AMD is very confident unveiling their next line of video cards, the Radeon RX 500 series. Same as the past video card lineup refreshes, this new series is based on Polaris, AMD’s existing graphics processing unit (GPU) architecture. In previous generation refreshes such as the AMD Radeon 300 series, the company has bumped up clock speeds while twitching prices and the Radeon RX 500 series is no exception.
According to PCWorld, the new Radeon RX 500 Series is a perfect complement to AMD’s new Ryzen 5 processors. The new products are based on the same Polaris graphics processors seen last year, with the difference of a new low-end GPU focused only on e-sports and home theater PCs. As noted by AMD, "Polaris refined and evolved."
- The Radeon RX 580 has a 1,256MHz base and 1,366MHz boost clock. Bracing those units of frequency brings the rated TDP up from 150W to 185W.
- The Radeon RX 570 has a 1,168MHz base and 1,244MHz boost clock. Compared to the Radeon RX 470, that's only a mild increase since it has 1,206MHz maximum clock. Hust like the RX 5850, that extra hertz isn’t free, as the TDP as well increases from 120W to 150W.
- The Radeon RX 560 has a 1,175MHz base and 1,275MHz boost clock. With that quantity, it provides a decent bump compared to the RX 460. In addition to that, it is also the full-fledged version of the Polaris 11 GPU. AMD declined to share more features about this card but it is surely better than the RX 400 series last year.
- The Radeon RX 550 is a totally new model created to appeal to e-sports gamers as well as home theater computers. It’s actually half of an RX 560 and a third of an RX 570 since it has 1,183MHz boost speed. It won’t require a supplemental power connector, just your motherboard.
According to CNET, the new AMD products are available this week but not the RX 560, which will be available in early next month. The cost of the RX 550 will start at $80. The RX 560 goes for $100 while the RX 570 costs $170 for 4GB. The RX 580 costs $200 for 4GB and $230 for 8GB.
