Radeon RX 590 vs RX 470

Place in performance ranking	242	206
Place by popularity	46	not in top-100
Value for money	5.32	32.30
Architecture	Polaris (2016−2019)	Polaris (2016−2019)
GPU code name	Polaris 10 Pro	Polaris 30
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	4 August 2016 (7 years old)	15 November 2018 (5 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)	$179	$279
Current price	$14.08 (0.1x MSRP)	$133 (0.5x MSRP)

Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 590 has 507% better value for money than RX 470.

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	2048	2304
Core clock speed	926 MHz	1469 MHz
Boost clock speed	1206 MHz	1545 MHz
Number of transistors	5,700 million	5,700 million
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	175 Watt
Texture fill rate	154.4	222.5
Floating-point performance	4,940 gflops	no data

Size and 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).

Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	241 mm	241 mm
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	1x 8-pin

Memory

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 type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	8 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	6600 MHz	8000 MHz
Memory bandwidth	211.2 GB/s	256.0 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Video outputs and ports

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 Connectors	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
HDMI	+	+

Technologies

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

FreeSync

API support

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

DirectX	12 (12_0)	12 (12_0)
Shader Model	6.4	6.4
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	2.0	2.0
Vulkan	1.2.131	1.2.131

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance 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 470 20.90

RX 590 24.43
+16.9%

RX 590 outperforms RX 470 by 17% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

RX 470 8096

RX 590 9464
+16.9%

RX 590 outperforms RX 470 by 17% in Passmark.

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

RX 470 17625

RX 590 23363
+32.6%

RX 590 outperforms RX 470 by 33% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

RX 470 11885

RX 590 16814
+41.5%

RX 590 outperforms RX 470 by 41% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

RX 470 68475

RX 590 86825
+26.8%

RX 590 outperforms RX 470 by 27% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

3DMark Ice Storm GPU

Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 8%

RX 470 380689

RX 590 397712
+4.5%

RX 590 outperforms RX 470 by 4% in 3DMark Ice Storm GPU.

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 HD	70 −47.1%	103 +47.1%
1440p	41 −46.3%	60 +46.3%
4K	36 −2.8%	37 +2.8%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

30−35

−21.2%

40−45
+21.2%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 −54.8%	65 +54.8%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 −132%	86 +132%
Battlefield 5	70−75 −90%	133 +90%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 −83.3%	99 +83.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 −21.2%	40−45 +21.2%
Far Cry 5	55−60 −54.5%	85 +54.5%
Far Cry New Dawn	74 −18.9%	88 +18.9%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 −66.7%	120 +66.7%
Hitman 3	60−65 −19.7%	70−75 +19.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 −62.2%	73 +62.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 −126%	77 +126%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	45−50 −73.3%	78 +73.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 −80%	72 +80%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 −28.6%	54 +28.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 −97.3%	73 +97.3%
Battlefield 5	70−75 −58.6%	111 +58.6%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 −50%	81 +50%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 −21.2%	40−45 +21.2%
Far Cry 5	55−60 −43.6%	79 +43.6%
Far Cry New Dawn	68 −22.1%	83 +22.1%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 −56.9%	113 +56.9%
Hitman 3	60−65 −19.7%	70−75 +19.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 −22.2%	55 +22.2%
Metro Exodus	30−35 −52.9%	52 +52.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 −14.7%	39 +14.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	45−50 −57.8%	71 +57.8%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	70 −25.7%	88 +25.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 −47.5%	59 +47.5%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +7.7%	39 −7.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 −67.6%	62 +67.6%
Battlefield 5	70−75 −42.9%	100 +42.9%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 −21.2%	40−45 +21.2%
Far Cry 5	61 −21.3%	74 +21.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	63 −20.6%	76 +20.6%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 −26.4%	91 +26.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	40 −27.5%	51 +27.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 +14.3%	35 −14.3%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	30−35 −80.6%	56 +80.6%
Hitman 3	30−35 −20.6%	40−45 +20.6%
Horizon Zero Dawn	27−30 −32.1%	37 +32.1%
Metro Exodus	20−22 −55%	31 +55%
Red Dead Redemption 2	16−18 −56.3%	25 +56.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 −22.2%	30−35 +22.2%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 −18.2%	24−27 +18.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	20−22 −175%	55 +175%
Battlefield 5	45−50 −17.4%	50−55 +17.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 −25%	14−16 +25%
Far Cry 5	43 +2.4%	40−45 −2.4%
Far Cry New Dawn	46 −26.1%	58 +26.1%
Forza Horizon 4	40−45 −16.3%	50−55 +16.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 −26.1%	27−30 +26.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion	14−16 −66.7%	25 +66.7%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	16−18 −93.8%	31 +93.8%
Hitman 3	18−20 −21.1%	21−24 +21.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn	14−16 +40%	10 −40%
Metro Exodus	12−14 −58.3%	19 +58.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−12 −45.5%	16 +45.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	14−16 −71.4%	24 +71.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 −45.5%	32 +45.5%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	12−14 −46.2%	19 +46.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	10−12 −282%	42 +282%
Battlefield 5	24−27 −66.7%	40 +66.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −50%	6−7 +50%
Far Cry 5	16−18 −41.2%	24 +41.2%
Far Cry New Dawn	24 −29.2%	31 +29.2%
Forza Horizon 4	27−30 −58.6%	46 +58.6%
Watch Dogs: Legion	9−10 −44.4%	13 +44.4%

This is how RX 470 and RX 590 compete in popular games:

RX 590 is 47.1% faster than RX 470 in 1080p
RX 590 is 46.3% faster than RX 470 in 1440p
RX 590 is 2.8% faster than RX 470 in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Horizon Zero Dawn, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the RX 470 is 40% faster than the RX 590.
in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RX 590 is 282% faster than the RX 470.

All in all, in popular games:

RX 470 is ahead in 4 tests (6%)
RX 590 is ahead in 64 tests (94%)

Advantages and disadvantages

Performance score	20.90	24.43
Recency	4 August 2016	15 November 2018
Cost	$179	$279
Chip lithography	14 nm	12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	175 Watt