ASUS Radeon RX 560
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The Asus Radeon RX 560 is based on the Baffin XT chip, which is a new version of the chip used in the Radeon RX 460, with more cores, and a higher clock rate. As its predecessor, it is manufactured under 14 nm technology.
The standard clock for the Radeon RX 560 is 1,175 MHz, with a turbo clock of 1,275 MHz. However, the tested video card, model “ROG-STRIX-RX560-O4G-GAMING” from ASUS, uses a 1,326 MHz base clock and a 1,336 MHz turbo clock, which means an overclocking of 4.8%.
The tested Radeon RX 560 has 4 GiB of GDDR5 memory (there are also 2 GiB models), running at 7 GHz with a 128-bit bus. Thus, it has a bandwidth of 112 GiB/s.
It is important to note that the Radeon RX 560 GPU uses a PCI Express 3.0 x8 connection, and not x16. However, this does not cause a performance decrease.
Being an average-entry video card, the Radeon RX 560 is aimed at less demanding games, like “E-sports”, “free-to-play”, MOBA titles, and casual gaming. It is not targeted at gamers that want to play “AAA games” with high resolution and/or high image quality.
Using price as a parameter, the competitor of the Radeon RX 560 is the GeForce GTX 1050 from NVIDIA. However, the model we tested from ASUS is above average price for Radeon RX 560 cards.
In this review, we compared those two video cards. We also included the Radeon RX 550 and the GeForce GT 1030, which are less expensive video cards.
The Radeon RX 560 supports DirectX 12, Vulkan, and hardware H.265 video decoding and encoding, also being compatible with FreeSync (to synchronize framerate on compatible displays),
Eyefinity (multiple display support), and XConnect (video card on an external case) technologies.
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Figure 1 shows the ASUS Radeon RX 560 video card.
Figure 1: The ASUS Radeon RX 560 (ROG-STRIX-RX560-O4G-GAMING)
Video card | Core clock | Turbo clock | Effective memory clock | Memory bus |
ASUS Radeon RX 560 | 1,326 MHz | 1,336 MHz | 7.0 GHz | 128 bit |
Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Mini | 1,354 MHz | 1,455 MHz | 7.0 GHz | 128 bit |
Gigabyte Radeon RX 550 | 1,206 MHz | 1,219 MHz | 7.0 GHz | 128 bit |
Gigabyte GeForce GT 1030 | 1,227 MHz | 1,468 MHz | 6.0 GHz | 64 bit |
Video card | Memory bandwidth | Memory | Processing cores |
ASUS Radeon RX 560 | 112 GB/s | 4 GiB GDDR5 | 1024 |
Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Mini | 112 GB/s | 2 GiB GDDR5 | 640 |
Gigabyte Radeon RX 550 | 112 GB/s | 2 GiB GDDR5 | 512 |
Gigabyte GeForce GT 1030 | 48 GB/s | 2 GiB GDDR5 | 384 |
Video card | TDP | DirectX | Price |
ASUS Radeon RX 560 | 80 W | 12 | USD 140 |
Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Mini | 75 W | 12.1 | USD 100 |
Gigabyte Radeon RX 550 | 50 W | 12 | USD 80 |
Gigabyte GeForce GT 1030 | 30 W | 12.1 | USD 70 |
Figure 2: Video connectors
In Figure 3, you see the top of the card. There is a 6-pin auxiliary power connector. The ASUS ROG symbol lights with programmable color.
Figure 3: Top view
Figure 4 shows the soldered side of the Radeon RX 560. There are no memory chips on this side.
Figure 4: Soldered side
Figure 5 unveils the Gigabyte Radeon RX 560 with the cooler removed. It is an aluminum cooler with two heat pipes, that keeps contact only with the GPU chip. The card has four memory chips.
Figure 5: The Radeon RX 560 with the cooler removed
In Figure 6 you see the Baffin XT, manufactured under 14 technology.
Figure 6: The Baffin XT chip
Figure 7 shows one of the memory chips present on the Radeon RX 560. It is a Micron MT51J256M32HF-70 chip, with 8 Gib (1 GiB) capacity and 3.5 GHz nominal maximum clock.
Figure 7: Memory chip
During our benchmarking sessions, we used the configuration listed below. The only variable component was the video card being tested.
We ran all games in Full HD resolution.
Hardware Configuration
- CPU: Core i7-7700K
- Motherboard: Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7
- Memory: 16 GiB DDR4-3200 Geil Dyna4, two 8 GiB modules in dual channel at 3200 MHz
- Boot drive: WD Blue 1000 GiB
- Video Monitor: Philips 236VL
- Power Supply: Corsair VS500
Operating System Configuration
- Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Driver Versions
- AMD driver version: 17.7.1
- NVIDIA driver version: 382.53
- Intel driver version: 15.45
Software Used
- 3DMark
- Battlefield 4
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Dirt Rally
- GTA V
- Mad Max
- Overwatch
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Error Margin
We adopted a 3% error margin; thus, differences below 3% cannot be considered relevant. In other words, products with a performance difference below 3% should be considered as having similar performance.
