Amd radeon rx 580 comparison tests. Video cards

An external video card is like a dope for a laptop, but until recently this class of devices was rare. The rise of Thunderbolt 3 has opened up new opportunities for manufacturers, and we'll take a look at what progress GIGABYTE has made with the RX 580 Gaming Box.

Video

Specifications

• GPU: Radeon RX580 8G;
• Core clock: OC: 1355 MHz, Gaming: 1340 MHz;
• Stream processors: 2304;
• Video memory: 8 GB, GDDR5;
• Memory frequency: 8000 MHz;
• Memory bus: PCI-E 3.0 x 16;
• Maximum resolution (digital signal): 7680x4320;
• Multi-display: 4;
• Connectors: 4 × USB 3.0 Type-A, 1 × Thunderbolt 3, 1 × HDMI, 3 × DisplayPort;
• PSU: 450W, PCI-E 8;
• Dimensions: 212 x 96 x 162 mm;
• Weight: 2378 g;
• Available colors: black, sRGB backlight;
• Cost at the time of testing: 47,000 rubles.

Equipment

Appearance and layout

Connection

Software

Iron

RX 580 Gaming Box in action

Let's sum it up

Pros:

• High performance;
• Overclocking potential;
• Easy to connect and configure;
• User-friendly software from AMD, AMD FreeSync support.

• A monitor is required for normal use of the RX 580 Gaming Box;
• When switching from a monitor to a laptop display, not all programs scale correctly to the new resolution.

• High price.

The AMD Radeon RX 580 video card is a relatively new development, which from the first days of its appearance attracted the interest of not only avid gamers, but also miners. The peculiarity of this model is its high performance, which allows you to easily mine different cryptocurrencies. We have already looked at. Today we will give a brief overview of video cards from different manufacturers, highlight the features and calculate the payback of the equipment.

• Read also the article about 2018.

Features of AMD Radeon RX 580

AMD says that the Radeon RX580 series video cards are intended exclusively for gamers. In practice, the GPU has become more widely used. Thanks to its high performance, the video card is also used for mining cryptocurrencies. Successful mining with the AMD Radeon RX 580 is explained by its reliability, relatively low power consumption and the ability to operate in maximum mode for a long time.

Peculiarities:

1. Using intuitive and user-friendly Radeon Software.
2. Adaptive energy saving under load (during mining).
3. Possibility of using several strips simultaneously to increase hashrate and increase payback.

When mining crypto as of February 28, 2018, the card produces the following hashrate:

Review and overclocking of Sapphire RX 580 NITRO

Features of AMD Radeon RX 580 NITRO:

1. Reduced average temperature when activating the Radeon Chill option.
2. Reducing the time it takes to deliver a frame to the screen by 32%.
3. Less power consumption (reduced by 31% when Radeon Chill is activated).
4. New type of cooling system. The area of ​​the radiators has been doubled, which increases the rate of heat transfer, two fans (2x9.5 cm) have been installed, and a more advanced heat pipe system has been provided. As a result, noise is reduced and the risk of overheating the video card is reduced.
5. The back wall, made of hard metal, guarantees greater durability of the product and protects against dust.
6. Capacitors with a service life of up to 200 thousand hours are installed.

1. CPU manufactured using 14nm FinFET technology. The number of stream processors is 2304, the possibility of increasing the core frequency to 1.411 GHz.
2. Memory- GDDR5, memory bus 255 bits, volume - 8,192 GB. This frequency is 2 GHz.
3. Interface- PSI-E 3.0 connector.
4. Dimensions- 24x12x4.2 cm.
5. Power- 225 W peak.
6. Coolers have a diameter of 9.5 cm (2 pieces).

The performance of the Sapphire RX 580 NITRO video card at the end of 2017 showed a hashrate of 23.6 to 31 MH/s.

Performance calculations show that with one video card you can earn about $40 per month. If there are four or six of them, the profit increases to $156 or $234, respectively. At the same time, the cost of one video card in online stores is about 600–700 dollars. Don't forget about the costs of other equipment. To assemble a farm with 4 video cards, you will have to spend about 4 thousand dollars. Therefore, the payback is about 2.5 years. When calculating profitability, the following indicators were used - the type of video card, its power (230 W), as well as the cost of 1 kWh of electricity ($0.09 for Moscow).

