MOUGOL AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP 8GB Review: Budget 1080p With a UK Warranty

The MOUGOL Radeon RX 580 is a cheap way to give an older desktop a dedicated graphics card, and that's the whole pitch. It isn't new technology. The RX 580 is a 2017-era chip, and this card uses the slower 2048SP version of it rather than the full 2304SP RX 580.

So why look at it at all? Because the choice at this end of the market is thin. At the time of writing, it's the only graphics card in this budget band that we could find sold in the UK with a UK warranty. MOUGOL sells it through its own UK store on Amazon, Amazon handles dispatch, and the product page states a one-year manufacturer warranty. If you want a new card, bought here, with someone to go back to if it fails, that counts for a lot.

Our view: it suits a modest 1080p gaming upgrade for a desktop that has no graphics card, or a tired one. It doesn't suit anyone hoping for ray tracing, high settings in new releases or a card that will stay relevant for years.

The listing gives no clock speeds or board power figure for this card. Those numbers differ between makers of RX 580 boards, so another brand's figures won't tell you much about this one.

That matters when you read benchmarks. Results for the full 2304SP RX 580 don't tell you how this card will run, so look for results that cover the 2048SP version specifically.

None of this makes the card a bad buy at its price. It just means you should compare it with what it actually is.

We haven't tested the card, and the listing gives no frame rates, so we can't promise particular settings or numbers. Expect to set games up yourself: start at medium, see how it feels, then adjust. Newer big-budget releases are a different matter. Many now list far more capable cards in their minimum requirements, and a 2017-era chip in its slower form will struggle with them. Check the published requirements of the games you care about before you buy.

Ray tracing isn't an option. AMD added hardware ray tracing with its RX 6000 series in 2020, and the RX 580 predates that. Games that make ray tracing compulsory won't run properly, and a handful already do.

Upscaling support varies by game and by version, and AMD's newest upscaling needs much newer hardware. If you're counting on upscaling to make a demanding game playable, check that game's own requirements first.

Memory size isn't the whole story, though. How much a game uses depends on its texture settings and resolution, and having 8GB doesn't tell you how well a game will run: the speed of the chip and your settings matter too. GDDR5 is also an older, slower memory type than the GDDR6 on current cards, though the wide 256-bit bus helps.

Before ordering, check three things:

• Your power supply has a spare 6-pin (or 6+2-pin) PCIe cable. Many office PCs don't, and a cheap adapter from SATA or Molex power is a bad idea.
• Your power supply is good enough for the whole system. MOUGOL's 500W figure is a recommendation for the full PC, so if yours is old or unbranded, replace it at the same time.
• The card fits. The listing doesn't give its length, so ask the seller for the card's dimensions and compare them with the space in your case.

The card uses PCIe 3.0, which also fits newer PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 x16 slots. Small form factor PCs, the slim desktops sold to offices and schools, generally won't take it: MOUGOL designed it for mid-tower and full-tower cases.

If there's an old card, unscrew it from the back of the case, release the clip at the end of the slot and lift it out. Then push the MOUGOL card firmly into the top x16 slot until the clip clicks, screw its bracket to the case and plug in the 6-pin cable from the power supply. The card won't work properly without that cable, even though the fans may spin.

Plug your monitor into one of the card's outputs, not into the motherboard's video port. That's the most common reason a new card seems to do nothing. If you're replacing an Nvidia or Intel card, remove the old drivers first, then install AMD's Adrenalin software from AMD's own website rather than an old disc or a third-party download site.

Once it's running, start with a game's medium preset at 1080p and change one setting at a time. Shadows and volumetric effects usually cost the most for the least visible gain, so they're the first to lower.

The DVI-D port is handy if you're keeping an older monitor. For a newer gaming monitor with a high refresh rate, DisplayPort is usually the cable to use, but check which inputs your monitor has and buy cables to match.

What we can say is general. Any graphics card runs cooler and quieter in a case with a clear path for air, in at the front and out at the back. A card squeezed into an office PC with one small fan will run warmer and louder than the same card in a roomy case. If your PC is old, spend five minutes cleaning out the dust before fitting a new card.

Driver support for a chip this old won't last for ever, so check AMD's current driver support for your version of Windows before buying, especially if you're still on Windows 7. It's one more reason this isn't a card to buy for the long haul.

MOUGOL also pitches the card for video editing in Premiere Pro, 3D work in Blender and streaming. Support for older AMD cards varies between versions of that software, so check your application's current requirements first if creative work is the main reason you're buying.

The product page states UKCA and CE marking and a one-year manufacturer warranty. Those are MOUGOL's statements, and we haven't checked them independently. Keep your order details, because the warranty is the main thing protecting you if the card fails, and check the returns terms on the listing before ordering.

It makes less sense if you want to play new releases at good settings, if any of your games need ray tracing, or if you want a card that will keep up for several years. In those cases, saving up for a newer card is the better move, even though it means spending more.