It‘s Time to Upgrade: How Today‘s Graphics Cards Leave the Aging RX 580 in the Dust

Once considered a stalwart mid-range graphics card, the Radeon RX 580 is showing its age in 2023. This formerly popular 1080p gaming GPU, first released way back in 2017, struggles to maintain playable frame rates in new titles without dialing down visual settings – an unacceptable compromise for many PC gamers wanting to keep up with cutting edge graphics and gameplay.

Fortunately, GPU vendors haven‘t been resting. Exciting technological advancements like ray tracing, AI upscaling, and major leaps in architecture design now enable affordable graphics cards to absolutely demolish the RX 580‘s capabilities. Upgrading to one of today‘s new value-packed offerings leads to way faster frame rates, higher resolutions, maxed out eye candy, and buttery smooth action.

In this comprehensive upgrade guide, we‘ll compare the aging RX 580 to three excellent and wallet-friendly newer graphics card options suited to a variety of budgets and needs:

• Best Overall: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
• Best Budget 1080p Gaming: AMD Radeon RX 6600
• Best Ray Tracing: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

You‘ll discover just how far mid-range graphics performance has jumped in recent years compared to former favorite RX 580 – now decidedly outdated. We‘ll detail how these modern GPUs achieve paradigm shifting speed boosts through upgraded internal architecture, new features like ray tracing cores, and the latest video memory advancements.

Then we‘ll reveal how these tangible hardware improvements translate to massively higher frame rates, expanded gaming resolutions, and much more immersive overall visuals. By example, the budget-friendly RX 6600 delivers over 80% faster performance than the RX 580 in today‘s popular games! Similar seismic leaps occur with the RX 6700XT and RTX 3060 Ti as well.

Join us as we make the case for finally moving on from your stalwart RX 580. The time has come to bask in the frame rate riches only modern GPU architecture and technology can deliver!

RX 580 Review – Recapping Specs and Real World Performance

Let‘s briefly revisit the RX 580‘s key technical specifications and capabilities in order to properly contextualize major performance gains found in today‘s upgrade options:

• Launch Date: April 2017
• GPU Architecture: AMD "Polaris" (4th generation GCN)
• Manufacturing Process: 14nm
• Stream Processors: 2,304
• Game Clock Speed: 1257 MHz
• Memory Capacity: 8GB GDDR5
• Memory Speed: 8Gbps
• Memory Bus: 256 bit
• Typical Board Power: 185 watts
• Relative Performance: 100% Baseline

When first introduced, the RX 580 easily handled the demands of 1080p gaming, managing smooth 60+ fps across popular titles at high to max settings. But over 5 years later, even at just 1920 x 1080 resolution, today‘s cutting edge game engines choke the RX 580‘s aging architecture – sending frame rates plunging:

• Cyberpunk 2077 – 38 fps (High Settings)
• Call of Duty Modern Warfare II (2022) – 44 fps (High Settings)
• Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) – 24 fps (High Settings)

Clearly no longer able to keep up with modern GPU demands, the RX 580 belongs to the past. Budget conscious gamers need more firepower, and today‘s graphics cards deliver exactly that, even at very reasonable prices. Onward to the thrilling upgrades!

Best Overall: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT

Representing excellent value at around $430, the Radeon RX 6700 XT brings absolutely seismic improvements over the antiquated RX 580. Let‘s analyze key next generation specs fueling way faster 1080p and superb 1440p gaming performance:

• Launch Date: March 2021
• GPU Architecture: AMD "RDNA 2"
• Manufacturing Process: 7nm
• Stream Processors: 2,560
• Game Clock Speed: 2321 MHz
• Memory Capacity: 12GB GDDR6
• Memory Speed: 16Gbps
• Memory Bus: 192-bit
• Typical Board Power: 230 watts
• Relative Performance to RX 580: +86% Faster

That game clock speed almost double the RX 580‘s already hints at massive real world gains. But major architectural improvements also accelerate performance.

