RX 580 replacement

[Octopuss]

I'm looking for something to replace my aging RX 580 (which I suspect is the cause of occasional system crashes), but I'm also pretty broke right now, so I'm just looking for for a temporary upgrade until I can afford something better later on, say, a year from now or further. I also hardly play games anymore these days and only have 1200p monitor, so I don't need anything powerful.

Is there anything relatively modern with comparable performance (so I can play the occasional game) that I can get for cheap (ideally 2nd hand in this case)?
Oh and - AMD only.

 

[PLAfiller]

How cheap? is 3000kc for RX6600 alright? I mean the RX580 is like what 500-800kc. in aukro.cz ??

 

[Octopuss]

I'm not really sure. I haven't even checked if the current card is worth anything
I was thinking around the €150 mark, 2nd hand.
I'm fine with whatever as long as the performance is not worse than what I have (which is likely technically impossible, lol).

 

[DaemonForce]

Consider the technologies and features that you are lacking in the RX 580 and what features you need to continue in the future.
A lot of us are gamers and coming from the RX580's sour performance in DX12 and Vulkan, a DX12_2 capable card is in order for many.
A few of us are creators dependent on apps that GULP memory and need the additional resolution and encode for whatever.
There's also the pressure of a future where we'll all be encoding/rendering streams on AV1 tracks instead of staying married to h264/x264.
If you barely game, anything made after Vega is pretty much competitive price.
Last gen nVidia stuff isn't doing any favors if you don't use their technologies in anything, I get it.
6000 vs 7000 series?

 

[Lew Zealand]

RX 6600 is the cheapest while being forward-looking and might be found under your price limit. RX 5600 XT will be cheaper and still much faster than the RX 580 (+55%) but lacks mesh shaders which could be a potential issue (was in Alan Wake II at release but fixed afterwards).

 

[Octopuss]

6600 or XT might just be what I'm looking for.
Like I said, it will be a temporary "upgrade", because eventually, I want to get a 1440p monitor when I find one (there's a catch in the form of higher refresh rate AND calibratable sRGB mode because I do photography as a hobby), so that will be the point at which I will want to upgrade to something more powerful. I'm thinking at least a year from now, so I don't want to spend more than I absolutely have to.

 

[eidairaman1]

6600 or XT might just be what I'm looking for.
Like I said, it will be a temporary "upgrade", because eventually, I want to get a 1440p monitor when I find one (there's a catch in the form of higher refresh rate AND calibratable sRGB mode because I do photography as a hobby), so that will be the point at which I will want to upgrade to something more powerful. I'm thinking at least a year from now, so I don't want to spend more than I absolutely have to.

If pricing between 6600 and XT are within spitting distance Id grab a XT variant, if not the 6600 will be fine. Go BNIB to avoid any headaches with box o chocolates syndrom

 

[de.das.dude]

just my two cents i went from the RX580 to my now RX 6700 XT, i was having BSOD and system crashes because of its(580) windows drivers . All the best!

 

[AleXXX666]

I'm not really sure. I haven't even checked if the current card is worth anything
I was thinking around the €150 mark, 2nd hand.
I'm fine with whatever as long as the performance is not worse than what I have (which is likely technically impossible, lol).

6600 already advised, 5700 is same tier here. Just be cautious with "after-mining" models
5700XT if very lucky to find, but test thoroughly..

 

[Octopuss]

Managed to grab used Powercolor 6600 for about €120. I hope it's not junk model or something. Previously I was looking at Biostar and google showed me some discussions where people called it the worst model ever, heh.

 

[Ripcord]

Managed to grab used Powercolor 6600 for about €120. I hope it's not junk model or something. Previously I was looking at Biostar and google showed me some discussions where people called it the worst model ever, heh.

should be a big upgrade in performance

 

[rockit00]

I've got a similar problem. I have a RX 580 8GB in my main Z97 rig. It works flawlessly. I got it just before the crypto craze took over back in 2019. I finally decided to build another rig ( after 10 year Devils Canyon build). I got a motherboard bundle with a Sapphire RX 580 8GB Nitro +included. I fired up the computer last night and found the Sapphire Nitro is DOA. No display No fan spin. Blue Sapphire logo lights up but that's all. I'm looking to spend around $100. for another RX 580 8GB New. I don't want a used Miners Special card. I noticed a dozen new brands on ebay that I have never heard of before. Anyone have a recommendation or info on these off brands?

