AMD launches its 12 nm Radeon RX 590 for gamers who don’t need a Vega series GPU
Nov 15, 2018 20:57 PM IST
AMD just launched the Radeon RX 590, a new mid-range GPU to cater to those who aren’t looking to shell out a lot of cash on AMD’s Vega series GPUs. The retail price is expected to be around $279 (approximately Rs 20,000) and will be on sale globally starting 15 November.
The Radeon RX 590 is the first AMD card produced using a 12 nm process, allowing the card to reach significantly faster clock speeds than it’s predecessor, the RX 580. The company is using the same architecture but AMD claims that the Radeon RX 590 provides more than 15 percent faster clock speeds (1,469 MHz base) and higher peak compute performance (1,545 MHz) than the Radeon RX 580.
The Radeon RX 590 like most other AMD GPUs, features support for FreeSync. Image: AMD
What does this mean for gamers? Well, AMD claims that RX 590 graphics card is capable of frame rates up to 60 fps or higher in the most popular AAA titles, as well as up to 100 FPS in popular eSports titles when playing at 1080p resolution. However, the new GPU does require 40W more power when compared to the $229 RX 580.
Essentially, the RX 590 is intended to slot right between the RX 580 and the Vega 56, providing decent frame rates for 1080p gaming with a little more leeway to play at higher settings, without the extra cost and features of AMD’s Vega chips. When compared to Nvidia’s offerings, the RX 590 is expected to offer better performance than the 6 GB GTX 1060.
The total bandwidth here is rated at 7.1 gigaflops and all Radeon RX 590 graphics cards will have 8 GB of GDDR5 RAM on a 256-bit memory bus. As with all current crop of AMD GPUs, there is support for FreeSync monitors. Software features also include AMD Radeon ReLive for recording and streaming gameplay as well as Radeon Chill which caps and regulates frame rates for better power management.
AMD is also introducing a new game bundle that it calls the ‘Raise the Game Fully Loaded bundle“. This offers gamers PC versions of Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry 5 and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 together for free with the purchase of a Radeon RX Vega or Radeon RX 590 graphics card or a fully built PC.
Gamers purchasing a Radeon RX 580 or Radeon RX 570 graphics cards and/or fully built PCs also get the option of choosing among two of the three games for free.