Hardware detective @TUM_APISAK has given us a sneak peek of what the Radeon RX 5600 XT can do with the graphics card's newly acquired specifications.
In case you haven't heard, AMD released a new vBIOS for the Radeon RX 5600 XT four days before its launch that reportedly increases the graphics card's performance. In summary, the updated vBIOS bumps the Radeon RX 5600 XT's TBP (Typical Board Power) from 150W to 160W, which in return allows AMD's partners to push the graphics card's core and memory clocks to higher clock speeds.
In Sapphire's case, the company has improved its Pulse Radeon RX 5600 XT's game and boost clocks from 1,560 MHz and 1,620 MHz up to 1,615 MHz and 1,750 MHz, respectively, and the memory clock from 12 GBps to 14 GBps.
| Benchmark | Original vBIOS | New vBIOS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time Spy | 6,9XX | 7,6XX | 10.1% |
| Fire Strike | 19,7XX | 21,9XX | 11.2% |
| Fire Strike Extreme | 9,7XX | 10,8XX | 11.3% |
| Fire Strike Ultra | 5,0XX | 5,5XX | 10% |
Assuming that the unspecified values are zeros, we're seeing improvements of up to between 10% to 11.3%, depending on the benchmark. While the leaked results are good preview of what's to come, we should still wait for the official review as performance in generic benchmarks don't always necessarily translate over to real-world performance.
The big question on everyone's mind is who jebaited who? Some suspect that AMD intentionally announced the Radeon RX 5600 XT with lower specifications to force Nvidia's hand into lowering the pricing on the GeForce RTX 2060. Once it's said and done, AMD would release a vBIOS update afterwards to show the Radeon RX 5600 XT's true colors.
On the flipside, Nvidia could have reduced the GeForce RTX 2060's price just before the Radeon RX 5600 XT launch to lure AMD into offering the graphics card with higher specifications. It's reasonable to believe that Nvidia's plan was to have AMD spec the Radeon RX 5600 XT so close to the Radeon RX 5700 so that the first would cannibalize the sales of the latter.