 

[Dr. Dro]

Managed to grab used Powercolor 6600 for about €120. I hope it's not junk model or something. Previously I was looking at Biostar and google showed me some discussions where people called it the worst model ever, heh.

The only correct choice considered your budget and self-imposed limitation to AMD only. RDNA 1 is not worth it.

I've got a similar problem. I have a RX 580 8GB in my main Z97 rig. It works flawlessly. I got it just before the crypto craze took over back in 2019. I finally decided to build another rig ( after 10 year Devils Canyon build). I got a motherboard bundle with a Sapphire RX 580 8GB Nitro +included. I fired up the computer last night and found the Sapphire Nitro is DOA. No display No fan spin. Blue Sapphire logo lights up but that's all. I'm looking to spend around $100. for another RX 580 8GB New. I don't want a used Miners Special card. I noticed a dozen new brands on ebay that I have never heard of before. Anyone have a recommendation or info on these off brands?

You should avoid buying from unauthorized generic brands and RX 500 series cards altogether even if sold as "new". They're likely refurbished and rebuilt from mining scrap. Purchase RX 6500 XT, RX 6600 or RTX 3050 (latter, preferably 8 GB model). They'll be more than $100, but you should heavily favor these as they'll be warrantied and guaranteed to be new hardware.

All else fails, look for a gently used card from a reputable, authorized board partner (Sapphire, PowerColor, ASUS, etc.)

 

[rockit00]

Yeah, I plan on playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 and Homeworld 3 in the future. It appears that my new build ( Z390 and i7 8700k) would probably be better suited for RX 5000 or RX 6000 series cards. I read the performance reviews and I'll probably wait a couple of weeks and find a New Name Brand GPU. RX 5000 or RX 6000. No sense skimping and gambling at this point in the game. Thanks for the input.

 

[Ruru]

Managed to grab used Powercolor 6600 for about €120. I hope it's not junk model or something. Previously I was looking at Biostar and google showed me some discussions where people called it the worst model ever, heh.

Which model? I have a Powercolor RX 6700 XT Fighter and its cooler is pure crap, but I got an aftermarket cooler for it so now it's a good card after all.

RX 6600 should be a lot easier a cool so even a "crap model" should be fine.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Yeah, I plan on playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 and Homeworld 3 in the future. It appears that my new build ( Z390 and i7 8700k) would probably be better suited for RX 5000 or RX 6000 series cards. I read the performance reviews and I'll probably wait a couple of weeks and find a New Name Brand GPU. RX 5000 or RX 6000. No sense skimping and gambling at this point in the game. Thanks for the input.

Avoid RX 5000 series. They're 5 years old and if recent history is to go by, AMD will give them another year of driver support tops. They also can't run all the latest games because they don't support the full set of DirectX 12 features. I'd say the best card you can buy from AMD, in your situation right now, is the RX 7600. The 6600/6600 XT are also solid options. Otherwise, buy an RTX 4060 if going the full mile.

 

[Macro Device]

RX 7600

It's way beyond the budget. Also, used 6700 XTs are often cheaper and I genuinely don't know how one has to abuse it for it to die. I actively try for two years, no luck. xD

 

[Chrispy_]

I've got a similar problem. I have a RX 580 8GB in my main Z97 rig. It works flawlessly. I got it just before the crypto craze took over back in 2019. I finally decided to build another rig ( after 10 year Devils Canyon build). I got a motherboard bundle with a Sapphire RX 580 8GB Nitro +included. I fired up the computer last night and found the Sapphire Nitro is DOA. No display No fan spin. Blue Sapphire logo lights up but that's all. I'm looking to spend around $100. for another RX 580 8GB New. I don't want a used Miners Special card. I noticed a dozen new brands on ebay that I have never heard of before. Anyone have a recommendation or info on these off brands?

