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GeForce 6500 vs MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce 6500

2012Core: 1058 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700

2010Core: 700 MHz
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GeForce 6500 vs MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 Performance Spectrum

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
MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700
0.125 GB 50
39
+2.6%
brand logoMOBILITY RADEON 7500
brand logoMOBILITY RADEON 7000 IGP
brand logoMOBILITY RADEON 9550
brand logoMOBILITY RADEON X300
brand logoRadeon HD 7950 / R9 280
brand logoRadeon R9 Fury
brand logoRadeon RX 5700
brand logoRadeon RX 6700

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.

GeForce 6500 vs MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

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

GeForce 6500

2012

Why buy it

  • ✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (256 MB vs 128 MB).
  • ✅More future proof: Kepler (2012−2018) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • ❌2012 hardware with 256 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌
    104.1% HIGHER MSRP
    $100 MSRPvs$49 MSRP
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0.4 vs 0.8 G3D/$ ($100 MSRP vs $49 MSRP).
  • ❌30% higher power demand at 65W vs 50W.
  • ❌16700% longer card at 168mm vs 1mm.

MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700

2010

Why buy it

  • ✅Costs $51 less on MSRP ($49 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
  • ✅Delivers 109.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 0.8 vs 0.4 G3D/$ ($49 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
  • ✅Draws 50W instead of 65W, a 15W reduction.
  • ✅Measures 1mm instead of 168mm, a 167mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Less VRAM, with 128 MB vs 256 MB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • ❌2010 hardware with 128 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2.6% in PassMark G3D (39 vs 38), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce 6500 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 256 MB vs 128 MB of VRAM, a 28nm process instead of 40nm, and a newer 2012 generation instead of 2010. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $51 cheaper on MSRP at $49 vs $100, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 109.5% (0.8 vs 0.4), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce 6500 has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 6500 vs MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 Technical Specifications

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

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.

AMD

MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700

The MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 7 2010. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 700 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 39 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 6500 scores 38 and the MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 reaches 39 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 6500 is built on Kepler while the MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce 6500) vs 800 (MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700). Raw compute: 0.8125 TFLOPS (GeForce 6500) vs 1.12 TFLOPS (MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700).

FeatureGeForce 6500MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700
G3D Mark Score
38
39+3%
Architecture
Kepler
TeraScale 2
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
384
800+108%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.8125 TFLOPS
1.12 TFLOPS+38%
ROPs
16
16
TMUs
32
40+25%
L1 Cache
32 KB
80 KB+150%
L2 Cache
256 KB
256 KB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 6500 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 6500MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce 6500 has 256 MB of VRAM, while the MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 carries 128 MB. GeForce 6500 gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 6500 and 128-bit on the MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700.

FeatureGeForce 6500MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700
VRAM Capacity
0.25 GB+100%
0.125 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
256 KB
256 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 9.0c (GeForce 6500) vs 9.0 (MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700). Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 0.

FeatureGeForce 6500MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700
DirectX
9.0c
9.0
Max Displays
2
0
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 6500 draws 65W versus the MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700's 50W — a 26.1% difference. The MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 6500) vs 350W (MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700). Power connectors: Legacy vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 168mm vs 1mm, occupying 1 vs 0 slots.

FeatureGeForce 6500MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700
TDP
65W
50W-23%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
PCIe-powered
Length
168mm
1mm
Height
100mm
—
Slots
1
0-100%
Temp (Load)
65°C
—
Perf/Watt
0.6
0.8+33%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 6500 came in at $100, while the MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 launched at $49. On MSRP, MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 was 51% cheaper ($51 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 0.4 (GeForce 6500) vs 0.8 (MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700) — the MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 offers 100% better value. The newer card here is GeForce 6500 (2012 vs 2010).

FeatureGeForce 6500MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700
MSRP
$100
$49-51%
Performance per Dollar
0.4
0.8+100%
Codename
GK107
Broadway
Release
September 6 2012
January 7 2010
Ranking
#719
#846
Search GeForce 6500 on AmazonSearch MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700 on Amazon

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