AMD Radeon RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT in review – The Raytracing-free coffin nail from Vega and up to 2.1 GHz clock under water

Summary

First, let's put aside the story with the price and focus on the purely technical. If you look only at pure gaming performance, the Radeon RX 5700 XT sorted only 3% behind a Radeon VII, which becomes obsolete about the price alone, even if the large HBM2 memory is still tempting. The Radeon RX 5700 XT is also well behind a GeForce RTX 2070 Super, although this can vary greatly from game to game. At least the revamped RTX 2070 with the S on the label has obviously fulfilled the purpose of salting AMD a little bit of the soup. Because a normal GeForce RTX 2070 can be created with approx. 7% distance behind you.

This looks similar with the Radeon XT 5700, because while the normal GeForce RTX 2060 6GB is still well under control, the GeForce RTX 2060 Super with its 8GB memory will be nothing more. However, the backlog in the sum of the games is not quite as extreme as initially suspected, on the contrary. If you look at the pure performance in relation to the "old" GeForce RTX 2070 FE, it was quite a "matter of honor" for Nvidia to squeeze new products in between.

Let's come to the well-received sentence "Runs still and sucks like a hole…". AMD has made up ground. The power consumption of the respective class opponents is not as far apart as feared, because the Radeon RX 5700 XT is not far from the GeForce RTX 2070 Super. The distance between the Radeon RX 5700 and the GeForce RTX 2060 Super is already slightly larger. But both arrears also reflect the performance differences in the end.

Nevertheless, you have to certify THAT AMD has taken an astonishing step forward. How much soil could be made up, you can use the RX Vega 64 and also the Radeon VII. There are now not only worlds, but already a small galaxy in between. You really have to praise AMD, because a smaller structure width does not automatically mean higher efficiency. This has been a good success and especially in the Idle you have even caught up with Nvidia. slightly overtaken. That means something.

Without Raytracing you can certainly live very well at the moment, but it remains to be seen whether the radiation hype train will get even further. Then at least you have one feature less on the menu. From which can then be compensated again via the price, the next analysis shows. The prize/performance winner is still called RX Vega 64, but considering that the card is not only EOL, but also no longer sees a trick against both Navi cards. you really have to think about whether it's still a bargain. The casual gambler will certainly be happy with this, however. But it's nothing for the future.

What is astonishing is that the two AMD cards are almost equal in the P/L ratio. Which in turn proves that our benchmarks (a) can't be so wrong and the manufacturer (b) has its prices pretty good. Even if the lead is not great, the GeForce RTX 2060 Super is still the winner, while the RTX 2070 Super can be clearly beaten. Despite the tie, I consider the Radeon RX 5700 XT to be the better and more interesting of the two Navigation maps.

It is not much more expensive and in relation to the price also faster than the RX 5700, but it can be overclocked much better and also has significantly more reserves. From this point of view, the prices are at least right among themselves, even if the GeForce RTX 2060 Super somewhat steals the show from both Navi cards.

The two reference models are of course only a first indication, because the board partner cards will certainly be able to solve my criticisms in terms of the lukewarm development and the GPU temperatures more elegantly. That is why I am not going to go into this further here. Because if someone buys reference cards, it's safe because of water cooling. And the boards have to certify that they are smart layouted and have been really well stocked. So there is no need to make any compromises

 

Conclusion

Catch up yes, caught up (yet) not quite. But at least you are at last close enough to be able to play again. And if Nvidia hadn't been able to do everything possible, they could even have beaten the targeted opponents this time. That alone is an announcement and announcement, even if it still has a bit of a bit of a bit of a crack in the finish. The drivers are an imposition, Wattman unusable and many games will probably taste better only over time of the two Radeons. The fact that Afterburner offers itself quite randomly and purely voluntarily as a replacement for Wattman is also a matter with a certain side taste. The reference to mid-July for a working OC driver is no real consolation.

Navi will find its buyers, I am very sure, even if the current reference cards only seem suitable for water games or various workstations. At the latest with the appearance of the first custom models of the board partners, some movement will come into the market again. hopefully. In this case, however, the winner is already the potential customer, one way or another. Those who have just bought will of course be annoyed with red and green. But this can also happen to you when buying a car. From this point of view, the next weeks and months will finally remain exciting again. That's better than a sluggish summer hole.