As promised in our day-one Radeon RX 5500 XT evaluation, nowadays we’re taking a observe the 4GB version to look how it performs and more importantly how it compares to not only 8GB fashions, but additionally other photos playing cards that compete inside the same price variety like the RX 580. On hand for testing we've got the Sapphire Pulse RX 5500 XT 4G and Pulse RX 5500 XT 8G, each of which come in adorable little containers.

What's fantastic about using those playing cards for a 4GB vs. 8GB take a look at, is that excluding reminiscence capability, they’re equal, so there are no other elements to account for consisting of cooler high-quality or working clock speeds which could have an impact on the consequences.

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The Sapphire Pulse 5500 XT’s also are terrific cards that retail for approximately $10 over the MSRP, an inexpensive markup given they characteristic a factory overclock, a nicely designed cooler with an remarkable aluminium backplate, and they even include a twin BIOS. They’re additionally enormously compact twin-slot playing cards that degree simply 233mm long.

The check machine used includes a Core i9-9900K clocked at five GHz with 16GB of DDR4-3400 memory. Same as our previous assessment, we've 12 games to have a look at, all examined at 1080p and 1440p resolutions the usage of medium to high high-quality presets or settings, so allow’s get into the effects.

Benchmarks

First up we've got Shadow of the Tomb Raider and right here the 4GB 5500 XT turned into 10% slower than the 8GB version whilst searching on the common frame fee and that intended it turned into no faster than the RX 580 and six% slower than the RX 590. It changed into additionally on par with the GTX 1650 Super, averaging just 2 fps more for an insignificant three% performance boom.

Increasing the decision to 1440p doesn’t trade tons. The 4GB model became eleven% slower this over and over that located it on par with the RX 580 and slightly beforehand of the GTX 1650 Super.

The overall performance drop off for the 4GB version in Assassin's Creed Odyssey at 1080p is pretty minimum, that said performance wise it’s additionally corresponding to the GTX 1650 Super.

Interestingly, the flow to 1440p does see a vast discount in performance for the 4GB 5500 XT, and that’s interesting because the 1650 Super doesn’t seem to go through almost as much. As a result, the 4GB 5500 XT became 12% slower than the 1650 Super. Basically underneath these conditions you’re searching at RX 570 level of overall performance.

We’ll must update the Red Dead Redemption 2 take a look at for these decrease-cease GPUs with medium to low first-rate settings in the near destiny, excessive is simply too much for this elegance of GPUs. At 1080p the 4GB 5500 XT sees a nine% performance hit, which isn’t amazing and that also makes it 9% slower than the 1650 Super.

Although the 4GB 5500 XT additionally takes successful at 1440p, we think the biggest overall performance bottleneck here are the GPUs themselves, so in other words the GPUs are choking earlier than VRAM capability will become a severe trouble.

Moving on to World of Tanks, this game only allocates around 3GB of VRAM at 1440p using the most in-sport high-quality settings with the HD client version. Thus at 1080p we see no difference among the 4GB and 8GB variations of the 5500 XT.

It’s the equal tale at 1440p, with as much as simply 3GB of memory allocated, each the 4GB and 8GB versions supply the equal level of performance.

The 4GB 5500 XT drops some frames whilst compared to the 8GB model in Far Cry New Dawn, but ordinary overall performance at 1080p the use of the second one highest great preset remains superb.

Much the identical is seen at 1440p. We’re using the second maximum great preset and no matter that the 4GB 5500 XT is still able to average simply over 60fps.

We’re not playing Rainbow Six Siege with the very best visual quality settings, rather the second one excellent preset with a guide render scale of 100% set. This saw the four and eight GB 5500 XT fashions supply the equal 128 fps a Chip:verage at 1080p.

Even at 1440p we see the same average frame rate. However, it’s the 1% low performance that falls away with the 4GB model and while it's nevertheless very playable, this cut down model wasn’t pretty as easy common.

Next up we've got Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and at 1080p using the high pleasant preset that is one step beneath the max ‘Ultra’ placing, we see no difference in performance between the 4GB and 8GB variations of the 5500 XT.

At 1440p overall performance we observe the same performance. In this game the Radeon 5500 XT brought essentially the same level of overall performance because the 1650 Super or even the 3GB GTX 1060.