As for overclocking the AMD Radeon RX 580 video card from Sapphire, it is possible and allows you to increase performance by 5-10%. But this does not greatly affect the final payback. In addition, overclocking the GPU if done incorrectly can lead to internal elements overheating and failure, so it’s not worth the risk.

MSI AMD Radeon RX 580 review

The features of the MSI AMD Radeon RX 580 model include:

1. The presence of additional protection, which guarantees increased mechanical strength and makes the appearance more original.
2. Original lighting that can be customized to suit personal preferences.
3. Modern design and improved performance for its class.
4. Use of TORX2.0 coolers, providing effective heat removal. Special design guarantees 22% more efficiency. The product has dispersion blades that enhance air flow and increase the rate of heat removal.
5. Efficient heatsinks with 8mm copper tubes keep the GPU surface cool quickly.
6. Possibility of parallel use of several video cards (Crossfire or SLI mode).

As in the previous case, we will consider the issue of mining virtual coins using this video card. In practice, the MSI AMD Radeon RX 580 produces about 30 MH/s when mining on Ethereum using the Daggerhashimoto algorithm.

As you can see, the performance of the equipment remains almost unchanged, but the monthly income increases slightly to 41–42 dollars per month (due to lower power consumption). Like the model discussed above, on the shelves of online stores the cost of a video card is 600–700 dollars. Therefore, you will have to spend $2400–2800 to purchase four video cards. To assemble a full-fledged farm you will need another 1200–1500 dollars. Taking into account the previously calculated parameter, the annual income (when working on 4 video cards) is $164. It will also take 2.5 years to pay for the equipment.

The principle and features of overclocking a video card are similar to the principles discussed above. Theoretically this is possible, but the increase in power will be insignificant.

Description of the Gigabyte Radeon RX 580 video card

1. The presence of a powerful heat removal system, which consists of three copper-composite tubes and a cooler with 9-centimeter blades. According to the developer, the fan is 23% more efficient than other types of similar models.
2. The ability to quickly determine the performance of the video card, thanks to the presence of an LED indicator (located at the top of the device).
3. The noise level is minimal, which allows you to use the video card for mining even at home (even when several video cards are connected simultaneously).
4. The presence of a special interface allows you to configure the equipment taking into account personal preferences - change the cooler performance, supply voltage, frequency and power.
5. A special utility is provided for overclocking, which is activated with one click. In this case, the user has the right to independently set the settings.

GPU prices in online stores range from $550 to $700. At the lower level, to complete the farm you will need $2,200 (4 video cards). As for mining performance, the factory settings have a hashrate of 17.4 MH/s with overclocking to 23.5 MH/s. By installing additional drivers, you can achieve performance up to 27.5 and even up to 31.8 MH/s.

To overclock the Gigabyte Radeon RX 580, a utility is used that is provided by the manufacturer itself, but it gives a slight increase. In addition, when using a video card 24/7, setting the maximum settings is not recommended.

Review of ASUS AMD Radeon RX 580 board

Peculiarities:

1. Increasing GPU frequency up to 1.38 GHz while ensuring high performance.
2. A sophisticated heat dissipation system featuring optimized fans that are reliably protected from dust.
3. Availability of an overclocking utility that provides increased GPU performance (if necessary).
4. Optimal price/performance ratio.
5. Low noise level at minimum and medium load. As long as the GPU temperature does not exceed 55 degrees Celsius, the fan operates in passive mode.

The price of AMD Radeon RX 580 DUAL from ASUS starts at $580. As for the efficiency of the video card in mining, Ether can be mined with a hashrate of up to 30.8 MH/s when overclocked. However, this requires drivers and appropriate settings in the BIOS. At factory settings without overclocking, this figure remains at 18.4–22 MH/s.

AMD Radeon RX 580 video cards - to use for mining or not?

On the other hand, everything is changing in the world of cryptocurrencies. Virtual coins are gaining in price, which allows you to mine coins and store them in anticipation of an increase in the market value. In such a situation, GPU mining can bring fast results. An example is Bitcoin, which grew 19 times in 2017 alone. The main thing is to recognize in time the cryptocurrency that is the future.

