Radeon 540X vs RX 580X

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon RX 580X with Radeon 540X, including specs and performance data.

RX 580X
2018
8 GB GDDR5, 185 Watt
16.74
+350%

RX 580X outperforms 540X by a whopping 350% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking322704
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency6.265.16
ArchitectureGCN 4.0 (2016−2020)GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)
GPU code namePolaris 20Lexa
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date11 April 2018 (6 years ago)5 September 2018 (6 years ago)

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 cores2304512
Core clock speed1257 MHz980 MHz
Boost clock speed1340 MHz1046 MHz
Number of transistors5,700 million2,200 million
Manufacturing process technology14 nm14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)185 Watt50 Watt
Texture fill rate193.033.47
Floating-point processing power6.175 TFLOPS1.071 TFLOPS
ROPs3216
TMUs14432

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).

InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x8
Length241 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 8-pinNone

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 Bit64 Bit
Memory clock speed2000 MHz1500 MHz
Memory bandwidth256.0 GB/s48 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 Connectors1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPortNo outputs
HDMI+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_0)12 (12_0)
Shader Model6.46.4
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL2.02.0
Vulkan1.2.1311.2.131

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 580X 16.74
+350%
Radeon 540X 3.72

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 580X 6458
+349%
Radeon 540X 1437

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 HD85−90
+347%
19
−347%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 9
+0%
9
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 16
+0%
16
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12
+0%
12
+0%
Battlefield 5 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Hitman 3 11
+0%
11
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Metro Exodus 23
+0%
23
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 19
+0%
19
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Battlefield 5 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Hitman 3 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Metro Exodus 17
+0%
17
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 14
+0%
14
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 20
+0%
20
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Hitman 3 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 17
+0%
17
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 10
+0%
10
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 12
+0%
12
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry 5 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Hitman 3 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Metro Exodus 0−1 0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 0−1 0−1
Far Cry 5 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%

This is how RX 580X and Radeon 540X compete in popular games:

  • RX 580X is 347% faster in 1080p

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 16.74 3.72
Recency 11 April 2018 5 September 2018
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 2 GB
Power consumption (TDP) 185 Watt 50 Watt

RX 580X has a 350% higher aggregate performance score, and a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount.

Radeon 540X, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 4 months, and 270% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 580X is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon 540X in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon RX 580X is a desktop card while Radeon 540X is a notebook one.


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 580X
Radeon RX 580X
AMD Radeon 540X
Radeon 540X

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.


3.6 117 votes

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3.8 316 votes

Rate Radeon 540X on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.