Conclusion

...Radeon RX 590, therefore, is an overclocked Radeon RX 580 which is an overclocked Radeon RX 480.

AMD breathes new life into its mainstream Polaris GPU architecture by moving it to a 12nm manufacturing process, representing the first time such a node has been used on cards in this segment.

Though no obvious changes in architecture have occurred since the original Polaris XT (Radeon RX 480) launch in June 2016, this latest GPU, Radeon RX 590, kicks up the core clock by over 20 per cent.

One can argue that is not anywhere near enough progression in over two years, but AMD has no other viable choice if it is increase performance without incurring the costly exercise of rearchitecting cores and the memory subsystem. It is fortunate for AMD that rival Nvidia hasn't replaced the rival GeForce GTX 1060 in that same two-year time frame. Stagnation in the upper-mainstream market, clearly.

Radeon RX 590, therefore, is an overclocked Radeon RX 580 which is an overclocked Radeon RX 480. Architecture aside, RX 590 is a very competent performer at 1080p and does well enough at 1440p, which is exactly where AMD wants it to excel. In an ideal AMD world, this card would be paired with a QHD FreeSync screen for high-quality, tear-free gaming.

The Radeon RX 590 represents a relatively quick method of gaining an extra 10 per cent performance over the RX 580(X). And given its similar pricing, the RX 590 is generally ahead of the GTX 1060 6GB.

The XFX Fatboy review card is actually a pretty good example of what 12nm lets you do. A 1,580MHz core clock, stable across games, is about as good as RX 590 is going to get, and should it come in at, or below, that £250 price point, it's a good, safe bet for solid gaming at the lovely QHD resolution, especially with the three decent games thrown into the mix.

The Good		The Bad
Solid performance at QHD Easy transition for partners Three decent free games XFX card clocked in well Good price (£250)		No architecture innovation Remains wattage thirsty Relatively noisy and hot

AMD Radeon RX 590 GPU

HEXUS.where2buy*

The reviewed card is available from Scan Computers.

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Roughly half the performance of the 1080 Ti for the same power consumption….no thanks. With GTX2060 surely on the horizon, who in their right mind would buy this?

I would have preferred RX480 performance with less power consumption and tweaking.

Also what a strange selection of cards to compare this too. Putting a 2080 Ti in the same charts, a card that costs ~ 4.5 to 5 times as much as the RX590?

Surely comparing to the RX470, RX480, RX560, RX570, RX580, GTX1050 Ti, GTX1060 3Gb, GTX1060 6Gb, GTX1070, GTX1080, GTX2070 would make more sense? Cards directly above and below it in the performance pecking order?

Even if the GTX1060 is slightly worse performing, I'd still opt to buy it over the RX590 for the 115W load power saving and subsequent quieter performance. I hope 7nm can help AMD up their TDP game.

cptwhite_uk
I hope 7nm can help AMD up their TDP game.

I think we're more likely to see 2v of core voltage through the RX 790, consuming as much power as a small village, before we see them competitive in the TDP arena.

why do people buy old architecture? in the end doing so halts innovation, it allows amd to get away with it. much in the same way as Intel did for a very long time when it had no competition years ago. dont buy amd cards, make them produce better, newer architecture, then buy.

I think this price will go down very fast. Probably as soon as those three games that are offered are no more.
You could almost buy this card for those games, and sell it brand new for 100 less and you would be winner. And the person that is buying the card from you.