• You may also be interested in the article: What is better-.

Almost a year has passed since the announcement of AMD's mid-price segment video card - Radeon RX 480, which became a bestseller on the market. It's not hard to see why. Good performance at a reasonable cost and decent energy efficiency, previously unavailable to users of the company’s graphics solutions, had an impact.

But it had one flaw, or rather a feature - in pursuit of a high ratio of speed and power consumption, AMD developers were so carried away by this goal that they forgot about a potential rival who was not sitting idly by. The GeForce GTX 1060 family has been expanded with several modifications: with three and six gigabytes of memory, with reference and increased memory frequencies.

As a result, the upcoming new AMD product had to compete for the leading positions with two competitors. To achieve this, engineers relegated the issue of energy efficiency to a secondary place and began optimizing in pursuit of speed.

Both GPUs are like a mirror copy of each other, although the new GPU (or rather, its new revision) was released this year. But it’s more important to take a closer look at the AMD code: the old revision is 215-0876184, the new one is 215-0910038. Polaris representatives now undergo final assembly and testing in China instead of Taiwan. I hope the change of location will not affect the quality.

So, what has changed with the release of the Radeon RX 580 video card? The answer lies in changed power settings and a change in priorities. And this is best seen if you pay attention to the frequency potential, Vgpu voltage and power consumption.

And given that the new AMD graphics solutions will not be represented by reference design versions, we will immediately begin overclocking and performance tests of the Radeon RX 580.

Specifications

Test stand

Configuration:

• Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IX Formula (Intel Z270, LGA 1151);
• Processor: Intel Core i7-7700K 4500 MHz (100 MHz x 45);
• Cooling system: water cooling system;
• Thermal interface: Arctic Cooling MX-2;
• RAM: DDR4 G.Skill 3333 MHz, 2 x 4 GB, 17-18-18-38-1T;
• SSD drive: Corsair Force Series GT, 128 GB;
• Power supply: Corsair AX1500i Digital, 1500 Watt.

Software:

• Operating system: Microsoft Windows 10 x64;
• Driver version: indicated at the beginning of the “Test Results” section.

List of instrumentation and instruments:

• Sound level meter: Center 320;
• Multimeter: Fluke 289;
• Electricity tarifficator: E305EMG.

Mid-range video cards allow gamers to experience all the delights of modern games at an affordable price. Thus, these solutions allow the player to run almost all projects at medium-high graphics settings in Full HD resolution. AMD Radeon RX 580 is a good solution for a gamer who prefers the “red” brand. In terms of pricing and characteristics, the RX 580 is approximately equal to the GTX 1060. Let's look at what AMD surprises with in its pre-top solution.

The RX 580 series graphics adapters are equipped with a new generation graphics core - Polaris 20 XTX, which replaced Polaris 10, with 14 FinFET process technology. The initial clock speed at which the chip operates is 12578 GHz, but can be increased in Turbo Bust to 1340 MHz.

The characteristics of the RX 580, in some ways, can even be called flagship, despite the fact that its performance is approximately similar to the Nvidia 1060. The video card in question is the highest in the line. Accordingly, the bus width here is at least 256 bits, and the data transfer speed is 8 Gbit. Impressive figures, considering the clock speed of the GDDR5 SDRAM memory, which is 2000 MHz.

The amount of memory on the card varies. There are two variations on sale - with 4 GB of graphic memory and with 8 GB. A comparison with the “greens” inevitably suggests itself. The direct competitor also has two release options: 3 GB and 6 GB. If we consider that modern games' appetite for PC performance is growing in arithmetic progression, then in a couple of years, or even a year, 3 GB of memory will not be enough. However, each user makes his own choice.

Like all modern video chips, the RX 580 connects to the motherboard via a PCI Express port. Naturally, the video card has all the connectors that are relevant today: DL DVI, HDMI 2.0b, Display Port 1.3/1.4.

VGA card does not support. And it’s somehow a shame for a 2017 graphics adapter to work in tandem with monitors whose interface is already more than 20 years old.

Radeon RX 580 review

Whatever you say, even with strong competition from the “green” Nvidia, the RX 580 graphics adapter is still loved by gamers. Especially after the peak of mining popularity has passed and prices have returned to normal.

