AMD Radeon RX 560
AMD Radeon RX 560: Budget GPU for Gamers and More
April 2025
Introduction
The AMD Radeon RX 560, despite its age, remains a popular choice for those seeking an affordable solution for gaming and basic professional tasks. By 2025, AMD has refreshed the model, keeping it in the budget segment while adding support for modern technologies. In this article, we will explore what makes this card interesting, how it handles current tasks, and who it is suitable for.
1. Architecture and Key Features
Architecture: The updated RX 560 for 2025 is based on the RDNA 2 architecture, which is a pleasant surprise for the budget segment. This has improved energy efficiency and performance compared to the original Polaris.
Manufacturing Process: The card is produced using a 6nm process, which has reduced heat output and manufacturing costs.
Unique Features:
- FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR 3.0): An upscaling technology that increases FPS in games with minimal quality loss. It supports modes up to "Ultra Quality."
- Radeon Anti-Lag+: Reduces input lag in competitive games.
- Partial Ray Tracing Support: Hardware-accelerated ray tracing is implemented at a basic level, but for comfortable gaming with ray tracing, it is recommended to use FSR.
Lack of DLSS Equivalent: Unlike NVIDIA, AMD continues to bet on FSR, which works even on competitor cards.
2. Memory: Type, Size, and Impact on Performance
Memory Type: GDDR6 (previously GDDR5 was used).
Size: 4 GB is sufficient for gaming at 1080p on medium settings, but in some projects from 2024-2025 (e.g., Starfield 2 or Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty), there may be stuttering due to insufficient VRAM.
Bandwidth: The 128-bit bus and speed of 14 Gbps provide 224 GB/s — a modest figure for 2025 but enough for target resolutions (1080p).
Advice: For games with high-quality textures, it is better to choose a model with 6 GB of memory, but such versions of the RX 560 are rare and cost $30-40 more (around $179).
3. Gaming Performance
1080p (medium settings):
- Fortnite (FSR 3.0 Quality): 75–90 FPS.
- Apex Legends: 60–70 FPS.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IV: 50–60 FPS (without RT).
1440p: Requires lowering settings to Low/Medium. For example, Elden Ring 2 achieves 40–45 FPS.
4K: Not recommended — even with FSR Performance mode, stability drops below 30 FPS.
Ray Tracing: Enabling RT reduces FPS by 40–50%. In Cyberpunk 2077 with RT Low and FSR 3.0, the card produces about 30–35 FPS.
Conclusion: The RX 560 is suited for casual gamers or those willing to trade graphics for smooth FPS.
4. Professional Tasks
Video Editing: In DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro, the card handles 1080p project rendering thanks to support for OpenCL and AMD AMF. More VRAM is required for 4K.
3D Modeling: In Blender, the RX 560 shows modest results — rendering a medium-level scene takes 2–3 times longer than on NVIDIA RTX 3050 (due to the lack of CUDA equivalent).
Scientific Computations: Suitable only for basic tasks in MATLAB or Python (OpenCL).
Advice: For professional use, it’s better to pay extra for the Radeon RX 6600 or NVIDIA RTX 3050.
5. Power Consumption and Heat Output
TDP: 90 W — a modest figure that does not require robust cooling.
Case Recommendations:
- A case with 1-2 fans is sufficient.
- Card dimensions: dual-slot, 20 cm long — suitable for compact builds.
Cooling: Passive and compact active coolers perform excellently. Temperature under load is 65–75°C.
Power Supply: A 400 W PSU with an 80+ Bronze certification is sufficient.
6. Comparison with Competitors
AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (4 GB):
- Pros: Higher performance in DX12 (+15%), AV1 support.
- Cons: More expensive ($169 vs. $149 for RX 560).
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (4 GB):
- Pros: Better optimization for older games, DLSS 2.0.
- Cons: No FSR 3.0 support, weak RT performance.
Intel Arc A380 (6 GB):
- Pros: More VRAM, support for XeSS.
- Cons: Driver issues with older projects.
Conclusion: The RX 560 wins on price and FSR 3.0, but falls behind in multimedia tasks.
7. Practical Tips
Power Supply: Don’t skimp on the PSU — even for a 90 W card, choose models with over-voltage protection (e.g., Corsair CX450).
Compatibility:
- PCIe 4.0 x8 — suitable even for older motherboards with PCIe 3.0.
- Recommended CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 or Intel Core i3-12100F.
Drivers: Adrenalin 2025 Edition is stable but occasionally has issues with simultaneous use of FSR and RT.
8. Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Low price ($149).
- Support for FSR 3.0 and Anti-Lag+.
- Energy efficiency.
Cons:
- Only 4 GB of VRAM.
- Weak performance in RT.
- Limited compatibility with professional software.
9. Final Conclusion: Who is the RX 560 Suitable For?
This graphics card is an ideal choice for:
1. Budget gamers playing at 1080p on medium settings.
2. Owners of older PCs wanting to upgrade their system without replacing the PSU.
3. Office users needing support for modern codecs and 4K displays.
If you want to comfortably game with ray tracing or work in 3D applications, consider the RX 6600 or RTX 3050. Nonetheless, for its price, the RX 560 remains one of the best offers of 2025 in the budget segment.
Prices are current as of April 2025. The mentioned cost refers to new devices in retail chains in the USA.