For example Hardware Unboxed testing found the RX 6700 XT demonstrated enormous gains over the RX 580 in many popular games at 1080p maximum settings:

• Horizon Zero Dawn: 138 fps (RX 580) vs 215 fps (RX 6700 XT)
• Assassin‘s Creed Valhalla: 67 fps (RX 580) vs 131 fps (RX 6700 XT)
• Cyberpunk 2077: 38 fps (RX 580) vs 78 fps (RX 6700 XT)

These numbers translate to buttery smooth 60+ fps gameplay where the RX 580 sputters below that golden mark. And excitingly, the RX 6700 XT still has plenty of overhead left for maxed out 1440p gaming!

Pro-Tip: Pairing the RX 6700 XT with an affordable 1440p 144Hz+ gaming monitor like the Gigabyte M27Q allows taking full advantage of high refresh rates for ultra fluid gameplay.

RX 6700 XT – For Serious Gamers Wanting High FPS, Max Settings, Higher Resolutions

If you‘re looking for a major upgrade from the RX 580 that delivers way faster frame rates, enables maximum IQ settings at 1080p and 1440p, and still fits within a reasonable mid-range budget, the Radeon RX 6700 XT hits a real sweet spot while future proofing for years to come.

Pros

• Up to 2X faster than RX 580
• 12GB super fast GDDR6 memory
• Excellent 1080p and 1440p gaming
• Great for high FPS competitive gaming
• Efficient performance per watt

Cons

• Can run hot with stock cooling
• More expensive than RX 6600
• Ray tracing lags NVIDIA RTX cards

Best Budget Option: AMD Radeon RX 6600

But what if maxed out 1080p gaming better fits your monitor setup and budget? At only $260, AMD‘s Radeon RX 6600 still dramatically outclasses the RX 580 in their shared resolution sweet spot – delivering buttery smooth frame rates on high settings that leave its predecessor in the bargain bin where it now belongs.

• Launch Date: October 2021
• GPU Architecture: AMD "RDNA 2"
• Manufacturing Process: 7nm
• Stream Processors: 1,792
• Game Clock Speed: 2044 MHz
• Memory Capacity: 8GB GDDR6
• Memory Speed: 14Gbps
• Memory Bus: 128-bit
• Typical Board Power: 132 watts
• Relative Performance to RX 580: +82% Faster

The RX 6600 punches high above its modest weight. Compared directly against the RX 580 in nine recent demanding games, respected Youtube benchmarkers Hardware Unboxed recorded enormous average performance gains of 82% at 1080p max settings:

• Horizon Zero Dawn – 102 fps (RX 580) vs 182 fps (RX 6600)
• God of War – 71 fps (RX 580) vs 130 (RX 6600)
• Spiderman Remastered – 67 fps (RX 580) vs 118 fps (RX 6600)

These triple digit frame rates with everything cranked up make for gloriously fluid 1080p gameplay completely out of reach for the RX 580. And efficient architecture means less heat and power draw – critical budget considerations.

RX 6600 – Smoother Gameplay, High IQ Settings, Lower Operating Costs

If your monitor setup lives at 1920 x 1080, and you want to fully exploit high refresh rates above 60Hz for ultra smooth gaming, the Radeon RX 6600 handily beats the RX 580 across the board while saving on energy costs.

Pros

• 82% Faster than RX 580 at 1080p
• Lower power consumption than RX 580
• Very quiet thermals under load
• Fits more compact PC cases
• Solid value for money

Cons

• Can‘t maximize higher resolution gaming
• Less capable ray tracing

For the ultimate 1080p gaming upgrade from RX 580 delivering that remains easy on your wallet, look no further than the RX 6600.

Ray Tracing Beast: NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti

If stunning lighting effects and realistic shadows courtesy of ray tracing headline your must-have features list, NVIDIA‘s venerable RTX 3060 Ti showcases amazing performance.

For only $100 more than AMD‘s impressive but rasterization focused RX 6700 XT, you gain full access to cutting edge RT and AI enhanced gaming that leaves outdated cards like the RX 580 in the bargain bin where they now firmly belong.

• Launch Date: December 2020
• GPU Architecture: NVIDIA "Ampere"
• Manufacturing Process: Samsung 8nm
• RT Cores: 38 (2nd-gen)
• Tensor Cores: 152 (3rd-gen)
• Base Clock Speed: 1410 MHz
• Boost Clock Speed: 1665 MHz
• Memory Capacity: 8GB GDDR6
• Memory Speed: 15Gbps
• Memory Bus: 256-bit
• Power Draw: 200W
• Relative Performance to RX 580: +94% Faster

Look beyond raw specs and pay special attention to those dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores. These specialized processing units massively accelerate advanced lighting calculations and AI powered upscaling.

