Radeon 540 vs RX 480
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon RX 480 and Radeon 540, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
RX 480 outperforms 540 by a whopping 522% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 257 | 726 |
| Place by popularity | 89 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 15.21 | 0.10 |
| Power efficiency | 10.26 | 4.95 |
| Architecture | GCN 4.0 (2016−2020) | GCN 4.0 (2016−2020) |
| GPU code name | Ellesmere | Lexa |
| GCN generation | 4th Gen | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Design | reference | no data |
| Release date | 29 June 2016 (8 years ago) | 20 April 2017 (7 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $229 | $79 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.
RX 480 has 15110% better value for money than Radeon 540.
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 | 384 |
| Compute units | 36 | no data |
| Core clock speed | 1120 MHz | 1183 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1266 MHz | 1124 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 5,700 million | 2,200 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 14 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 150 Watt | 50 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 182.3 | 28.39 |
| Floating-point processing power | 5.834 TFLOPS | 0.9085 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 32 | 16 |
| TMUs | 144 | 24 |
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 | no data |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |
| Length | 241 mm | 145 mm |
| Width | 2-slot | 1-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x 6-pin | None |
| 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 | 1 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 32 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 8000 MHz | 1500 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 224 GB/s | 24 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 | 2x DisplayPort 1.4a |
| Eyefinity | + | - |
| HDMI | 2.0 | - |
| DisplayPort support | 1.4HDR | - |
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 and SDK compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | DirectX® 12 | 12 (12_0) |
| Shader Model | 6.4 | 6.7 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 2.0 | 2.1 |
| Vulkan | + | 1.3 |
| Mantle | n/a | - |
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.
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.
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:
| Full HD | 77
+542%
| 12−14
−542%
|
| 1440p | 52
+550%
| 8−9
−550%
|
| 4K | 35
+600%
| 5−6
−600%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | 2.97
+121%
| 6.58
−121%
|
| 1440p | 4.40
+124%
| 9.88
−124%
|
| 4K | 6.54
+141%
| 15.80
−141%
|
- RX 480 has 121% lower cost per frame in 1080p
- RX 480 has 124% lower cost per frame in 1440p
- RX 480 has 141% lower cost per frame in 4K
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 40−45
+567%
|
6−7
−567%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 45−50
+543%
|
7−8
−543%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 70−75
+600%
|
10−11
−600%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 40−45
+567%
|
6−7
−567%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 45−50
+543%
|
7−8
−543%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 95−100
+586%
|
14−16
−586%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 55−60
+556%
|
9−10
−556%
|
| Metro Exodus | 60−65
+567%
|
9−10
−567%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 50−55
+525%
|
8−9
−525%
|
| Valorant | 90−95
+543%
|
14−16
−543%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 70−75
+600%
|
10−11
−600%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 40−45
+567%
|
6−7
−567%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 45−50
+543%
|
7−8
−543%
|
| Dota 2 | 52
+550%
|
8−9
−550%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 51
+538%
|
8−9
−538%
|
| Fortnite | 110−120
+539%
|
18−20
−539%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 95−100
+586%
|
14−16
−586%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 55−60
+556%
|
9−10
−556%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 78
+550%
|
12−14
−550%
|
| Metro Exodus | 16
+700%
|
2−3
−700%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 78
+550%
|
12−14
−550%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 34
+580%
|
5−6
−580%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 30
+650%
|
4−5
−650%
|
| Valorant | 90−95
+543%
|
14−16
−543%
|
| World of Tanks | 285
+533%
|
45−50
−533%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 70−75
+600%
|
10−11
−600%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 29
+625%
|
4−5
−625%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 45−50
+543%
|
7−8
−543%
|
| Dota 2 | 75−80
+550%
|
12−14
−550%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 70−75
+610%
|
10−11
−610%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 95−100
+586%
|
14−16
−586%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 55−60
+556%
|
9−10
−556%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 64
+540%
|
10−11
−540%
|
| Valorant | 90−95
+543%
|
14−16
−543%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 21−24
+600%
|
3−4
−600%
|
| Dota 2 | 37
+640%
|
5−6
−640%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 37
+640%
|
5−6
−640%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 170−180
+544%
|
27−30
−544%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 21
+600%
|
3−4
−600%
|
| World of Tanks | 150−160
+525%
|
24−27
−525%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 45−50
+543%
|
7−8
−543%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
+800%
|
2−3
−800%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 60−65
+530%
|
10−11
−530%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 55−60
+556%
|
9−10
−556%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 35−40
+620%
|
5−6
−620%
|
| Metro Exodus | 50
+525%
|
8−9
−525%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 30−35
+540%
|
5−6
−540%
|
| Valorant | 55−60
+556%
|
9−10
−556%
|
4K
High Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 10−11
+900%
|
1−2
−900%
|
| Dota 2 | 36
+620%
|
5−6
−620%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 36
+620%
|
5−6
−620%
|
| Metro Exodus | 15
+650%
|
2−3
−650%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 70
+600%
|
10−11
−600%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 14−16
+600%
|
2−3
−600%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 36
+620%
|
5−6
−620%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 21−24
+667%
|
3−4
−667%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 10−11
+900%
|
1−2
−900%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 7−8
+600%
|
1−2
−600%
|
| Dota 2 | 88
+529%
|
14−16
−529%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 27−30
+625%
|
4−5
−625%
|
| Fortnite | 28
+600%
|
4−5
−600%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 30−35
+580%
|
5−6
−580%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 18−20
+800%
|
2−3
−800%
|
| Valorant | 27−30
+600%
|
4−5
−600%
|
This is how RX 480 and Radeon 540 compete in popular games:
- RX 480 is 542% faster in 1080p
- RX 480 is 550% faster in 1440p
- RX 480 is 600% faster in 4K
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 21.45 | 3.45 |
| Recency | 29 June 2016 | 20 April 2017 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 8 GB | 1 GB |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 150 Watt | 50 Watt |
RX 480 has a 521.7% higher aggregate performance score, and a 700% higher maximum VRAM amount.
Radeon 540, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 9 months, and 200% lower power consumption.
The Radeon RX 480 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon 540 in performance tests.
Other comparisons
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
