AMD Radeon: 5700 series vs. Vega family - a comparison

With the Vega graphics cards, AMD was able to play in the upper segment in 2018, but there were still many points of criticism. The 5700 series appeared in 2019 and should reduce the gap to Nvidia. We compare the graphics cards in their most important features.

In all respects: AMD's 5700 graphics cards are a clear step forward.

Gaming in 1440p resolution is becoming more and more standard. While much cheaper graphics cards are already sufficient for 1080p, the 5700 models are designed for 1440p just like the Vega graphics cards - depending on the title, even 4K gaming is possible.

AMD Radeon RX 5700 vs. Vega: These are the strengths and weaknesses

Both the Radeon 5700 and Vega graphics cards come in two flavors:

• Vega 56 and Vega 64
• Radeon 5700 and Radeon 5700 XT

The pattern is the same in both cases: Vega 56 and Radeon 5700 are cheaper than their bigger siblings, but they are also a bit weaker. For those currently interested in buying a Radeon graphics card, the comparison between the series is especially important:

• The 5700 cards are significantly more compact than their Vega relatives due to 7nm manufacturing. Fewer transistors are included and different cores are used.
• As a result, RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT are about 20 percent faster than Vega 56 and Vega 64.
• At the same time, they have better heat generation, consume less power and are quieter. The normal RX 5700 has a TDP of 185 watts, the XT comes to 225 watts - the Vega 64 has 295 watts.
• In all technical aspects, the 5700 models are thus the hoped-for leap forward. The XT variant even beats the GeForce RTX 2080 in many benchmarks (but not the Ti variant).
• The Vega cards can score in terms of price-performance ratio, though: A Vega 64 is now already available for around 350 Euros, the 5700 XT costs just under 500 Euros in the Asus version.

It is thus not least a question of budget, but if the money is available, the RX-5700 series clearly represents the more modern and superior choice.