Thus, the new RX 580 can already be purchased in official computer stores at a price in the range of 18-20 thousand rubles. Quite a profitable solution, especially when you consider that the video card often becomes the most expensive component of the entire assembly.

The card is capable of displaying images on 4 monitors simultaneously, and in 4K resolution. True, this is only suitable for processing or watching videos, light work with 3D graphics. Although such a high, modern resolution is supported, you won’t be able to play with it.

The RX 580 requires a maximum power consumption of 185 watts. This means that the card can be driven and achieve a significant increase in performance. The main thing is to pay attention to the cooling system.

Here are some tips to consider when purchasing an RX 580:

1. Buy only after preliminary verification. It is visually difficult to determine whether the RX 580 was used for gaming or mining. But in stress tests and benchmarks it’s very simple. There you can monitor the heating of the card, throttling and the appearance of artifacts.
2. After purchase, you must clean the cooling system and replace the thermal paste on the chip.
3. If the user is only a computer enthusiast, it is better to entrust card care to professionals from a reputable service center.

The previously mentioned rules must be followed only when purchasing a card from hand. When making a purchase in a store, you cannot parse the card - the warranty will be lost.

How to overclock an AMD Radeon RX 580 video card

You need to overclock the chip to improve the performance of the graphics adapter. Since mining on the AMD Radeon RX 580 was an extremely popular activity, we can judge that the video card significantly increases power, operating at higher frequencies, without overheating.

You need to overclock an AMD Radeon RX 580 video card using specially designed programs. The most popular among users is MSI Afterburner.

To overclock the RX 580, you need:

1. Download and install the overclocking utility.
2. Have already installed on your PC: benchmark, video card-demanding game.
3. The user must run a game or a demanding graphics application in parallel with the overclocking utility.
4. Next, the game is switched to semi-windowed mode, after which the memory and chip frequencies must be gradually increased.
   
5. Afterwards you need to check the game. If everything is fine with the image, you can continue overclocking.
6. If artifacts appear on the monitor display, you need to lower the frequencies slightly, after which you can use the video card to its full potential.

The overclocked video card shows its good side.

Game testing (FPS)

The AMD Radeon RX 580 gaming test is pleasantly surprising. For its relatively modest price, the adapter can cope with any modern project.

• The Witcher 3 – extreme graphics settings, Hair Works technology enabled. The average frame rate is around 60 frames per second.
• DOOM – 100-160 FPS, maximum graphics settings. The game is remarkably optimized for AMD graphics.
• Battlefield 1 – 96 FPS with “ultra” graphics in online mode – a decent average.
• PUBG – poor optimization of the project caused difficulties at the maximum graphics preset – 48 frames per second with drops of up to 20. But if you lower the development level to a “high” value, you get an average of 60 FPS.
• Watch Dogs 2 is a popular benchmark in the gaming world. Ultra settings and 35 stable frames per second.
• Call of Duty Infinite Warfare – maximum settings, average 120 FPS.
• Rise of the Tomb Raider – very high graphics, 60 frames per second, although with drops of up to 30 FPS.

As you can see, all the most demanding projects of recent years run confidently with high settings. It’s not for nothing that the video card is becoming a people’s favorite – for its price, the RX 580’s performance in new games is very good.

Fresh drivers

You can download the driver for AMD Radeon RX 580 from the official website of the chip manufacturer.

The “Drivers” section contains all the required software for the correct operation of the graphics adapter. The video card is compatible with the following operating systems:

• Windows 10, 7 – 64-bit;
• RHEL 64-bit;
• CentOS;
• Ubuntu 64-bit.

For all the operating systems presented above, you can find the driver on the official website. The software needs to be updated regularly to get the best gaming performance from the RX 580.

Initially, we did not plan to do another material on the Radeon RX 580, since in the past it often appeared on our website. YouTube channel. But the high activity in the comments prompted us to retest. However, this is not the only reason.

The second reason is, of course, money. Or more precisely - in the cost of the video card itself. During the mining rush, the price tag of the Radeon RX 588 easily exceeded the 600-700 evergreen mark. And this was already in the GeForce GTX 1070 category. Therefore, for games, the only alternative was the GeForce GTX 1060 or something cheaper. Now the cost of Radeon RX 588 has dropped to $360. And in terms of price, it looks even better than some GeForce GTX 1066.