RX 6600 is the best cheap card you can find new right now.

The used market in a lot of countries doesn't seem to offer much better than a new or nearly-new RX 6600 tbh, since used cards are often quite close to new cards on the price/performance curve - typically within 20%, and the RX 6600 is, even when new, close to 20% better performance/$ than most of the other options on the market.

The off-brand cards on ebay/Aliexpress are one of two things;

1. Either salvaged old Ellesmere dies ripped off of RX580 cards that pushed their VRAM to breaking point and soldered onto cheap new PCBs
2. China-only RX580 2048 which are RX 570 in all but name, and usually with the bare minimum of cooling and power delivery. Many of them don't run with the default AMD driver package either.

I'd say a 5700/5700XT is still a very viable option, but only buy one if you have access to a used market like Ebay with money-back guarantees on defective goods, since the 5700-series were the second most heavily-used GPU for ETH mining after the 3090. Also, don't overpay - I see plenty of auctions for 5700 and 5700XT that are rivalling the cost of a brand-new RX 6600. The 2060 Super (8GB) is something worth looking at on the used market, as it's about 10% faster than an RX 6600 and it usually sells for a little less than a new one.

 

[Dr. Dro]

RX 6600 is the best cheap card you can find new right now.

The used market in a lot of countries doesn't seem to offer much better than a new or nearly-new RX 6600 tbh, since used cards are often quite close to new cards on the price/performance curve - typically within 20%, and the RX 6600 is, even when new, close to 20% better performance/$ than most of the other options on the market.

The off-brand cards on ebay/Aliexpress are one of two things;

1. Either salvaged old Ellesmere dies ripped off of RX580 cards that pushed their VRAM to breaking point and soldered onto cheap new PCBs
2. China-only RX580 2048 which are RX 570 in all but name, and usually with the bare minimum of cooling and power delivery. Many of them don't run with the default AMD driver package either.

I'd say a 5700/5700XT is still a very viable option, but only buy one if you have access to a used market like Ebay with money-back guarantees on defective goods, since the 5700-series were the second most heavily-used GPU for ETH mining after the 3090. Also, don't overpay - I see plenty of auctions for 5700 and 5700XT that are rivalling the cost of a brand-new RX 6600. The 2060 Super (8GB) is something worth looking at on the used market, as it's about 10% faster than an RX 6600 and it usually sells for a little less than a new one.

I only disagree on the viability of 5700 XT because it's downlevel hardware and highly probable they have been abused by miners. Any "new" 5700 XT card today is refurbished and rebuilt from miner scrap, just like the RX 580s. Whatever extra spending to make up for a new, reputable brand RX 6600 is worth the peace of mind of having proper driver support, proper feature level support, that you're getting a new card that hasn't been used and abused + a full manufacturer warranty

 

[Chrispy_]

I only disagree on the viability of 5700 XT because it's downlevel hardware and highly probable they have been abused by miners. Any "new" 5700 XT card today is refurbished and rebuilt from miner scrap, just like the RX 580s. Whatever extra spending to make up for a new, reputable brand RX 6600 is worth the peace of mind of having proper driver support, proper feature level support, that you're getting a new card that hasn't been used and abused + a full manufacturer warranty

That's why I used the caveat of buying only from a site like ebay with a money-back guarantee. A GPU that's borderline stable or has knackered fans is an easy return for refund.

A cheap 5700 (~$120( is an amazing value, if it isn't an abused mining card. It has great performance and just enough VRAM for AAA gaming which certainly cannot be said of things like the 2060 6GB, 5600XT, or 1660Ti these days. I bought a pallet of 5700s from a Powercolor distributor and mined on them all for 18 months before selling them. ETH miners using 5700-series likely undervolved and downclocked the cards. The VRAM hit its frequency limits before getting too hot, so really the only thing you need to worry about is modded BIOSes, and TBH they're easy enough to flash back to the originals - and on top of that, the only edits I had to make to my BIOSes was loosening the timings slightly to allow higher memory speeds that would have margin-of-error impact on gaming performance at stock memory speeds.

