Radeon R9 270 vs RX 580

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon RX 580 and Radeon R9 270, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

RX 580
2017
8 GB GDDR5, 185 Watt
22.95
+106%

RX 580 outperforms R9 270 by a whopping 106% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking241420
Place by popularity1not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation18.935.04
Power efficiency8.655.19
ArchitectureGCN 4.0 (2016−2020)GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code namePolaris 20Curacao
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designno datareference
Release date18 April 2017 (7 years ago)13 November 2013 (11 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$229 $179

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 580 has 276% better value for money than R9 270.

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 cores23041280
Core clock speed1257 MHzno data
Boost clock speed1340 MHz925 MHz
Number of transistors5,700 million2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology14 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)185 Watt150 Watt
Texture fill rate193.074.00
Floating-point processing power6.175 TFLOPS2.368 TFLOPS
ROPs3232
TMUs14480

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 supportno dataPCIe 3.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length241 mm210 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 8-pin1 x 6-pin

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount8 GB2 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed2000 MHzno data
Memory bandwidth256.0 GB/s179.2 GB/s

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 Connectors1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
Eyefinity-+
HDMI++
DisplayPort support-+

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire-+
FreeSync-+
HD3D-+
LiquidVR-+
TressFX-+
TrueAudio-+
UVD-+
DDMA audiono data+

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_0)DirectX® 12
Shader Model6.45.1
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL2.01.2
Vulkan1.2.131+

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 580 22.95
+106%
R9 270 11.16

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 580 8855
+106%
R9 270 4306

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 580 13927
+135%
R9 270 5930

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 HD94
+109%
45−50
−109%
1440p44
+110%
21−24
−110%
4K37
+131%
16−18
−131%

Cost per frame, $

1080p2.443.98
1440p5.208.52
4K6.1911.19

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+131%
16−18
−131%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 58
+115%
27−30
−115%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 35−40
+117%
18−20
−117%
Battlefield 5 138
+112%
65−70
−112%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 45−50
+124%
21−24
−124%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+131%
16−18
−131%
Far Cry 5 83
+108%
40−45
−108%
Far Cry New Dawn 83
+108%
40−45
−108%
Forza Horizon 4 294
+110%
140−150
−110%
Hitman 3 45−50
+119%
21−24
−119%
Horizon Zero Dawn 100−110
+116%
50−55
−116%
Metro Exodus 111
+122%
50−55
−122%
Red Dead Redemption 2 60−65
+122%
27−30
−122%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 122
+122%
55−60
−122%
Watch Dogs: Legion 95−100
+120%
45−50
−120%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 101
+124%
45−50
−124%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 35−40
+117%
18−20
−117%
Battlefield 5 113
+126%
50−55
−126%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 45−50
+124%
21−24
−124%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+131%
16−18
−131%
Far Cry 5 69
+130%
30−33
−130%
Far Cry New Dawn 64
+113%
30−33
−113%
Forza Horizon 4 270
+108%
130−140
−108%
Hitman 3 45−50
+119%
21−24
−119%
Horizon Zero Dawn 100−110
+116%
50−55
−116%
Metro Exodus 87
+118%
40−45
−118%
Red Dead Redemption 2 60−65
+122%
27−30
−122%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 75−80
+120%
35−40
−120%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 50−55
+108%
24−27
−108%
Watch Dogs: Legion 95−100
+120%
45−50
−120%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 34
+113%
16−18
−113%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 35−40
+117%
18−20
−117%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 45−50
+124%
21−24
−124%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+131%
16−18
−131%
Far Cry 5 49
+133%
21−24
−133%
Forza Horizon 4 82
+134%
35−40
−134%
Hitman 3 45−50
+119%
21−24
−119%
Horizon Zero Dawn 100−110
+116%
50−55
−116%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 75−80
+120%
35−40
−120%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 44
+110%
21−24
−110%
Watch Dogs: Legion 95−100
+120%
45−50
−120%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 60−65
+122%
27−30
−122%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 40−45
+110%
21−24
−110%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
+119%
16−18
−119%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 24−27
+140%
10−11
−140%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 21−24
+120%
10−11
−120%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 24−27
+117%
12−14
−117%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+133%
6−7
−133%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+117%
12−14
−117%
Forza Horizon 4 130−140
+117%
60−65
−117%
Hitman 3 27−30
+125%
12−14
−125%
Horizon Zero Dawn 45−50
+124%
21−24
−124%
Metro Exodus 53
+121%
24−27
−121%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 45−50
+133%
21−24
−133%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 27−30
+133%
12−14
−133%
Watch Dogs: Legion 130−140
+120%
60−65
−120%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 35−40
+111%
18−20
−111%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 37
+131%
16−18
−131%
Far Cry New Dawn 22
+120%
10−11
−120%
Hitman 3 18−20
+125%
8−9
−125%
Horizon Zero Dawn 110−120
+116%
55−60
−116%
Metro Exodus 33
+106%
16−18
−106%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 27
+125%
12−14
−125%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 18
+125%
8−9
−125%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12−14
+140%
5−6
−140%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 12−14
+117%
6−7
−117%
Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+150%
2−3
−150%
Far Cry 5 16
+129%
7−8
−129%
Forza Horizon 4 41
+128%
18−20
−128%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 27−30
+125%
12−14
−125%
Watch Dogs: Legion 10−11
+150%
4−5
−150%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 20−22
+122%
9−10
−122%

This is how RX 580 and R9 270 compete in popular games:

  • RX 580 is 109% faster in 1080p
  • RX 580 is 110% faster in 1440p
  • RX 580 is 131% faster in 4K

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 22.95 11.16
Recency 18 April 2017 13 November 2013
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 2 GB
Chip lithography 14 nm 28 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 185 Watt 150 Watt

RX 580 has a 105.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 100% more advanced lithography process.

R9 270, on the other hand, has 23.3% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 580 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 270 in performance tests.


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

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AMD Radeon RX 580
Radeon RX 580
AMD Radeon R9 270
Radeon R9 270

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


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Questions & comments

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