We had to wait a long time for something new, but last summer, with their Radeon RX 5700 (XT), AMD put out a really excellent, and really new, video card out of the blue. That is, if you have at least 350 euros to spend on a video card. With the Radeon RX 5500 XT that officially launches today, AMD now also opens the attack on the budget segment. The idea is simple: a video card that can handle all games at the popular 1080p resolution, but does not cost more than 200 euros.
AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT
Price: From around €170
Website www.amd.com
Techzle Review Score: 90/100
Pros
- Good performance on 1080p monitors
- Slightly faster than the GTX 1650 Super
- Low power consumption
Cons
- Lack of power for serious 1440p gaming
If you considered such a sub 200 euro video card in recent years, chances were that you already had AMD in mind. Their Radeon RX 570 and RX 580 provided excellent performance for gamers with a 1080p monitor where the Nvidi counterparts such as the GTX 1050 Ti and GTX 1650 were just not quite the technical performance. But on the inside, these AMD cards were based on years old technology, resulting in a considerably higher power consumption. Higher consumption means more costs, more heat to remove, and more noise.
Thanks to AMD’s new RDNA architecture and a 7nm production process, the RX 5500 XT is first and foremost a huge improvement in power consumption; an equally expensive and roughly equally fast RX 580 simply uses twice as much as 100 Watts. And just as positive: Nvidia’s direct competitor to this chip, the GTX 1650 Super, is not significantly more economical than in the past.
Performance first!
Consumption does not, of course, make much difference if the performance is incorrect. However, as you would expect with a new video card, the manufacturer has skillfully adjusted it to the current market. For example, AMD has ensured that the RX 5500 XT is on average just a bit faster than the Nvidia GTX 1650 Super, which will normally be sold for about the same amount. Small differences are boring, but the performance is objectively excellent: with this card you can play all major titles at 1080p excellent (60 FPS or higher), although you will have to set the heavier titles to ‘high’ and not on Ultra. Gamers who like to play fast esports titles on a fast screen are also well provided: games like Fortnite and CS: GO can easily get 144 FPS or more, even at high settings.
AMD releases this card with 4GB or 8GB, and where the extra memory in some games makes a difference, it will also be more expensive. Our advice: Consider the 8GB version if the additional cost is low, and as long as it is significantly cheaper than the substantially faster GTX 1660 Super.
Conclusion: A little more for less
However, small differences in performance and consumption also mean that the best buy is determined by the street price. The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT is a great budget video card and one that you should seriously consider if you are looking for one. As long as it is marginally more expensive than a GTX 1650 Super at the time of purchase, you have a good buy.
.