Best AMD Radeon RX 580 Graphics Card in 2022
We pick from the best of the bunch of RX580s out there
Today, we’re going to guide you through buying the best RX 580. The AMD RX 580 was our top value pick in 2019, thanks to its stellar 1080p performance and strong performance in 1440p/VR games.
However, there’s more to buying a GPU than just grabbing the first thing you see called an RX 580. The nature of graphics cards means that there are multiple RX 580s out there, with different cooling setups, different sizes, and ultimately different performance levels. While the performance between the RX 580s shouldn’t change by too much, these will all come at different factory overclocks, which can have an impact on performance by as much as ~8%.
Let’s introduce the contenders.
Our Top Picks
How Will These Cards Perform?
In-depth Review
XFX RX 580 GTS Black Edition
XFX RX 580 GTS Black Edition
XFX is one of the top manufacturers for Radeon GPUs, and their 580 GTS Black Edition effectively shows why. Boasting a sleek, black cooler design with dual fans, XFX’s 580 wouldn’t look out of place in any high-end gaming PC. The addition of a Dual BIOS feature also makes it suitable for more than just gaming, as well…
…yeah, we’re talking cryptocurrency mining. With the ability to switch your BIOs with a flip of a switch, you can switch the card between gaming mode and mining mode with barely an afterthought. If you want a high-end gaming experience but aren’t always playing games, doing GPU mining is a great way to use your graphics card outside of gaming hours.
That being said, crypto mining isn’t quite as profitable as it used to be. Think of it as a fringe benefit in this case, rather than a selling point.
ASUS ROG STRIX RX 580
ASUS ROG STRIX RX 580
The ROG Strix is the most feature-packed of these GPUs by a considerable margin, and has a higher price tag to match.
First, let’s get this part out of the way: the cooler. ROG STRIX pretty much offers the best cooling in the industry. A part of this can definitely be explained with ASUS’ excellent, efficient cooling design…but a larger part is probably the sheer, massive size of the cooler, boasting three fans and a massive heatsink. With a cooler this large, there’s no way the card wouldn’t have good cooling.
Aside from having the best cooling of the RX 580s, the Asus ROG STRIX actually offers plenty of other great features. For instance, its out-of-box factory overclock is actually the second-highest on this list, which means that it should perform close to our previous option. In fact, once you add user overclocks to the equation, you may actually be able to push performance higher on this setup than any other thanks to the larger cooler preventing overheating.
On top of all that, you also have RGB lighting and quieter operation, thanks to the lower temps…until you start overclocking or pushing the GPU to its limits.
The main downsides of this card are found in its price, which is higher than your usual 580, and its sheer size. You’re going to need a decent-sized case to hold this one, so make sure your case has what it takes before taking the plunge.
MSI Gaming RADEON RX 580 8GB
MSI Gaming RADEON RX 580 8GB
If you don’t have a lot of room in your PC and don’t care for extra frills, the MSI ARMOR RX 580 is a pretty solid choice. While it has the second-lowest clock speed of all the entries on this list, that shouldn’t translate to a massive difference in overall performance.
Just think of this one as a small, entry-level RX 580. Everything we said about the RX 580 prior concerning its performance still applies to this card. However, the small size does come at a cost: a smaller cooler. With a smaller cooler, you’ll get slightly higher temps and won’t have nearly as much overclocking headroom as you may have on some of the other entries on this list.
If you’re willing to look past that, however, well, you still got yourself a great graphics card.
XFX GTS XXX Edition RX 580 4GB
XFX GTS XXX Edition RX 580 4GB
This is the most compromised card on this list, and we only recommend this compromise if the other options we’ve listed are significantly more expensive or you’re absolutely sure you won’t be gaming above 1080p for the next two or three years. This is a niche choice, but still a niche important enough to cover.
If you opt for this card, you will have more difficulty at higher resolutions or while playing VR games. At 1080p, your performance should remain about the same, though.
PowerColor RED Dragon RX 580
PowerColor RED Dragon RX 580
Last but not necessarily least is our budget option. We’ll be honest: aside from the 4GB option, this card should be outperformed by every other card on this list (albeit only marginally). If all you want is an RX 580 8GB for as cheap as possible, though, the PowerColor RED Dragon should offer exactly that, with prices trending as low as $200 flat on some days.
The big downside of this card is in the cooling, which…isn’t great. This card will run hotter than the other options we’ve listed, but this shouldn’t be a massive problem if your case has good airflow and you aren’t overclocking it past its factory overclock.
Final Word
Ultimately, despite these being the best RX 580 cards, which of these cards is best depends on you.
- If you want the best out of box performance, get the XFX GTS Black Edition.
- If you want the best cooling and overclocking headroom, get the ROG STRIX.
- If you want a card suited for a smaller build, get the MSI ARMOR card,
- If you only game at 1080p/want to save some money, XFX GTS XXX Edition.
- If you’re on a very tight budget, get the PowerColor RED Dragon Edition.
Personally, we’d go for the ROG Strix… as long as it’s on sale. However, as long as you buy the card that matches your needs, then you can’t go wrong with any of the GPUs on this list.
You can check out our GPU Hierarchy right here.
Comment below and let us know: which you prefer? Do you have experience with any of these? Or have you used another RX 580 with great results?