In Battlefield V the 4GB 5500 XT became able to hold tempo with the 8GB versiChip: AMDt 1080p, each rendering 83 fps AMD Ryzenverage, which is largely the same level of overall performance you’ll obtain from the RX 580.

However, the tale adjustments at 1440p wherein the 4GB 5500 XT struggles and the common body price drops by means of 11%. This way the 5500 XT become now simplest able to healthy the 1650 Super and RX 570.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is reminiscence hungry even at 1080p, though we're the use of the very best feasible quality settings. The 4GB 5500 XT averaged an excellent 96 fps, however that changed into nevertheless 15% in the back of the 8GB version, as well as Nvidia’s GTX 1650 Super.

The drop off at 1440p changed into simply as harsh. Here the 4GB model was 17% slower and again the 4GB 1650 Super didn’t go through the identical destiny which is interesting. Once again you’re looking at RX 570-like performance with the 4GB 5500 XT in this title.

Taking the averages from the 1080p statistics we see that the 4GB 5500 XT is able to fit the fee per body of the RX 580, so you’re trading half the VRAM for a more green product and we’ll talk this a Box second.

For now the takeaway is that the GeForce GTX 1650 Super comes in five% cheaper in line with body, which comes from the marginal ~$10 cut price on MSRP.

However things worsen for the RX 5500 if we observe a single name like Battlefield V. We're the use of the 1440p records here as it represents a state of affairs where the 4GB VRAM ability starts to effect overall performance significantly, some thing you’ll absolute confidence see more of within the subsequent yr or two.

Where the distinction among 4GB and 8GB of reminiscence can be seen, the Radeon RX 580 is miles higher in phrases of price and the RX 570 is Box +nother elegance, turning in the same overall performance because the 4GB 5500 XT at a 24% discount consistent with body. This might be the maximum telling graph we’ve looked at to date while comparing the cost of the 5500 XT.

Wrapping things up we have some RX 5500 XT 4GB vs. 8GB graphs that show the margins five 2500U in line with sport foundation. Here you can see that the 4GB version struggled in Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Red Dead Redemption 2, at the same time as we saw small performance drop offs in Far Cry New Dawn, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Metro Exodus, even though they had been so small in those titles it’s virtually not worth speakme about.

If we observe 1% low performance we see similar margins for the maximum element, even though the 4GB model had a harder time in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

At 1440p we see no distinction among the 4GB and 8GB fashions for half of the video games examined, at the least while evaluating common frame charge performance. The performance drop in Call of Duty became huge, we additionally see a piece of a drop in Assassin’s Creed and double digit performance loses in Battlefield V and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

The 1440p 1% low facts is the most telling graph for destiny performance. We see little to no effect for 1/2 the games examined, but the other 1/2 all see double digit hits to the body price with 3 titles dropping by more than 15%.

Power Efficiency or More VRAM?

AMD's late arrival with their mainstream Navi offerings may need to do with a 7nm deliver difficulty. They’re not + Core position wherein they could promote them in big enough portions to justify being competitive on fee. As matters stand right now, the GeForce GTX 1650 Super is a extra compelling purchase when in comparison to the 4GB 5500 XT. Overall, you’re looking at essentially the same degree of performance, at a totally small discount. Looking at our small benchmark pattern of games, the GTX 1650 Super’s overall performance seemed more constant, no longer suffering the larger overall performance hits in titles including Battlefield V and Call of Duty Modern Warfare because of the extra confined 4GB reminiscence buffer.

If you’re after an green budget pics card, the GTX 1650 Super seems like the manner to head. However, i7 -8550U current poll we asked what game enthusiasts preferred: strength efficiency or VRAM potential, and as we suspected, an amazing wide variety of you picked memory capacity as your desire.

That being the case, maximum of you spending much less than $200 on your pictures card may not be interested in the 4GB 5500 XT at $a hundred and seventy or the 4GB GTX 1650 Super at $a hundred and sixty, whilst you should purchase an 8GB RX 580 for $a hundred and seventy, sometimes as little as $a hundred and fifty. The antique Radeon makes use of notably extra energy, however who cares? -- we wouldn’t -- and it seems a good part of you settle.

