AMD has officially introduced its RX 5500 graphics cards, yes multiple, as was being expected a few days ago. They will target the mainstream gaming segment, which includes a majority of gamers across the globe.

AMD RX 5500 GPU Specifications

AMD officially discussed only the RX 5500 graphics card at the announcement event, but its XT variant is nothing but confirmed. A mobile variant, the RX 5500M is also coming. The cards feature AMD’s RDNA architecture, just like their RX 5700 counterparts. They will come with a smaller Navi GPU fabricated on TSMC’s 7nm node. Even though AMD has not revealed a name for the RX 5500 GPU, rumors state it to be Navi 14. While the RX 5700 GPUs target 1440p gaming, the RX5500 GPUs are designed for 1080p gaming.

The GPU used in the RX 5500 series of cards will sport 22 Compute Units (CUs), resulting in a total of 1408 stream processors. It will have a game clock of 1717MHz and a boost clock of 1845MHz. The card will come in 4GB and 8GB (probably the XT) variants. It will use GDDR6 memory clocked at 14Gbps and with a 128-bit memory bus. The card will consume 110W of power and feature a single 8-pin connector. Its mobile variant, the RX 5500 M, will have the same specifications, albeit with slightly lower clock speeds.

AMD RX 5500 GPU Performance

During the announcement, AMD compared its RX 5500 graphics card to its own RX480 and Nvidia’s GeForce GTX1650 cards. It is expected to perform 22-35% better than the GeForce GTX 1650 and 15-20% better than the RX480 depending on the title. AMD shared benchmarks for a few single-player and multiplayer games depicting the same. If the benchmarks are even somewhat accurate, the RX 5500 graphics card will provide decent performance for gaming at 1080p resolution. Budget savvy buyers will take a liking to this card if it lives upto its claimed performance. It is AMD’s first Navi graphics card for the mainstream gaming segment.

AMD RX 5500 GPU Availability and Price

If you are planning to buy the new RX 5500 graphics card from AMD, then you will have to wait for at least a few months. It will initially be available through OEMs only. You will have to buy a pre-built PC or a laptop for gaming on an RX5500 graphics card. We may not see a retail version of the card until the end of this year or even early next year. Also, AMD will not sell any reference cards and only custom AIB models for its RX5500 series of graphics cards.

Considering that AMD compared the RX 5500 graphics card to Nvidia’s GTX 1650, the price tag of both these cards will be similar. We expect the RX 5500 graphics card to launch around $150-$160, which will be the same as that of its competitor.

Nvidia is also planning to rejuvenate its mainstream gaming GPU lineup with new GPUs expected to launch at the end of this month.