The AMD RX 590 and the NVIDIA GTX 1080 are tied in this objective comparison, as each component leads in five of the thirteen measured specifications. While the two cards share an equal number of victories, they offer distinct technical strengths. The AMD RX 590 holds a significant advantage in FP16 performance, which is 4986% better than its competitor. Conversely, the NVIDIA GTX 1080 provides a 25% lead in FP32 performance, representing its most impactful technical edge.

Users prioritizing specialized FP16 computational tasks should select the AMD RX 590 to leverage its massive advantage in that specific metric. Those who require superior FP32 performance for their workloads should choose the NVIDIA GTX 1080 instead. Because both cards are evenly matched across the remaining specifications, the final decision rests entirely on whether your specific application demands higher FP16 throughput or the 25% boost in FP32 processing power provided by the NVIDIA alternative.