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Radeon RX 5500 vs GeForce 6500

CPUCPUGPUGPU
AMD

Radeon RX 5500

2019Boost: 1845 MHz
RX family
·······
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VS
NVIDIA

GeForce 6500

2012Core: 1058 MHz
Similar parts
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Radeon RX 5500 vs GeForce 6500 Performance Spectrum

Radeon RX 5500
4 GB 110
8,837
+23155.3%
brand logoRadeon R9 M395
brand logoRadeon HD 6970M Crossfire
brand logoRadeon R9 285
brand logoRadeon 880M
brand logoRadeon RX 5700M
brand logoRadeon RX 6600 XT
brand logoRadeon RX 6750 GRE 12GB
brand logoRadeon RX 7800 XT
GeForce 6500
0.25 GB 65
38
0.0%
brand logoGeForce Go 6150
brand logoGeForce FX 5700LE
brand logoGeForce 6100
brand logoGeForce FX 5900ZT
brand logoGeForce GTX 1050 Mobile 3 GB
brand logoGeForce GTX 780 Ti
brand logoGeForce RTX 4050 Mobile
brand logoGeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Radeon RX 5500 vs GeForce 6500 FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

1080P
Radeon RX 5500
low84 FPS
medium72 FPS
high60 FPS
ultra39 FPS
1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

1080P
Radeon RX 5500
low106 FPS
medium74 FPS
high51 FPS
ultra34 FPS
1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

1080P
Radeon RX 5500
low349 FPS
medium304 FPS
high238 FPS
ultra198 FPS
1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

1080P
Radeon RX 5500
low140 FPS
medium113 FPS
high97 FPS
ultra81 FPS
1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Among Us

Among Us

1080P
Radeon RX 5500
low60 FPS
medium60 FPS
high60 FPS
ultra60 FPS
1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Apex Legends

Apex Legends

1080P
Radeon RX 5500
low77 FPS
medium56 FPS
high40 FPS
ultra26 FPS
1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders

1080P
Radeon RX 5500
low63 FPS
medium48 FPS
high39 FPS
ultra23 FPS
1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3

1080P
Radeon RX 5500
low58 FPS
medium43 FPS
high32 FPS
ultra25 FPS
1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

1080P
Radeon RX 5500
low88 FPS
medium70 FPS
high61 FPS
ultra47 FPS
1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Call of Duty: Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone

1080P
Radeon RX 5500
low76 FPS
medium61 FPS
high51 FPS
ultra39 FPS
1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Check FPS with Custom Builds

Radeon RX 5500 vs GeForce 6500: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

Radeon RX 5500

2019

Why buy it

  • ✅5486.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ✅Delivers 12891.8% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 49.4 vs 0.4 G3D/$ ($179 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
  • ✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with FSR Frame Generation (2023).
  • ✅1500% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 256 MB).
  • ✅Better long-term bet: RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020) on 7nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • ❌69.2% higher power demand at 110W vs 65W.

GeForce 6500

2012

Why buy it

  • ✅Costs $79 less on MSRP ($100 MSRP vs $179 MSRP).
  • ✅Draws 65W instead of 110W, a 45W reduction.
  • ✅Measures 168mm instead of 180mm, a 12mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Lower average FPS than Radeon RX 5500 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ❌Less VRAM, with 256 MB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • ❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation (2023).
  • ❌2012 hardware with 256 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0.4 vs 49.4 G3D/$ ($100 MSRP vs $179 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon RX 5500 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 5486.0% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 23155.3% in PassMark G3D (8,837 vs 38), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon RX 5500 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 4 GB vs 256 MB of VRAM, the newer feature stack, with FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) and FSR Frame Generation (2023), while GeForce 6500 is limited to no meaningful modern upscaling stack and no comparable frame-generation support, a 7nm process instead of 28nm, and a newer 2019 generation instead of 2012. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon RX 5500 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $79 more expensive on MSRP at $179 vs $100, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 12891.8% (49.4 vs 0.4), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

Radeon RX 5500 vs GeForce 6500 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

AMD

Radeon RX 5500

The Radeon RX 5500 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in October 7 2019. It features the RDNA 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1845 MHz. It has 1408 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 110W. Manufactured using 7 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,837 points.

