Radeon RX 540 vs Radeon Sky 500

When choosing between Radeon RX 540 and Radeon Sky 500, it is worth examining the specifications of the models in detail. Do they meet the recommended requirements of modern games and software? Storage capacity, form factor, TDP, available ports, warranty and manufacturer support are all important. For example, the size of a PC case can limit the maximum thickness and length of the card. Often, instead of the factory overclocked card and RGB backlight, it is better to choose a reference model with a more efficient GPU. And make sure that your current power supply unit has the correct connection pins (using adapters is not recommended). This GPUs compare tool is meant to help you to choose the best graphics card for your build. Let's find out the difference between Radeon RX 540 and Radeon Sky 500.

Radeon RX 540 is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon RX 540 is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with Radeon RX 540 here:

Main Specs

  Radeon RX 540 Radeon Sky 500
Power consumption (TDP) 65 Watt 150 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin 1x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors 1x DisplayPort
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  • Radeon Sky 500 has 130% more power consumption, than Radeon RX 540.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • Radeon RX 540 and Radeon Sky 500 have maximum RAM of 4 GB.
  • Radeon RX 540 is used in Laptops, and Radeon Sky 500 - in Desktops.
  • Radeon RX 540 is build with Polaris architecture, and Radeon Sky 500 - with GCN 1.0.
  • Radeon RX 540 is manufactured by 14 nm process technology, and Radeon Sky 500 - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon RX 540 is 1200 MHz higher, than Radeon Sky 500.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 14−16 35−40
ultra / 1080p 8−9 21−24
QHD / 1440p 3−4 16−18
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 30−33 60−65
medium / 1080p 18−20 40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon Sky 500 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 140% more, than Radeon RX 540.

Full Specs

  Radeon RX 540 Radeon Sky 500
Architecture Polaris GCN 1.0
Code name Polaris 12 Pitcairn
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 21 March 2017 27 March 2013
Pipelines 512 1280
Core clock speed 950 MHz
Boost Clock 1219 MHz
Transistor count 1,500 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 14 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 39.01 76.00
Floating-point performance 1,248 gflops 2,432 gflops
Length 242 mm
Memory bus width 128 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 6000 MHz 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 96 GB/s 154 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 12.0 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.0 5.1
OpenGL 4.6 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 3.0
Laptop size large
Form factor full height / full length
DisplayPort count 1
Dual-link DVI support +
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