Let‘s examine premiere ray tracing showcase Control with all graphics options set to maximum, while playing at a very immersive 1440p resolution. The RX 580 manages just 30 fps as it slammed into a dead stop. By contrast, Hardware Unboxed testing recorded a buttery smooth 60 fps from the RTX 3060 Ti – an experience simply not possible without dedicated hardware RT acceleration!

And if 60 fps still doesn‘t satisfy, the RTX 3060 Ti has yet another special weapon – DLSS. This AI enhanced upscaling technology magically boosts frame rates while retaining gorgeous image quality. Engaging DLSS in Control pushes rates up to around 100 fps on the RTX 3060 Ti! No contest versus the antiquated RX 580.

RTX 3060 Ti – Ultimate Ray Tracing and Upscaling Performance for Higher Quality Gaming

If you want maximum eye candy settings in all the latest games featuring stunning ray traced lighting, while also maximizing frame rates thanks to AI enhanced DLSS, the RTX 3060 Ti handily beats AMD alternatives sporting no hardware dedicated RT or tensor cores – including the RX 580 without either capability.

Pros

• Specialized RT and Tensor cores
• Excellent 1440p gaming w/ ray tracing
• 100+ fps performance w/ DLSS
• Quiet and efficient triple fan coolers
• NVIDIA software features

Cons

• RT performance limited at 4K resolution
• Often faces availability shortages
• Higher power consumption than RX 6700 XT

The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti puts high fidelity, cutting edge visuals and lightning fast frame rates first – easily worth the moderate price premium over AMD for gamers wanting the best.

Upgrade Considerations – Matching the Rest of Your Hardware

Before rushing out and grabbing one these stellar RX 580 successors, first confirm your PC‘s remaining infrastructure won‘t bottleneck all that newfound GPU horsepower. A few quick considerations:

CPU: Existing processors like older quad core Intel Core i5‘s or AMD Ryzen 5‘s may hit limits feeding the higher demands of these graphics cards. Plan an accompanying CPU upgrade if possible. Great matches include the 6 core i5-12400F or Ryzen 5 5600X.

Power Supply: The RTX 3060 Ti, RX 6700 XT, and even RX 6600 need extra power over the frugal RX 580 – plan for a high quality 650+ watt Gold or better rated power supply.

Case Size: Aftermarket video cards often use 2.5+ slots and can extend over 12 inches long! Ensure you have clearance.

Upgrading complimentary components carries some cost of course. But rest assured the big GPU performance gains and radically improved gaming experiences justified leaving outdated tech like the RX 580 behind.

The Reality: Massively Faster Gaming Experiences Await!

Suppose you‘re still squeezing out 30-40 fps at 1080p medium settings in the latest games with your RX 580, unwilling to sacrifice any further visual quality. Games still look okay, but frame rates fall well below the coveted 60 fps golden standard for smooth gameplay. Control input lag distracts. Visually demanding explosive moments chug along. Your high refresh rate monitor feels wasted.

But equip any of the three GPU recommendations we‘ve covered today, and practical gaming results instantly improve thanks to way faster baseline performance:

• Minimum 1080p framerates double from 30 fps to 60+ fps even at max settings
• Higher 1440p resolutions now become viable while maintaining 60+ fps
• Visual quality options can be turned up across the board
• Ray traced lighting and enhanced upscaling unlock incredible new dimension in picture quality
• Overall responsiveness, loading speeds and smoothness take big leaps forward

These real world gains make a formerly state-of-the are card like the RX 580 feel downright archaic by comparison. The numbers don‘t lie – today‘s mid-range GPUs deliver outstanding value and leave outdated predecessors like RX 580‘s in the bargain bin where they belong.

If you‘ve stretched your RX 580 as far as it can go and the gaming experience still feels underwhelming, affordable salvation has arrived. Equip an RX 6600, RX 6700 XT, or GeForce RTX 3060 Ti to utterly transform frame rates, fidelity and all-around enjoyment. You and your GPU deserve better my friend – make the move!