AMD’s Radeon RX 5500 XT graphics card is a great performer for the money, so is the RX 590 still worth considering? I’ve compared 15 different games at 1080p and 1440p resolutions to help you decide!
 |  |
|---|---|
| RX 5500 XT | RX 590 |
| BUY NOW | BUY NOW |
| PROS | PROS |
| Competent 60 fps 1080p performance. Much more efficient than Polaris. | Great 1080p performance. Improved clockspeed and efficiency. Strong game bundle. |
| CONS | CONS |
| 4GB variant is notably slower in certain titles. | Minor upgrade over the 580. Higher price than the 580. Not as power efficient as Nvidia. |
SPECIFICATIONS
| OVERVIEW | RX 5500 XT | RX 590 |
| Card Status | Released | Released |
| Manufacturer | AMD | AMD |
| Release Date | 12th December, 2019 | 15th November, 2018 |
| Launch Price | $169 USD | $279 USD |
| GPU | RX 5500 XT | RX 590 |
| GPU Model | 7nm Navi 14 XTX | 12nm Polaris 30 XT |
| Cores : TMUs : ROPs | 1408 : 88 : 32 | 2304 : 144 : 32 |
| CLOCKS | RX 5500 XT | RX 590 |
| Base Clock | 1607 MHz | 1469 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1717 MHz | 1545 MHz |
| Memory Clock (Effective) | 1750 (14000) MHz | 2000 (8000) MHz |
| Computing Power (FP32) | 4,525 GFLOPS | 6,769 GFLOPS |
| MEMORY | RX 5500 XT | RX 590 |
| Memory Size | 8192 MB GDDR6 | 8192 MB GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus Width | 128-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 224 GB/s | 256 GB/s |
| PHYSICAL | RX 5500 XT | RX 590 |
| Interface | PCI-Express 4.0 x8 | PCI-Express 3.0 x16 |
| Thermal Design Power | 130 W | 225 W |
OVERVIEW
RX 5500 XT:
The 5500 XT is going to be available in two variants, 4GB and 8GB. The RX 5700 XT is designed for 1440p and so this new RX 5500 XT is designed to tackle 1080p. In terms of the pricing for the 5500 XT 4GB version start from $169 and the 8GB version start from $179. The main competition of RX 5500 XT is 1650 Super but today we are comparing this model to RX 590.
I am using SAPPHIRE PULSE RX 5500 XT 8GB in this review.
We have the dual X cooling which obviously involves two fans. If you’re not a fan of the RGB lighting then you’ll be pleased to know that we have none of that present.
In terms of the size, this card is neither large nor small and so it should fit into a good range of different size cases. The length of the card is 230 millimeters, width is 108 millimeters, and height is 40 millimeters.
RX 590:
The RX 590 isn’t really new because it uses the same four generation GCN polaris architecture found in the RX 480 and RX 580. AMD is once again using a design that was first launched about in 2015. The only difference is that they’re using a 12 nanometer manufacturing process instead of the 14 nanometers used on the RX 580.
I am using XFX RX 590 Fatboy 8GB in this review.
This is one thick card that has 2 large fans. This RX 590 is equipped with an 8 pin and a 6 pin power connector layout and you can actually see how the heat sink huge heat pipes sneak around this area. It’s pretty impressive but it also goes to show how AMD did everything they could to squeeze performance out of their old architecture.
The backplane has a cool design but it’s mostly for show since it doesn’t actively cool any components here, so that’s it for the overview.
PERFORMANCE
For the testing, I’m using the XFX RX 590 FATBOY 8GB and the SAPPHIRE PULSE RX 5500 XT 8GB. The system that I’m testing with has an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X CPU in a Gigabyte X570 GAMING X motherboard running at stock speeds, along with Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro Series 2x8GB DDR4 3600MHz RAM. I have also used Cooler Master V1000 SMPS PSU.
These all games are tested at 1080p and 1440p and the FPS are shown are average. Both graphics cards were running at stock speeds.
BATTLEFIELD 5
BATTLEFIELD 5 was tested in campaign mode. At 1080p, RX 5500 XT was 3FPS ahead and when it comes to 1440p, RX 590 was 1FPS ahead. Overall, there is no winner, it’s a tie.
METRO EXODUS
In METRO EXODUS the RX 5500 XT is ahead, with a 2.3% higher average frame rate at 1080p. At 1440p, RX 590 was just 1FPS ahead. Overall, the difference wasn’t that big.
DEVIL MAY CRY 5
DEVIL MAY CRY 5 was tested using the games built in benchmark tool, and the 5500 XT was almost 2% faster at 1080p, and there was no difference at 1440p.
DOOM
DOOM was tested in campaign mode, and there was not that big difference in both the resolutions. RX 590 was ahead in both resolutions. RX 590 was 1FPS ahead in 1080p and 2FPS ahead in 1440p.
FORZA HORIZON 4
FORZA HORIZON 4 was tested with the games benchmark tool. I have to both graphics card were performing good. At 1080p, RX 5500 XT was ahead with 5FPS and at 1440p RX 5500 XT was 1FPS behind.