 

[rockit00]

Well the new name brand RX 6600's on ebay are about double what I wanted to spend, but probably worth it in the long haul. The XT variants are appealing but I don't game like I used to so not worth the extra$$. I'm itching to set up my new build. I'll have to use my working RX 580 to troubleshoot and set up the new build. If all goes well, I'll grab an New RX 6600 in a couple of weeks. Thanks to all for the knowledgeable input.

 

[Chrispy_]

If you're going for a name-brand 6600, the one to avoid is the Powercolor Fighter - it's a noisy little bastard with a weak cooler. I've never used one, but the Powercolor Hellhound variant should be fine. The Sapphire Pulse is excellent, as is the XFX one, SWFT 210 I think.

The other model that was often coming up as one of the lowest-price offerings used to be the MSI Mech 2x variant which also seemed fine to me, but I don't see it listed for sale around here any more. What country are you in? - I know my way around UK and northern European stores pretty well.

Either way, if you can justify a 6600 (no need to spend extra for the XT unless it's a similar price) then you're killing multiple birds with one stone, as the old Polaris 400 and 500 series cards are well past the point of spending any real money on these days. Maybe a $40 RX 570 8GB is worth grabbing as an emergency placeholder but it's already on borrowed time with driver support and modern games, particularly UE5 games truly hate it with many developers having "known issues" with Polaris GPUs or just having to put extra work in to fix stuff for them.

 

[Octopuss]

I am wondering why are people laughing at the first post. What's so funny?

 

[Chrispy_]

I am wondering why are people laughing at the first post. What's so funny?

Pass, might be the unexplained "AMD only" comment in your post?

The GTX 1060 6GB isn't a bad alternative to the RX 580, though like the 580 it's also struggling with newer games. Driver support is still there for the the GTX 10-series too, though for how much longer is unclear. If you want something Nvidia for under $150 the 1070 or 1070Ti aren't terrible option, but you really do need to justify spending that kind of money on a 7-year-old used GPU when $200 buys you a brand new RX 6600 with warranty that has newer DirectX features and lower power draw ("Raytracing" is a feature that arguably isn't worth enabling on anything slower than 7800XT or RTX 4070)

 

[Dr. Dro]

I am wondering why are people laughing at the first post. What's so funny?

Likely due to the "AMD only" remark. People are far less likely to take someone who closes themselves to other options seriously. All in all, regardless of brand - RX 6600 is generally regarded as the best choice when you're in a strict budget, and given your options, you did good by choosing the Powercolor 6600. It's not the best GPU, but for 120€ you'd be hard pressed to find something better.

Pass, might be the unexplained "AMD only" comment in your post?

The GTX 1060 6GB isn't a bad alternative to the RX 580, though like the 580 it's also struggling with newer games. Driver support is still there for the the GTX 10-series too, though for how much longer is unclear. If you want something Nvidia for under $150 the 1070 or 1070Ti aren't terrible option, but you really do need to justify spending that kind of money on a 7-year-old used GPU when $200 buys you a brand new RX 6600 with warranty that has newer DirectX feature set, raytracing, and much lower power draw (LOL, nothing slower than a 4070 is worth using Raytracing with)

My best guess is that Pascal and Volta support will be retired when Blackwell is added to the mainline driver. AMD already retired support for GCN, they're on a long term maintenance branch due to the sheer volume of cards in the market, but they're still based on the ~2 year old 23.19 codebase and no new features have been developed for it, as far as I know. At least nothing that is supported on Cezanne APUs (Vega-based), which is what I use.

I have a 1070 Ti I got a couple of years ago installed on my secondary machine - if buying today, it'd probably have been a 6600 XT. Not worth buying ancient hardware in general, unless for an insane price or very specific need or project, IMO.