The third reason is a bundle for buyers of the Radeon RX 570, RX 580, Vega 56 and Vega 64. This promotion will last until November 3rd, and you can get three games for free: Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Strange Brigade and Star Control: Origins, worth a total of $150 .

This gameplay would not be possible without the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 580 graphics card. When purchasing, pay attention to its Part Number. The version “11265-06” has a GPU frequency of the reference 1340 MHz, and “11265-05” is distinguished by a small factory overclock to 1366 MHz. That's exactly what we came across.

At the core is an AMD Polaris 20 GPU with support for 2304 stream processors. The video buffer consists of SK Hynix GDDR5 chips with a total capacity of 8 GB, with an effective frequency of 8 GHz and a bandwidth of 256 GB/s.

Cooling is provided by a two-slot cooler with two axial fans on double ball bearings. In games, the GPU temperature was in the range of 75-85°C with automatic operation and acceptable noise. For the video card to work, you need to connect one 8-pin PCIe connector.

To test the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 580 video card, the following bench was used:

• @5.0 GHz
• Thermaltake Water 3.0 Riing RGB 240
• 2x 8GB DDR4-3200 Patriot Viper 4
• Thermaltake Core P3
• AOC U2879VF

An external system with AVerMedia Live Gamer Portable 2 was used to record gameplays, that is, without loss of performance. And the FPS Monitor program helped us with monitoring.

Now let's move on to testing. All games were launched in Full HD and, if possible, with the same graphics settings as with the GeForce GTX 1066. Therefore, along the way we will draw parallels where possible.

Let's warm up on simpler projects. We Happy Few even with the ultra preset it requires no more than 3 GB of video memory, so most of the buffer is not used. The speed very rarely drops to 46 FPS, and we did not experience any problems in gameplay.

Explore the storyline The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit It is possible at very high settings. The average speed was 53 FPS, and the rest of the statistics were at the level of 33-36 fps. In a system with a GeForce GTX 1066, the results were 15-27% higher.

IN Quake Champions With ultra settings you can already feel the benefit of a large video buffer. The game takes up 5.5 GB of video memory and more than 6 GB of RAM for its needs, offering in return smooth and responsive gameplay. It will still burn, but not from the video card. With the GeForce GTX 1066 the figures were even higher, especially the 0.1% Low statistic.

Fortnite with the epic preset, it uses less than half of the video buffer, so even 4 GB video cards are enough for it. We did not experience any problems with gameplay: the frame time graph was calm, and the speed rarely dropped to 62 FPS. With GeForce GTX 1066 the figures were 11-18% higher. But this is a network game with a large share of randomness, so comparison is not entirely correct.

IN PUBG with the ultra preset, either aesthetes or…technobloggers play. We did not experience any problems and the average speed exceeded 70 FPS. Very rare events dropped to 37 fps. Nevertheless, this is 8-15% higher than with the GeForce GTX 1066. However, the influence of the case should not be forgotten.

Into the furnace Frostpunk'And you need to add about 7 GB of video memory to run a game with a very high preset. Logically, the advantage should be on the side of the Radeon RX 588, at least in rare and very rare events. But the game has its own logic. The 1 and 0.1% Low statistics for both systems are almost the same, and the average for the GeForce GTX 1066 is 16% higher.

If RUST was a child, he would have become his grandmother's favorite grandson. This glutton ate more than 7 GB of video memory and asked for more in the form of 10 GB of RAM. Do you think that after this he delivered impeccably smooth gameplay? No matter how it is! Very rare events dropped to 17 FPS. In a word, he would have turned out to be a capricious grandson.

In the first three weeks SCUM purchased by more than 1 million people. But the game just entered early access. Like RUST, it also consumed more than 7 GB of video memory, but only took 5 from the RAM. And its frame rate is more stable: 46 FPS on average, with drops of up to 32 frames/s. And this is with an epic preset. If you need higher speeds, then there is room to lower the settings.