BORDERLANDS 3
BORDERLANDS 3 which was tested at high settings. At 1080p there was just a 1FPS difference and when coming to 1440p you will see no difference. Overall, RX 590 was performing well.
FORTNITE
Fortnite was tested using the replay feature, with the exact same replay file used for all testing. The results were a little strange here, the 5500 XT was a little ahead, though realistically most of the results were so close together it’s within margin of error, regardless the performance was very similar.
ASSASSINS CREED ODYSSEY
ASSASSINS CREED ODYSSEY was tested with the game’s benchmark tool, and there was a bit more of a difference this time around. RX 5500 XT was ahead at both resolutions.
STAR WARS JEDI
STAR WARS JEDI was tested at high settings. There was not too much difference in both resolutions. RX 590 was 2 FPS ahead at 1080p and 1FPS behind at 1440p.
WOLFENSTEIN
WOLFENSTEIN was tested with the games benchmark tool, and this was another test where the results between the two were essentially close, like many other titles tested, you’re not going to be able to actually notice any difference while playing on either card. But RX 5500 XT was ahead at both resolutions in terms of average FPS.
FAR CRY 5
I’ve tested FAR CRY 5 with the Ulletical FPS benchmark. At 1080p the RX 590 was scoring 2FPS higher, then at 1440p the difference was much closer together, with the 5500 XT was only 1FPS ahead.
GEARS 5
GEARS 5 was tested in the practice range, so while not quite the same as actual gameplay, it allows me to perform the same test pass more accurately which is ideal for comparison purposes. At 1080p the 5500 XT was almost 3FPS higher than the RX 590, then at 1440p it was still 2FPS ahead.
FAR CRY NEW DAWN
FAR CRY NEW DAWN was tested using the built in benchmark, and the RX 5500 XT only had a small 1FPS boost over the RX 590 at 1080p. At 1440p, RX 5500 XT was still ahead.
GTA 5
GTA 5 was tested using the built in benchmark, and was another game that didn’t see much of a difference, well at least at 1440p. At 1080p however, the RX 590 was able to hit an average frame rate 2.3% ahead of the 5500 XT.
APEX LEGENDS
APEX LEGENDS was another title that saw basically no difference at all between the two, at least not one that you’d practically notice anyway, the results were essentially the same.
WHICH ONE YOU SHOULD BUY?
Overall, both graphics card were performing well. I did not find any big difference while playing any of those games. When it comes to price there was not too much difference. Now which graphics card you should buy? I will suggest you to buy RX 5500 XT because it was performing slightly good. And RX 5500 XT is also launched recently which means it will be future proof.
Expert Reviews For RX 5500 XT:
By IGN
The Radeon RX 5500 XT is an affordable on-ramp to Navi, but isn’t the best value.By PCWorld
AMD’s Radeon RX 5500 XT brings its next-gen navi GPU architecture to the masses, with mixed results. It’s a good budget gaming option that’s priced slightly too high.By TweakTown
AMD’s new Radeon RX 5500 XT launches, powered by the Navi 14 GPU and packed with GDDR6. It uses 100W+ less power than the RX 580, offering similar performance, and a STACK of new features and tech!By eTeknix
It all comes down to price, and the margins are already pretty slim here. Nvidia has some competitive cards at this price range and now, so does AMD. There’s certainly nothing wrong with the Sapphire Pulse, but £10, either way, can be a game-changer. For 1080p gaming, it’s perfect for the job, and being the quietest GPU we’ve ever tested is certainly worthy of merit too.By PCMag
The Radeon RX 5500 XT plays in the video-card zone AMD knows best: budget gaming at 1080p. It’s solid and close, but slightly inconsistent performance in the early going allows Nvidia’s latest line of GeForce GTX Super GPUs to edge it out.Expert Reviews For RX 590:
By PCGamesN
AMD’s RX 590, especially in this affordable PowerColor Red Devil trim, is the fastest sub-$300 graphics card. Though not much of an upgrade over its predecessory its existence helps make the case for buying an RX 580… at least while stocks last.By Tomshardware
The new Radeon RX 590 beats Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1060 6GB across our benchmark suite at 1920 x 1080 and 2560 x 1440. However, AMD took a truncheon to the card’s power limit in order to motivate its Polaris GPU. We think you’re better off scooping up great deals on older Radeon RX 580 8GB cards for high-quality gaming at FHD.By Hothardware
Ultimately, if you’re budgeting less than $300 for a GPU, the Radeon RX 590 is arguably the best overall choice at this time. It’s the strongest performer in the category and multiple AAA games are being tossed in for good measure.By Hexus
The Radeon RX 590 represents a relatively quick method of gaining an extra 10 per cent performance over the RX 580(X). And given its similar pricing, the RX 590 is generally ahead of the GTX 1060 6GB.By PCWorld
The XFX Radeon RX 590 Fatboy uses brute force and an improved 12nm process to muscle past Nvidia’s GTX 1060, but it doesn’t displace the RX 580 completely.
