Radeon RX 590 vs Radeon RX 580

Speed and memory

In our performance index the Radeon RX 590 scores 10 and the Radeon RX 580 scores 9, which makes the Radeon RX 590 about 11% faster. That is a small gap, below what most people notice without a frame counter.

Both cards have 8 GB of video memory, so memory will not separate them.

In our estimates for popular games at 1080p on High, the biggest gap is in Cyberpunk 2077 (30 against 27 fps), and the smallest is in Call of Duty (27 against 25 fps). Games that are light enough to run above 200 fps on both cards show little difference at all.

Power and value

The Radeon RX 590 is rated at 175 W and the Radeon RX 580 at 185 W. With a mid-range processor that means a power supply of about 550 W for the first and 550 W for the second. The power draw is close enough that cooling and noise will be similar.

At launch the Radeon RX 590 cost $279 and the Radeon RX 580 $229. Per dollar, the Radeon RX 580 gave more performance (3.9 points per $100 against 3.6). Current prices differ, so run the same sum on what you can actually buy today.

Which one to buy

Choose the Radeon RX 590 if you want the faster card, and it also has at least as much memory. It makes the most sense at 1440p and above, or on a monitor with a high refresh rate.

Choose the Radeon RX 580 if the price gap matters more than the 11% speed difference. Whichever you pick, check reviews for the games you play, because two cards with similar scores can differ in individual titles.