NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 vs AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 590
9,166.59% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6950 XT688% better
72,227.569% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 688% better performance than the GeForce GTX 590 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 590
13.118% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6950 XT401% better
65.7241% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 401% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 590 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop GeForce GTX 590
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Summary

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About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q1 2011 with a MSRP of $699. It is built on the Fermi 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GF110) and is manufactured on a 40 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 590 has 1,536 MB of GDDR5 memory, with a 854 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 164 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The GTX 590 includes 512 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 607 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 64 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 48 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GTX 590 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, mini-DisplayPort display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 750 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 365 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The GTX 590 has the 188th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 8.76% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 9,166.5 score and $699 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 13.11. This is the 93rd best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT GPU

The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q2 2022 with a MSRP of $1,099. It is built on the RDNA 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Navi 21) and is manufactured on a 7 nm process.

Memory

The RX 6950 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 2,250 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 576 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The RX 6950 XT includes 5,120 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,860 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,310 MHz. It usually operates at 2,100 MHz during typical gaming workloads. Complementing the processing units are 320 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 128 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 80 ray accelerators dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RX 6950 XT is a large graphics card, occupying 3 PCIe 4.0 x16 expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. With a thermal design power (TDP) of 335 W and a large, 3-slot size, it is recommended to use a power supply of 700 W and a case with sufficient space to accommodate the card. Compare your card's model and your case's dimensions to verify compatibility.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RX 6950 XT has the 8th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 69.05% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 72,227.5 score and $1,099 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 65.72. This is the 48th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

General Info

General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.

InfoGeForce GTX 590Radeon RX 6950 XT
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureFermi 2.0RDNA 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ1 2011Q2 2022
Launch Price (MSRP)$699$1,099
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for F1 24
F1 24
Display FPS for Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Display FPS for Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima
Display FPS for Dragon's Dogma 2
Dragon's Dogma 2
Display FPS for Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West
Display FPS for Alone in the Dark (2024)
Alone in the Dark (2024)
Display FPS for Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest

FPS Benchmarks

This table showcases the average frame rate (FPS) achieved both GPUs in at various resolutions. Frame rate is a crucial indicator of how smoothly the GPU can run the game. A higher FPS generally translates to a smoother gameplay experience.

  • Frames Per Second
FPS data for F1 24
F1 24
GeForce GTX 590Radeon RX 6950 XT
Low - 1080p
--
534 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
517 FPS
High - 1080p
--
407 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
96 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
62 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
30 FPS
FPS Source: Notebookcheck

Compare Frames Per Second (FPS)

The average frame rate (FPS) in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, higher FPS results in a smoother gameplay experience.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 590 orRadeon RX 6950 XT

Compare Cost Per Frame

The average cost per frame in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. Generally, a lower cost per frame implies better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 590 orRadeon RX 6950 XT
GPUCost Per Frame
Radeon RX 7900 XTX21.44-41%
GeForce RTX 408021.8-40%
Radeon RX 7900 XT24.3-33%
Radeon RX 680028.11-23%
Radeon RX 6950 XT36.39
GeForce RTX 309037.01+2%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 590
9,166.59% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6950 XT688% better
72,227.569% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 688% better performance than the GeForce GTX 590 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 590 is ranked 188th with a score of 9,166.5, and the Radeon RX 6950 XT is ranked 8th with a score of 72,227.5.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 590
13.118% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6950 XT401% better
65.7241% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 401% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 590 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 590 is ranked 93rd with a performance per dollar of 13.11, and the Radeon RX 6950 XT is ranked 48th with a performance per dollar of 65.72.

Relative Performance

The average score in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 590 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti75,612+725%
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER74,834+716%
Radeon RX 6950 XT72,227.5+688%
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti69,481+658%
GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER68,373+646%
GeForce GTX 68010,216.5+11%
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti9,453+3%
GeForce GTX 5909,166.5
GeForce GTX 10508,571-6%
Radeon R7 3708,518.5-7%

Relative Value For Money

The average performance per dollar in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. A higher score implies a better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 590 or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
GeForce RTX 408071.95+449%
GeForce RTX 3080 (12 GB)70.88+441%
Radeon RX 6950 XT65.72+401%
GeForce RTX 409065.41+399%
Radeon RX 6900 XT59.18+351%
Radeon HD 687017.65+35%
Radeon HD 797014.15+8%
GeForce GTX 59013.11
GeForce GTX 47012.44-5%
Radeon HD 645011.33-14%

Benchmark Scores

This table showcases the average performance scores achieved by both GPUs across industry-standard benchmark tests. These scores provide a valuable insight into overall performance. Powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

  • Popular
BenchmarkGeForce GTX 590Radeon RX 6950 XT
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
22,004
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
20,574
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
--
229,172
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
--
59,882
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
--
186,146
3DMark 11 Performance Score
8,057.5
48,816.5
(+505.85%)
PassMark G3D Mark
3,341
28,182
(+743.52%)
PassMark G2D Mark
396
1,035
(+161.36%)
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

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Graphics Processor

General information about the graphics processing unit like their architecture, manufacturing process size, and transistor count. Newer GPU architectures generally bring efficiency improvements and may introduce technologies that enhance graphical capabilities.

SpecGeForce GTX 590Radeon RX 6950 XT
CodenameGF110Navi 21
ArchitectureFermi 2.0RDNA 2.0
Process Size40 nm7 nm
Transistors3,000 million26,800 million

Memory Details

Memory specifications like their capacity, bandwidth, and clock speeds. GPU memory stores graphics data like frames, textures, and shadows which helps display rendered images. These specs are crucial for graphics-intense applications like gaming and 3D modeling.

SpecGeForce GTX 590Radeon RX 6950 XT
Memory Size1,536 MB16 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth164 Gb/s576 Gb/s
Memory Clock854 MHz2,250 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit256 bit
L1 Cache64 KB128 KB
L2 Cache768 KB4 MB

Board Compatibility

Compatibility information like their slot size, bus interface, power consumption, and display support. These specs are useful for verifying compatibility with your motherboard, power supply, and monitor.

SpecGeForce GTX 590Radeon RX 6950 XT
Slots2 slots3 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)365 W335 W
Suggested PSU750 W700 W
Power Connectors2x 8-pin2x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, mini-DisplayPortHDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a

Cores & Clock Speeds

Processing power information like its cores and clock speed. These specs impact how fast they can process graphics. Each type of core or component serves a specific computational purpose.

SpecGeForce GTX 590Radeon RX 6950 XT
Stream Processors (SP)--5,120
CUDA Cores512--
Compute Units (CU)--80
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)16--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)64320
Render Output Units (ROP)48128
Ray Accelerators--80
Core Clock Speed607 MHz1,860 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)--2,310 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Game)--2,100 MHz

Theoretical Performance

Theoretical performance numbers derived from the raw specifications of the different components like core count and clock speeds. While these provide a glimpse into peak processing power, they do not represent real-world performance.

SpecGeForce GTX 590Radeon RX 6950 XT
Pixel Fill Rate19.46 GPixel/s295.7 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate38.91 GTexel/s739.2 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance1,244 GFLOPS23.65 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance155.5 GFLOPS1,478 GFLOPS

API Support

Graphics API versions supported by these graphics cards. APIs evolve over time, introducing new features and functionalities. Older GPUs may not support recent versions.

SpecGeForce GTX 590Radeon RX 6950 XT
DirectX12 (11_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenCL1.12.1
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model5.16.8

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* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.