GeForce GTX 590 vs Radeon RX 480

Place in the ranking	250	494
Place by popularity	94	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	15.82	0.78
Power efficiency	10.22	1.63
Architecture	GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)	Fermi 2.0 (2010−2014)
GPU code name	Ellesmere	GF110
GCN generation	4th Gen	no data
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Design	reference	no data
Release date	29 June 2016 (8 years ago)	24 March 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$229	$699

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 480 has 1928% better value for money than GTX 590.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	2304	1024
Compute units	36	no data
Core clock speed	1120 MHz	607 MHz
Boost clock speed	1266 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	5,700 million	3,000 million
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	365 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	no data	97 °C
Texture fill rate	182.3	38.91
Floating-point processing power	5.834 TFLOPS	1.244 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	48
TMUs	144	64

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Bus support	n/a	16x PCI-E 2.0
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	241 mm	279 mm
Height	no data	4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	2x 8-pin
SLI options	-	+
Bridgeless CrossFire	+	-

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	3072 MB (1536 MB per GPU)
Memory bus width	256 Bit	768-bit (384-bit per GPU)
Memory clock speed	8000 MHz	1707 MHz
Memory bandwidth	224 GB/s	327.7 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	Three Dual Link DVI-IMini DisplayPort
Multi monitor support	no data	+
Eyefinity	+	-
HDMI	2.0	+
Maximum VGA resolution	no data	2048x1536
DisplayPort support	1.4HDR	-
Audio input for HDMI	no data	Internal

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

AppAcceleration	n/a	-
CrossFire	+	-
Enduro	n/a	-
FRTC	+	-
FreeSync	+	-
HD3D	n/a	-
LiquidVR	+	-
PowerTune	+	-
TressFX	+	-
TrueAudio	n/a	-
ZeroCore	+	-
UVD	+	-
VCE	+	-

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	DirectX® 12	12 (11_0)
Shader Model	6.4	5.1
OpenGL	4.5	4.2
OpenCL	2.0	1.1
Vulkan	+	N/A
Mantle	n/a	-
CUDA	-	+

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

RX 480 22.35
+158%

GTX 590 8.67

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

RX 480 8608
+158%

GTX 590 3341

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

RX 480 17919
+95.5%

GTX 590 9167

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

RX 480 39552
+53.8%

GTX 590 25720

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

RX 480 12186
+82.4%

GTX 590 6680

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p	120−130 +155%	47 −155%
Full HD	78 −39.7%	109 +39.7%
1200p	280−290 +150%	112 −150%
1440p	52 +189%	18−21 −189%
4K	35 +192%	12−14 −192%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	2.94	6.41
1440p	4.40	38.83
4K	6.54	58.25

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

35−40
+157%

14−16

−157%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	58 +176%	21−24 −176%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +217%	12−14 −217%
Battlefield 5	70−75 +181%	24−27 −181%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	45−50 +150%	18−20 −150%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +157%	14−16 −157%
Far Cry 5	50−55 +160%	20−22 −160%
Far Cry New Dawn	55−60 +146%	24−27 −146%
Forza Horizon 4	130−140 +131%	55−60 −131%
Hitman 3	40−45 +159%	16−18 −159%
Horizon Zero Dawn	100−110 +114%	45−50 −114%
Metro Exodus	93 +258%	24−27 −258%
Red Dead Redemption 2	55−60 +146%	24−27 −146%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	110 +279%	27−30 −279%
Watch Dogs: Legion	95−100 +64.4%	55−60 −64.4%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	93 +343%	21−24 −343%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +217%	12−14 −217%
Battlefield 5	48 +84.6%	24−27 −84.6%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	45−50 +150%	18−20 −150%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +157%	14−16 −157%
Far Cry 5	50−55 +160%	20−22 −160%
Far Cry New Dawn	31 +29.2%	24−27 −29.2%
Forza Horizon 4	130−140 +131%	55−60 −131%
Hitman 3	40−45 +159%	16−18 −159%
Horizon Zero Dawn	100−110 +114%	45−50 −114%
Metro Exodus	78 +200%	24−27 −200%
Red Dead Redemption 2	55−60 +146%	24−27 −146%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	75−80 +159%	27−30 −159%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	45−50 +104%	24−27 −104%
Watch Dogs: Legion	95−100 +64.4%	55−60 −64.4%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	35 +66.7%	21−24 −66.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +217%	12−14 −217%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	45−50 +150%	18−20 −150%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +157%	14−16 −157%
Far Cry 5	45 +125%	20−22 −125%
Forza Horizon 4	77 +32.8%	55−60 −32.8%
Hitman 3	40−45 +159%	16−18 −159%
Horizon Zero Dawn	100−110 +114%	45−50 −114%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	75−80 +159%	27−30 −159%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	44 +83.3%	24−27 −83.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	95−100 +64.4%	55−60 −64.4%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

55−60
+146%

24−27

−146%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	65 +282%	16−18 −282%
Far Cry New Dawn	42 +223%	12−14 −223%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 +188%	8−9 −188%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	21−24 +425%	4−5 −425%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	24−27 +178%	9−10 −178%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +250%	4−5 −250%
Far Cry 5	30 +200%	10−11 −200%
Forza Horizon 4	120−130 +250%	35−40 −250%
Hitman 3	24−27 +117%	12−14 −117%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 +156%	18−20 −156%
Metro Exodus	50 +355%	10−12 −355%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	45−50 +422%	9−10 −422%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	27−30 +238%	8−9 −238%
Watch Dogs: Legion	120−130 +135%	55−60 −135%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

35−40
+164%

14−16

−164%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	31 +288%	8−9 −288%
Far Cry New Dawn	21 +250%	6−7 −250%
Hitman 3	16−18 +240%	5−6 −240%
Horizon Zero Dawn	60 +76.5%	30−35 −76.5%
Metro Exodus	25 +317%	6−7 −317%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	27 +350%	6−7 −350%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	17 +240%	5−6 −240%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +200%	4−5 −200%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	12−14 +200%	4−5 −200%
Cyberpunk 2077	5−6 +400%	1−2 −400%
Far Cry 5	15 +200%	5−6 −200%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 +210%	10−11 −210%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	24−27 +550%	4−5 −550%
Watch Dogs: Legion	10−11 +233%	3−4 −233%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

18−20
+138%

8−9

−138%

This is how RX 480 and GTX 590 compete in popular games:

RX 480 is 155% faster in 900p
GTX 590 is 40% faster in 1080p
RX 480 is 150% faster in 1200p
RX 480 is 189% faster in 1440p
RX 480 is 192% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RX 480 is 550% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

Without exception, RX 480 surpassed GTX 590 in all 72 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	22.35	8.67
Recency	29 June 2016	24 March 2011
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	3072 MB (1536 MB per GPU)
Chip lithography	14 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	365 Watt

RX 480 has a 157.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, a 166.7% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 185.7% more advanced lithography process, and 143.3% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 480 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 590 in performance tests.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.