NVIDIA

GeForce 6500

The GeForce 6500 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in September 6 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock speed is 1058 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 65W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 38 points. Launch price was $109.

⚡

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the Radeon RX 5500 scores 8,837 versus the GeForce 6500's 38 — the Radeon RX 5500 leads by 23155.3%. The Radeon RX 5500 is built on RDNA 1.0 while the GeForce 6500 uses Kepler, both on 7 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,408 (Radeon RX 5500) vs 384 (GeForce 6500). Raw compute: 5.196 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 5500) vs 0.8125 TFLOPS (GeForce 6500).

FeatureRadeon RX 5500GeForce 6500
G3D Mark Score
8,837+23155%
38
Architecture
RDNA 1.0
Kepler
Process Node
7 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
1408+267%
384
Compute (TFLOPS)
5.196 TFLOPS+540%
0.8125 TFLOPS
ROPs
32+100%
16
TMUs
88+175%
32
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The clearest feature edge for the Radeon RX 5500 is support for FSR Frame Generation. In games that support it, that can smooth out motion and lift perceived FPS. The GeForce 6500 does not have comparable native support in the same tier.The GeForce 6500 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon RX 5500 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureRadeon RX 5500GeForce 6500
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
FSR Frame Generation
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
NVIDIA Reflex
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The Radeon RX 5500 has 4 GB of VRAM, while the GeForce 6500 carries 256 MB. Radeon RX 5500 gives you 1500% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon RX 5500 and 128-bit on the GeForce 6500.

FeatureRadeon RX 5500GeForce 6500
VRAM Capacity
4 GB+1500%
0.25 GB
Memory Type
GDDR6
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
224 GB/s
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (Radeon RX 5500) vs 9.0c (GeForce 6500). Vulkan: 1.2 vs None. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 2.1. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 2.

FeatureRadeon RX 5500GeForce 6500
DirectX
12.1+34%
9.0c
Vulkan
1.2
None
OpenGL
4.6+119%
2.1
Max Displays
4+100%
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 2.0 (Radeon RX 5500) vs No (GeForce 6500). Decoder: VCN 2.0 vs PureVideo. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9 (Radeon RX 5500) vs MPEG-2 (GeForce 6500).

FeatureRadeon RX 5500GeForce 6500
Encoder
VCN 2.0
No
Decoder
VCN 2.0
PureVideo
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9
MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon RX 5500 draws 110W versus the GeForce 6500's 65W — a 51.4% difference. The GeForce 6500 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 450W (Radeon RX 5500) vs 350W (GeForce 6500). Power connectors: 8-pin vs Legacy. Card length: 180mm vs 168mm, occupying 2 vs 1 slots. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 65°C.

FeatureRadeon RX 5500GeForce 6500
TDP
110W
65W-41%
Recommended PSU
450W
350W-22%
Power Connector
8-pin
Legacy
Length
180mm
168mm
Height
110mm
100mm
Slots
2
1-50%
Temp (Load)
75°C
65°C-13%
Perf/Watt
80.3+13283%
0.6
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon RX 5500 came in at $179, while the GeForce 6500 launched at $100. On MSRP, GeForce 6500 was 44.1% cheaper ($79 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 49.4 (Radeon RX 5500) vs 0.4 (GeForce 6500) — the Radeon RX 5500 offers 12250% better value. The newer card here is Radeon RX 5500 (2019 vs 2012).

FeatureRadeon RX 5500GeForce 6500
MSRP
$179
$100-44%
Performance per Dollar
49.4+12250%
0.4
Codename
Navi 14
GK107
Release
October 7 2019
September 6 2012
Ranking
#297
#719
Search Radeon RX 5500 on AmazonSearch GeForce 6500 on Amazon

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