The lack of rival data means users must rely on the absolute performance metrics — 5.834 TFLOPS FP32, 182.3 GTexel/s texture rate, and 40.51 GPixel/s pixel rate — when comparing against other cards they have benchmarked. The 1:1 FP16 ratio is a notable feature, as many contemporaneous architectures offered reduced FP16 throughput.

Power and Cooling

The RX 580 OEM has a thermal design power of 150 W. It uses a dual-slot cooler and requires a single 6-pin power connector. AMD recommends a 450 W power supply for systems using this card. The card measures 241 mm (9.5 inches) in length, fitting most mid-tower and full-tower cases. The dual-slot design provides adequate cooling surface for the 150 W thermal load, and the single 6-pin connector is a modest requirement. The 450 W PSU recommendation leaves headroom for a typical CPU and system components. The PCIe 3.0 x16 interface provides sufficient bandwidth for the card's memory and compute requirements. The display outputs — one HDMI 2.0b and three DisplayPort 1.4a — are powered by the card's own power delivery. The 150 W TDP is modest by modern standards, and the cooling solution should handle typical gaming loads without excessive noise, though sustained compute workloads may increase fan speed.