AMD Radeon RX 590 Review: Benchmarks And Overclocking 12nm Polaris

Performance Summary: The PowerColor Red Devil RX 590 and XFX Radeon RX 590 FATBOY performed similarly throughout our tests. The XFX cards slightly higher GPU boost frequency allowed it to pull ahead by a small margin more often than not, but the deltas separating the cards were miniscule. Versus the Radeon RX 580 and GeForce GTX 1060, the Radeon RX 590 cards offered better performance virtually across the board. It was only in Superposition’s VR Future benchmark that the GTX 1060 was able to overtake the 590s. Generally speaking, the Radeon RX 590 was approximately 5 – 15% faster than the Radeon RX 580 and GeForce GTX 1060 with the factory overclocked, partner boards we used for comparison. Versus lower-clocked reference models, the performance deltas would have been a little larger.

The Radeon RX 590’s updated 12nm manufacturing process allowed AMD to wring a couple of hundred additional MHz out of its tried-and-true Polaris GPU architecture, and makes the cards some of the most attractive offerings in the sub-$300 sweet spot on the market. We don’t have final pricing on the XFX Radeon RX 590 FATBOY just yet, but expect it to be priced in-line with other RX 590s. The Powercolor Red Devil RX 590 has an MSRP of $279, which is about 10% higher than your average, custom GeForce GTX 1060. Looking back at the numbers, that price point is right on target in the current landscape. That said, the RX 590 will definitely use more power than a GTX 1060 and we must point out that for a bit more money, there’s a LOT more performance to be had. Though pickings are slim, there are GeForce GTX 1070 and Radeon RX Vega 56 cards available in the $340 - $360 price range. Yes, we’re talking an additional 25% higher price, but the performance increase is stark when you look at the Vega 56 versus all of the other cards we tested here.

There is an additional wrinkle to consider as well. At the moment there is a promo running for Radeon RX 590 buyers that’ll include Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry 5, and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 for free. Those are some top-notch games that definitely boost the Radeon RX 590’s value prop.

Ultimately, if you’re budgeting less than $300 for a GPU, the Radeon RX 590 is arguably the best overall choice at this time. It’s the strongest performer in the category and multiple AAA games are being tossed in for good measure.

Strong Performance Per Dollar Great Game Bundle Ideal For 1080P Gaming	Relatively High Power Consumption 2.5 Year Old Arch and GPU Configuration