RX 580 & 570 Review - AMD Strikes Back... at AMD???
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No, Vega is not here yet... but we do have some pretty slick new Polaris cards from AMD. Should you pick one up? Tunnelbear sponsor link: Try Tunnelbear for free at tunnelbear.com and save 10% Feenix sponsor link: Feenix Autore Backlit keyboard: geni.us Buy Radeon RX 580 on Amazon: geni.us Buy Radeon RX 570 on Amazon: geni.us Discuss on the forum: linustechtips.com Our Affiliates, Referral Programs, and Sponsors: linustechtips.com Linus Tech Tips Merchandise: designbyhumans.com Linus Tech Tips Posters: crowdmade.com twitter.com @LinusTech Intro Screen Music Credit: Title: Laszlo - Supernova Video Link: youtube.com iTunes Download Link: itunes.apple.com Artist Link: soundcloud.com Outro Screen Music Credit: Approaching Nirvana - Sugar High youtube.com Sound effects provided by freesfx.co.uk
The RX 580 and RX 570 review maneuvers through AMD’s Polaris refresh as Linus and team evaluate how these mid-range GPUs stack up against Nvidia’s offerings and the older Polaris cards. The hosts emphasize that Vega is not yet available, positioning the 500-series as a refinement rather than a revolution, with improvements coming from a tighter 14nm FinFET process, better power efficiency, and higher clock speeds. They explain the absence of reference boards and note that factory overclocked cards were provided to level the playing field, while also cautioning that power consumption can be higher on OC variants. In testing, DirectX12 and Vulkan show more pronounced gains over DirectX11 thanks to AMD’s GCN architecture, though the differences between Intel and AMD CPU platforms remain modest. The TL;DR is that AMD has iterated rather than leapfrogged, delivering better value for mid-range buyers who skipped the 470/480 era, while acknowledging some edge cases where power draw undermines the gains. The hosts close by framing the 580 and 570 as strong mid-range choices at compelling prices, encouraging viewers to weigh upgrade options against their target resolutions and gaming expectations.
Topics · hardware · gpu · tech_reviews · performance
Questions answered
- What is the main advantage of the RX 580 and RX 570 over their predecessors?
- The main advantage is improved power efficiency and higher clock speeds enabled by the refined 14nm FinFET process, which translates into better performance and more stable operation for mid-range gaming.
- Do the RX 580 and RX 570 need Radeon Chill to deliver smooth gameplay?
- Radeon Chill is a driver feature designed to cap frame rates and reduce power draw and thermals, but it was not used in the testing for apples-to-apples comparisons in this review.
- Is Vega a factor for buyers considering these cards?
- No, Vega is not available in this release; the focus is on Polaris-based cards with improvements over the 400-series.
- Who should consider buying the RX 580 or RX 570?
- Mid-range gamers aiming for solid 1080p performance at good prices, particularly those upgrading from much older GPUs, are the intended audience for these cards.