The RX 5700 XT is the best AMD GPU you can get right now

Best AMD GPUs Windows Central 2020

Best Overall: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT

The RX 5700 XT isn’t the outright most powerful GPU that AMD makes right now, but on balance, it’s the best of all. For one, it’s based on the latest generation Navi 7nm architecture, and while 4K gaming is still out of reach in most cases, at 1440p, this is a strong GPU for high frame rates and detail.

There are several manufacturer-customized versions out there, but the base specs are pretty impressive. At its heart, you’ll find 40 compute units, 2560 stream processors, a base frequency of 1605 MHz and a peak single-precision compute performance of 9.75 TFLOPs. The RX 5700 XT also supports PCIe 4.0 when paired with a compatible motherboard.

It’s backed by 8GB of GDDR6 memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 448 GB/s, and display outputs include both HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.4 with FreeSync supported over both. The balance of price and performance currently makes this the Radeon to buy.

The RX 590 is from the previous generation of Radeon GPUs, but when shopping on a tighter budget, it’s well worth consideration over something like an RX 5500 XT. Compared to the RX 5500 XT, the RX 590 edges raw performance in several games, and price-wise is usually similar to the 4GB version of the 5500 XT while having twice the amount of VRAM.

At 1080p, you’ll be able to drive high details and above 60 FPS in a heap of games, and you’re given a range of display outputs that include DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI, and DVI-D. Core specs include 36 compute units, 2304 stream processors, a base frequency of 1469 MHz, and a maximum compute performance up to 7.1 TFLOPs.

It’s based on the older 12nm architecture and uses GDDR5 memory over GDDR6. Still, while it can outperform AMD’s current budget offering for similar or even less money, it’s a smart buy for those on a tighter budget.

Technically speaking, the Radeon VII has been discontinued after a short run, but it’s still available, and on specs alone, it’s AMD’s current most potent, range-topping GPU. It doesn’t use the same Navi architecture as the RX 5700 XT, but it was proudly AMD’s first 7nm GPU.

The Radeon VII is quite the beastly thing. For one, it has 16GB of memory, and it’s using HBM2 as AMD used on its Vega 56 and 64 GPUs rather than the more commonly found GDDR6. There are no custom designs to speak of, with all manufacturer-branded variants following the same triple fan design. Gaming performance isn’t a massive stretch beyond the RX 5700 XT in a lot of cases, but if you’re looking for a lot of VRAM, this has what you need.

Specs include a core clock of 1400 MHz and a boost clock of 1750 MHz, but if you’re fine with tweaking (and you probably are if you’re buying one of these), you can squeeze a little extra performance reasonably easily. Display outputs include HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.4, and it is capable of gaming at 4K.

If you’re targeting a strong 1080p build based on Radeon that’s also keeping the budget in check, then the RX 5600 XT should be your choice. It sits between the RX 5500 XT and RX 5700 in the lineup and is based on the same 7nm Navi architecture as both. The RX 5600 XT comes with 6GB of GDDR6 memory, 36 compute units, and a peak performance of 7.19 TFLOPs.

It also supports FreeSync 2 over both DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0b as with its bigger brothers, as well as HDR, 4K video output, and works with the latest software features like Radeon Chill and image sharpening.

1080p really is the limit for this card, though, in some games, you will be able to step up to 1440p. The price is extremely attractive, and there are several smaller designs from hardware partners, which means the RX 5600 XT is also a good shout for those building a smaller gaming PC.

Bottom line

AMD’s current lineup of GPUs has a lot going for it, with reliable performance and a great price possible whatever type of PC you want to put together. But if you want the best of the bunch, then you want the RX 5700 XT.

Its gaming performance isn’t a massive amount behind the Radeon VII while costing significantly less to buy, and it’s based on AMD’s latest architecture with support for all the newest software features and hardware ones like PCIe 4.0.

Your best bet is getting one of the third-party versions, of which there is a good selection, but if you’re putting together a red team build right now, especially if you’re targeting 1440p gaming, then its easily the one to buy.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide