GPU AMD GCN 4.0
Radeon RX 480

Radeon RX 480

Ellesmere Released: June 29, 2016
Memory
8
GB GDDR5
Boost Clock
1266
MHz
TGP
150
W

Technical Highlights

Architecture : GCN 4.0
Generation : Arctic Islands (RX 400)
Shading Units : 2304
RT Cores : -

About Radeon RX 480

Radeon RX 480 is a discrete graphics card from AMD released on June 29, 2016 based on the GCN 4.0 architecture with 8 GB GDDR5 memory on a PCIe 3.0 x16 bus interface. It runs at 1120 MHz base clock, reaches up to 1266 MHz boost clock, and has a 150 W power rating. It supports DirectX 12 (12_0), Vulkan 1.3, and OpenGL 4.6.

Last updated: March 29, 2026

Overall Score Of Radeon RX 480

This summarizes how Radeon RX 480 scores across key areas like gaming, rendering, AI, and Energy Efficiency.

67
Overall
Gaming Performance
59
AI & Machine Learning
53
Hardware Architecture
63
Workstation
67
Energy Efficiency
13

General Info of Radeon RX 480

Vendor

AMD

Release Date

June 29, 2016

Foundry

GlobalFoundries

Architecture

GCN 4.0

Process Size

14 nm

29% of the current best Process Size score

Transistors

5.7 billion

Launch Price

229

Graphics Processor of Radeon RX 480

Base Clock

1120 MHz

42% of the current best Base Clock score

Boost Clock

1266 MHz

40% of the current best Boost Clock score

Shading Units

2304

11% of the current best Shading Units score

Compute Units

36

21% of the current best Compute Units score

Textured Mapping Units (TMUs)

144

21% of the current best Textured Mapping Units (TMUs) score

Render Output Units (ROPs)

32

13% of the current best Render Output Units (ROPs) score

Die Size

232 mm²

Density

24.6 MTr/mm²

L1 Cache

16 KB (per CU)

6% of the current best L1 Cache score

L2 Cache

2 MB

2% of the current best L2 Cache score

Raw Performance of Radeon RX 480

Pixel Fill Rate

40.51 GPixel/s

8% of the current best Pixel Fill Rate score

Texture Fill Rate

182.3 GTexel/s

11% of the current best Texture Fill Rate score

FP32 Performance

5.834 TFLOPs

6% of the current best FP32 Performance score

Memory of Radeon RX 480

Memory Size

Good

8 GB

25% of the current best Memory Size score

Memory Type

GDDR5

40% of the current best Memory Type score

Bus Width

256-bit

Memory Clock

Excellent

2000 MHz

76% of the current best Memory Clock score

Effective Speed

8000 Mbps

27% of the current best Effective Speed score

Bandwidth

256 GB/s

14% of the current best Bandwidth score

Board Design of Radeon RX 480

Bus Interface

Good

PCIe 3.0 x16

60% of the current best Bus Interface score

PCIe Version

Good

3.0

60% of the current best PCIe Version score

PCIe Lanes

16

TGP

150 W

Length

240 mm

Width

35 mm

Height

95 mm

APIs of Radeon RX 480

DirectX

Excellent

12 (12_0)

80% of the current best DirectX score

OpenGL

Top tier

4.6

100% of the current best OpenGL score

OpenCL

Good

2.1

70% of the current best OpenCL score

Vulkan

Top tier

1.3

91% of the current best Vulkan score

HDMI

Good

2.0b

70% of the current best HDMI score

DisplayPort

Excellent

1.4a

80% of the current best DisplayPort score

Ray Tracing

0

DLSS

0

Benchmarks of Radeon RX 480

3D Mark

A standardized suite that approximates real-world gaming workloads to compare graphics performance.

Time Spy:
4001
9% of max score
Fire Strike:
10329
12% of max score

Passmark Graphics

A multi-test benchmark that evaluates raster, memory bandwidth, and compute performance.

G3D Mark Score:
8539
22% of max score
G2D Mark Score:
772
55% of max score
DirectX 12:
41
23% of max score
GPU Compute:
3415 Ops/s
13% of max score

FurMark

Stress test designed to push sustained load for thermal stability and cooling behavior.

1080p Vulkan:
3373
10% of max score
1440p Vulkan:
2210
9% of max score
2160p Vulkan:
1239
8% of max score
1080p OpenGL:
3525
12% of max score
1440p OpenGL:
2365
10% of max score
2160p OpenGL:
1231
8% of max score

Performance Charts Of Radeon RX 480

These charts give a quick view of FPS scaling across resolutions and how this GPU compares against market top benchmark values.

Gaming FPS Analysis

Ultra settings performance of Radeon RX 480
1080p Ultra
1440p Ultra
4K Ultra

Performance Benchmarks

Grey is the market top value. Colored bar is Radeon RX 480.
Market Top
Radeon RX 480

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Frequently Asked Questions about Radeon RX 480

The Radeon RX 480 was officially released in June 29, 2016. It was launched as a graphics solution by AMD.

The Radeon RX 480 scores 4,001 on 3DMark Time Spy, indicating its solid capabilities in modern gaming scenarios. This benchmark is the industry standard for measuring DirectX 12 gaming performance.

The Radeon RX 480 is equipped with 8 GB of VRAM, which is currently the sweet spot for smooth 1440p gaming and modern texture quality.

The Radeon RX 480 has a Total Graphics Power (TGP) of 150 W. This value dictates your power supply (PSU) requirements, so ensure your system can handle this draw effectively.

The Radeon RX 480 operates at a base clock speed of 1120 MHz. This is the minimum clock frequency the graphics card runs at under standard workloads before boosting.

The Radeon RX 480 features a boost clock speed of 1266 MHz. This clock speed represents the maximum frequency the graphics card can dynamically reach during intense gaming or rendering workloads.

The Radeon RX 480 is built on the GCN 4.0 architecture. This foundational design determines the GPU's power efficiency and support for modern features like hardware Ray Tracing and AI upscaling (DLSS/FSR).

With a performance score of 67%, the Radeon RX 480 is ranked as a capable mid-range graphics card in our extensive GPU database.

The Radeon RX 480 uses the PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, ensuring high-speed data transfer and minimal bottlenecking between the graphics card and the motherboard.

The Radeon RX 480 features 2,304 shading units (cores), which are directly responsible for rendering complex visual effects and lighting in modern games.

The Radeon RX 480 contains approximately 5.7 billion transistors, packed into its silicon to deliver massive parallel processing capabilities.

The Radeon RX 480 is manufactured on a 14 nm node. A smaller process node generally translates to better energy efficiency and improved thermal management.