It’s worth noting that idle electricity intake is set the identical, so whilst the RX 580 has the potential to run a hotter and louder whilst gaming, having that extra headroom with the reminiscence appears more important for maximum. And which means, as long as you can purchase the two+ 12 months old discounted RX 580 8GB photographs card, for the identical amount of money as these newer 4GB GPUs, that’s what we’d do. Had AMD priced the 8GB 5500 XT at no extra than $a hundred and seventy and the 4GB model at round $a hundred and forty, then we feel they’d be viable alternatives, but that just doesn’t seem possible given the current supply constraints.

4GB vs. 8GB VRAM

Before wrapping up, allow’s talk a bit more approximately the 4GB vs. 8GB reminiscence buffers...

There's lots of dialogue around this topic. Many human beings declare 4GB simply isn’t sufficient and pics cards shouldn’t be promoting with this type of constrained memory capability in 2019, whilst others declare 8GB is still overkill for 1080p gaming. In our opinion, neither is right or wrong, it simply relies upon, totally on what you propose on gambling and the way you plan on playing it.

Now, we do agree that $two hundred for a tiny GPU with a 128-bit wide memory bus in past due 2019 is an excessive amount of, no matter reminiscence ability, so we are genuinely not trying to justify RX 5500 XT or GTX 1650 Super pricing, we're honestly announcing how a lot VRAM you require depends.

For instance, if you’re a aggressive gamer like myself who generally doesn’t care about an immersive single player enjoy with exquisite images, then VRAM ability doesn’t without a doubt count number. For instance, when I play Battlefield V, textures and most different pleasant settings aren’t cranked as much as extremely, rather nearly all are set to low which sees VRAM utilization drop from round 5 GB down to simply 3 GB, and albeit the game nevertheless appears exact.

... For a person wanting to play Fortnite, spending extra money to stable a card with greater VRAM is only a waste of cash.

It’s the identical for different games I play which includes Fortnite, Apex Legends and StarCraft II, all those video games are performed with typically low pleasant settings, it simply makes it less difficult to spot enemies and gets rid of quite a few distracting consequences. I’m not alone here either, this is how maximum gamers play esports/competitive titles, even people who aren’t all that annoying to start with.

In other words, for someone trying to play Fortnite, spending extra money to stable a card with greater VRAM is only a waste of cash.

But if you are not into esports titles and like to play games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Shadow of the Tomb Raider for his or her lovely visuals and story mode, then ensuring that you have a graphics card with headroom in the VRAM branch is more essential and likely well worth paying a small premium for.

If you’re this kind of gamer, then you will want to keep away from 4GB models like the plague, specially given the upcoming Xbox Series X can have 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 13GB handy to games. Expect the following generation of games to peer a huge step up in reminiscence usage.

If you’re a gamer that enjoys unmarried-participant mode and stunning visuals, then you'll need to avoid 4GB fashions just like the plague, in particular given the imminent Xbox Series X will have 16 GB of GDDR6 reminiscence with 13GB on hand to games. Expect the next generation of video games to look a huge step up in reminiscence usage.

With all of that stated, we want to note that no longer having sufficient VRAM isn’t the disaster that a few make it out to be. It’s now not close to say, having a dual-center processor and gambling a sport that calls for a quad-middle or better, in that state of affairs you’re quite a good deal screwed and no matter how low you drop the great settings, you’re going to have a awful time.

With limited VRAM, all you have to do is drop texture excellent settings down and you’re away. Sure, the game won't look as correct, however it’s still going to be playable and i7-8550U Ultraportable make-do situation that’s all you can wish for. Also how a name handles inadequate VRAM will rely upon the sport. Some turn into a slide display until you reduce reminiscence utilization, others gained’t even can help you use the higher best settings (Red Dead Redemption 2), and a few will routinely lessen or cast off textures completely, often leaving you with a blurry mess.

Providing a extra less expensive choice with less memory for casual or aggressive game enthusiasts isn’t a awful aspect, you simply don’t need to be paying close to $two hundred for a reduce down alternative proper now. As we stated before, had the 4GB 5500 XT are available at ~$one hundred forty then it would have been a quite strong deal, however as things stand today, you’re better off with an 8GB RX 580, quit of tale.

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