Computer Shopper - UK (2020-01)

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ISSUE383|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JANUARY2020 73

GRAPHICSCARDS

INMANYWAYS,theRX5700iseverythi
you’d expect from thelesser model in a
two-strong GPUlaunch. Where theRX5 7
XT is grooved and interesting-looking, th
aplain greybox without so much as a
backplatetocover the circuitboard. W
the RX 5700 XT is running at itsfull cap i
the RX 5700 is intentionally hobbledwi
lower core count and clockspeedstha
GPU can allow for.
And yet, of these two graphics ca
long-awaited Navi line-up thatintrod
AMD’s revamped RDNA architecturrr
RX 5700 ends up as an arguably eve
dealthanits more capable sibling.

LITTLE BROTHER
Before we explainwhy,areminder of the RX
5700’s specs:ithas the same underlying
processor as the RX 5700 XT,including 8GB
of GDDR6 memory, but with only 2,304
streamprocessorsenabled,alower base clock
speed of 1,465MHz and alower maximum
boost clockspeed of 1,725MHz. AMD says
youcan more likely expectaround1,625MHz
when gaming,due to heat constraints.
This is,ifthe pricedidn’t already give it
away,amid-range graphics card, intended
bothtooutperform theGeForce RTX2060
andundercut the RTX2060 Superthat Nvidia
released shortlyafterAMD’sown launch.
By the looksofour testing, theRTX 2060
Super does have theedge on performance –
chalk that up to itsnewlyupgraded8GB of
memoryand tuned clockspeeds –but
considering howmuchcheaper theRX5700
is,we’dsay it does an awfullygood job of
making sure it never falls toofar behind.
Dirt Showdown sawour test PC’sCPU
being the limitingfactor once more,asthe RX
5700 scored 111fps at both1080pand 1440p,
bothidentical results to those of the RX 5700
XT,and almost identical to thoseooofthe RTX
2060 Super, whichscored110fpsaaat1440p.
4K proves more useful as apointooof
comparison,although both GPUswwwere
once againneck and neck on 97fpsss.
That’s also 11fpshigher than the
standardRTX 2060.
In Metro: Last LightRedux, the
RX 5700 yielded86fps at 1080p,
51fps at 1440p and23fps at 4K, all
representingsmall leads over the
RTX2060,although the RTX2060
Super is slightly faster at all three
resolutions.Not by much, mind –
57fps at 1440p is closer to the
60fpsidealbut only 6fps ahead
of the more affordable RX 5700,

AMD RadeonRX5700

★★★★★

£290•shop.amd.com

VERDICT

AMD finally claims the mid-range GPU crow
brilliantly powerful, and surprisingly cheap

Atthishg oooo

there’s asimilarly smallgapaft gggg

SSAA: theRX5700 managed 46fps tottthhhhheRTX

2060 Super’s 51fps.It’s hearteningtosee a

sub-£300 graphics cardmanage at least

reasonable 4K performance in Metro,even if

its focusisarguably moreon1440p and

1080p,although dropping fromVery High to

High wouldbepreferable forregular play.

Tomb Raider required no such sacrifices,

as the RX 5700produced 168fps at 1080p,

113fps at 1440p and 58fps at 4K,all with the

Ultimate qualitypresetand FXAAineffect.

This presentedthe only occasion whenthe

RTX2060Super brokedoubledigitsonits

performancelead;ifyou have a144Hz

monitor,you might appreciate how it scored

129fpsat1440p.The difference at 4K was,

however,marginal at best: 62fps on the

RTX2060 Super isn’tthat different to

58fps on theRadeon.

SCRAPPYRETURNS

Rounding outour performance benchmarks

with aperfect score of 11 in theSteamVR

Performance Test, theRX5700 hasshown

itself to be fantasticallyspryfor asub-£300

oooo

,,,,

hhhh ffffaaaammmmeeee----rrrraaaatttt

5700 isonlyslig y rrrr

XT.At1080p,both cardsprrroduces

framerates that the differences arevisualllly

negligible, and the cheaper card still does very

well at 1440p; it’s only 7fpsbehindthe RX

5700 XT in Metro,for example.It’s onlyat

4K where you’d consistentlynotice the RX

5700 XT’s performance advantage.

Furthermore, the RX 5700 keeps up as well

as it does while also staying cooler, quieter

and moreefficient. Other than averyslightly

higher idle temperature of 62°C,its load

temperature of 76°C and peak of 77°C are

both lower than those of theRX5700 XT,

andwenoticedthe blower cooler being a

bit less noisyaswell. That’s likelyapositive

side effectofhavingfewer cores.

It also uses lesspower,risingto150W

during games andstaying there –remember,

the RX 5700 XT jumped as high as 212W.

This stillrequiresboth 8-pinand 6-pinPSU

connectors, whichisunusualfor amid-range

card,but that’sthe sum of the downsides.

CONSTELLATION PRIZE

If you’re not keenonthe reference design,

custom opennn-air fanmodels startfromabout

£340. That’s abig bump,thoughstill cheaper

than any RTXXX2060 Super variant.

Even withhhitsblower-style cooler, the RX

5700 is theNNNavicardwe’dbuy fortop-quality

1080pannnd1440p gaming. The RX 5700 XT

is superb for4Konabudget, and

ttthe RTX2060 Super mightappeal

iiifyou’re determined to use

rrray-tracing in thefew games

thhhat support it, but this performs

aaalmostaswell, and formuch

essmoney.It’sthe mid-range

GPU to beat.