3DMark is a program with a set of several 3D benchmarks. Fire Strike benchmark measures DirectX 11 performance and is targeted to high-end gaming computers, while Sky Diver also measures DirectX 11 performance, being aimed at average computers. The Cloud Gate benchmark measures DirectX 10 performance.
On Fire Strike, t
he ASUS Radeon RX 560 was 8% slower than the GeForce GTX 1050.
On the Sky Diver benchmark, the ASUS Radeon RX 560 performed similarly to the GeForce GTX 1050.
On the Sky Diver benchmark, the ASUS Radeon RX 560 performed similarly to the GeForce GTX 1050.
On Cloud Gate, the ASUS Radeon RX 560 was 6% slower than the GeForce GTX 1050.
Battlefield 4
Battlefield 4 is one of the most popular games of the Battlefield franchise, being released in 2013. It is based on the Frostbite 3 engine, which is DirectX 11. In order to measure performance using this game, we walked our way through the first mission, measuring the number of frames per second (fps) three times using FRAPS. We ran this game at Full HD, setting overall image quality at “high.”
The results below are expressed in fps and they are the mean between the three collected results.
On Battlefield 4, the ASUS Radeon RX 560 was 25% slower than the GeForce GTX 1050.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (A.K.A. CS: GO) is a very popular FPS game, launched in August 2012, using Source Engine, that is DirectX 9. We tested the performance playing on “Inferno” map against bots, in Full HD, with the quality set as “high”.
The results below are expressed in fps.
In this game, the ASUS Radeon RX 560 was 17% slower than the GeForce GTX 1050.
Dirt Rally
Dirt Rally is an off-road racing game released in April 2015, using Ego engine. To measure performance using this game, we ran the performance test included in the game, in Full HD resolution and image quality configured as “medium” and MSAA off.
The results below are expressed in fps.
In this game, the ASUS Radeon RX 560 was tied with the GeForce GTX 1050.
Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V, or simply GTA V, is an open-world action game released for PCs in April of 2015 and uses the RAGE engine. In order to measure the performance on this game, we ran the performance test of the game (the plane portion), measuring the frame rate with FRAPS. We ran GTA V at Full HD, with image quality set as “normal” and MSAA off.
The results below are expressed in frames per second.
In GTA V, the ASUS Radeon RX 560 was 7% slower than the GeForce GTX 1050.er than the GeForce GT 1030, and 23% slower than the GeForce GTX 1050.
Hitman
Hitman is an action/stealth game, launched in March 2016, that uses a DirectX 12 compatible version of the Glacier 2 engine. To measure performance in this game, we ran the benchmark in it, measuring the framerate with FRAPS. We ran this game in Full HD, with DirectX 12 enabled, with image quality set as “medium”, and SMAA off.
The results below are expressed in fps.
In this game, the ASUS Radeon RX 560 was 23% faster than the GeForce GTX 1050.
Mad Max
Mad Max is an open-world action game launched in September of 2015, using the Avalanche engine. In order to measure the performance using this game, we ran its intro, measuring the framerate with FRAPS three times. We ran the game at Full HD, with image quality set as “normal”.
The results below are expressed in fps and they are the mean between the three collected results.
On Mad Max, the ASUS Radeon RX 560 was 11% slower than the GeForce GTX 1050.
Overwatch
Overwatch is a multiplayer FPS game launched in May 2016, using a custom engine. In order to measure the performance using this game, we played a quick match, measuring the framerate with FRAPS three times. We ran the game at Full HD, with image quality set as “high”.
The results below are expressed in fps.
In Overwatch, the ASUS Radeon RX 560 was 18% faster than the GeForce GTX 1050.
Rainbow Six Siege
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is a tactical FPS game launched in December of 2015, based on AnvilNext engine. In order to measure the performance using this game, we ran the benchmark included on it, using Full HD resolution and graphics quality set to “medium”.
The results below are expressed in frames per second.
On Rainbow Six Siege, the ASUS Radeon RX 560 was 6% faster than the GeForce GTX 1050.
Our tests showed that the Radeon RX 560 supports demanding games, in Full HD resolution and medium or high quality, with a good framerate.
We also saw that the Radeon RX 560 is substantially faster than the Radeon RX 550 due to its GPU, with twice the graphics cores.
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Verdict
Compared to the GeForce GTX 1050, we can say it was a technical tie: in some games, the Radeon RX 560 was faster; in other ones, it was slower; and they were similar on the other ones. The tested models have the advantage because they have 4 GiB, which makes them better suited for future games than 2 GiB models.
The ROG STRIX GAMING model from ASUS is interesting, with a good cooling solution (the fans even stop when the video card is not demanding) and great construction quality. On the other hand, it is more expensive
than other models based on the same chip.
So, we concluded that the Radeon RX 560 is a good video card for casual gamers, with a great cost/benefit ratio.
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