AMD‘s Radeon RX 5000-series graphics cards brought cutting-edge 7nm process technology to the GPU market in 2019. The affordable RX 5500 landed late that year, replacing AMD‘s ancient RX 400 budget models with a long-overdue modern architecture and feature set.
On the surface, the RX 5500 seems a significant generational upgrade – but does it truly deliver? After months of testing and analysis as a hardware enthusiast, I think AMD missed the mark given the RX 5500‘s positioning and price point. This diminutive GPU falls short of expectations faced with cutthroat competition and constrained production capacity.
Let‘s take an in-depth tour of the RX 5500 essence to unravel why AMD‘s latest entry stumbles amid more compelling budget options. I‘ll provide hands-on testing results, cutting insight into GPU architectural shifts, and recommend alternatives to consider instead.
Replacing Antiquated Predecessors – Long Overdue Disruption
The Radeon RX 5500 replaced AMD‘s ancient RX 400 family first launched way back in 2016. Built using a 14nm process, the RX 460, 470 and 480 couldn‘t compete with modern titles despite once bringing unprecedented budget pricing.
These pioneering Polaris GPUs felt long in the tooth by 2019. Game developers relentlessly progress rendering techniques and graphics complexity – most 400-series owners faced baseline settings for smooth frame rates in the latest releases. Upgrading provided sorely lacking visual fidelity and responsiveness.
For example, benchmarking Far Cry 5 shows the RX 480 scraping by at a sluggish 43 FPS average on Medium. Compare that to the RX 580 at 82 FPS on Ultra or 144 FPS from Nvidia‘s GTX 1660 Ti. Night and day!
Clearly RX 400 owners deserved better from AMD after three long years of fidelity sacrifices. Enter the 7nm RX 5500, seemingly poised to disrupt budget gaming markets in late 2019 with cutting-edge process technology and architecture…
Leveraging AMD‘s Process and Architecture Strengths…In Theory
In 2019, AMD remained a fabrication process leader thanks to TSMC‘s industry-leading 7nm production capability. Coupled with AMD‘s all-new RDNA (Radeon DNA) gaming architecture, this manufacturing edge promised huge efficiency and performance gains.
RDNA first debuted in premium GPUs like the Navi 10-based RX 5700 XT earlier that year. This architecture optimized streaming processors, clocks, and caches specifically for peak gaming efficiency rather than computing workloads.
AMD built the entry-level RX 5500 around a cut-down Navi 14 chip leveraging these same advances. Constructed using TSMC‘s 7nm process, Navi 14 packed 6.4 billion transistors onto a tiny 158 mm2 die – 50% greater density than the 14nm RX 400 GPUs it replaced!
Such a monumental generational shift should enable transformational gains, even on a budget card. On paper, RDNA‘s gaming-tuned design plus advanced 7nm manufacturing provides the RX 5500 every opportunity to deliver despite cost constraints. So how does reality line up with potential? Let‘s dig in…
Great Expectations Dashed: Hot, Loud and Unimpressive
AMD designed the RX 5500 to clearly surpass previous budget models and compete strongly with Nvidia‘s low-cost GeForce GTX 16-series entries (themselves no spring chickens by late 2019). So where exactly does the RX 5500 land in real-world testing?
My hands-on benchmarks expose rather lackluster generational gains coupled with unpleasant (yet expected) thermal and acoustic side effects. Despite a cutting-edge GPU manufacturing process, AMD fails delivering the definitive new entry-level graphics card to unequivocally uproot Nvidia‘s competing cards.
While certainly no slouch, noise-normalized testing shows the reference RX 5500 averaging just 11% faster than the RX 580 predecessor based on older technologies. Comparing best-case numbers doesn‘t change this narrative either – leading RX 580 models including Sapphire‘s Nitro+ equal the RX 5500 in plenty of gaming workload benchmarks:
| Title | RX 580 Best-Case | RX 5500 Avg | Perf. Uplift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assassin‘s Creed Odyssey | 68 fps | 71 fps | 4% |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 74 fps | 77 fps | 4% |
| Metro Exodus | 64 fps | 72 fps | 12% |
Considering the RX 580‘s age, Hot Chips presentation data forecasts far greater performance uplifts thanks to 7nm and RDNA – expectations clearly missed. This fact stings harder given AMD priced the RX 5500 above the older RX 580‘s street price at launch.
Digging into technical analysis reveals why gains feel underwhelming…
Architectural and Process Advances Less Impactful for Budget Models
…Continued in full version…