Beautiful game Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice with powerful philosophical and psychological overtones, can be played on very high settings. It is not demanding at all when it comes to the video buffer. As a result, we got playable 40-60 FPS. If this is not enough, then you will have to either lower the settings or buy a GeForce GTX 1066, which will provide a bonus of 5 to 20%.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance It is not picky in terms of video memory - even a 4 GB buffer is enough for it. But the RAM should be more than 7 GB and an SSD in the system will be very useful if you plan to run it on high settings. Speed ​​indicators were in the range of 45-70 FPS, which is 6-10% more than we got with the GeForce GTX 1066.

IN The Evil Within 2 at very high graphics settings the situation is almost equal for both video cards. The Radeon RX 588 produced an average of 56 FPS with very rare drops to 41. For the GeForce GTX 1066, the results differed by ±1-2 frames/s.

It will help to develop paranoia or the ability to destroy various evil spirits Hunt: Showdown. At high settings, the game will require about 5 GB of video memory and 7 GB of RAM. Speed ​​indicators were in the range of 40-70 FPS, which is completely enough for a comfortable passage. The average FPS of the Radeon RX 588 was 12% higher, and the rest of the statistics were at the level of the GeForce GTX 1066.

In the latest patches the developers Star Wars Battlefront II optimized RAM consumption. Usually, with ultra settings, the counter jumped to 10 GB, but now it does not exceed 7. Also, only half of the video buffer is used. The speed very rarely drops to 68 fps, so there were no problems with video footage or controls. Overall, the Radeon RX 588 was 5-7% ahead of its external competitor.

EA has reduced the appetite for its other project on the same Frostbyte 3 engine. Ultra settings in Need for Speed ​​Payback required only 3.5 GB of video memory and 6.5 GB of RAM. In return, we received a comfortable 70 FPS on average, with very rare drops to 43 fps. The GeForce GTX 1066's performance was at the same level.

And here Ghost Recon: Wildlands better optimized for NVIDIA video cards. With a very high preset, the GeForce GTX 1066's results were a maximum of 47% higher. With the Radeon RX 588 you can expect playable 30-50 fps. Without monitoring, you are unlikely to experience any problems.

Call of Duty: WW2 Zombies- another one of the few games that require more than 7 GB of video memory, and at the same time also 8 GB of RAM. But otherwise, no problems: the FrameTime graph is calm, like the brain activity of a zombie, and the statistics of very rare events do not fall below 67 FPS. In general, the results of the Radeon RX 588 are 4-8% higher than those of the opponent.

The most problematic of the blockbusters turned out to be Assassin's Creed Origins. At very high settings, unpleasant spikes constantly appeared in the frame time graph. And the statistics of 1 and 0.1% Low fell below 24 FPS, although there is enough memory and processor resources. The average speed exceeded 50 fps. For a more comfortable gameplay, you will probably have to lower the graphics quality.

A completely different situation is observed in Far Cry 5 at maximum graphics settings. Controls are responsive, footage is smooth, and the frame timing is calm. Therefore, you can completely immerse yourself in the gameplay. Speed ​​indicators were in the range of 57-80 FPS, which is 7-17% higher than that of the GeForce GTX 1066.

AMD's advantage of a maximum of 13% is also observed in the game Final Fantasy XV at maximum graphics settings. The average speed almost reached 57 FPS, and very rare events dropped to 22. There may be several reasons for NVIDIA's lag: the need for more than 6 GB of video memory, insufficient optimization at the driver level, or the use of proprietary technologies Hairworks, VXAO and others.

Radeon RX 588 looks preferable in the volcano. This can be seen in the example Wolfenstein II with profile Mein Leben. The average speed reached 129 FPS, and the minimum was 84. For the GeForce GTX 1066, the same figures were 119 and 71 FPS, respectively.

Ends the test session Shadow of the Tomb Raider in DirectX 12 mode with maximum graphics settings. The average speed was 67 FPS, and very rare events did not drop below 49. Video memory required 5 GB, and RAM - 7. There were no video stutters or control problems.

Results

According to testing results, the Radeon RX 588 outperforms the GeForce GTX 1066 by 2-5%. But two points should be taken into account. Firstly, they did not use the same benchmarks, but gameplays in different places and even random network projects. Secondly, there are a number of projects where the NVIDIA model is ahead of the curve. Therefore, in general, their performance is at the same level.