GeForce 6500
Radeon 3015e
GeForce 6500 vs Radeon 3015e Performance Spectrum
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 Radeon 3015e 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
Counter-Strike 2
League of Legends
Valorant
Among Us
Apex Legends
ARC Raiders
Baldur's Gate 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
GeForce 6500 vs Radeon 3015e: 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
2012Why buy it
- ✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower average FPS than Radeon 3015e across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ❌Less VRAM, with 256 MB vs 512 MB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
- ❌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$49 MSRP
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0.4 vs 7.2 G3D/$ ($100 MSRP vs $49 MSRP).
Radeon 3015e
2019Why buy it
- ✅572.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ✅Costs $51 less on MSRP ($49 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
- ✅Delivers 1785.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 7.2 vs 0.4 G3D/$ ($49 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
- ✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (512 MB vs 256 MB).
- ✅GeForce 6500 is already obsolete for modern gaming, so Radeon 3015e is the less risky modern option long term.
Trade-offs
- ❌2019 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
Quick Answers
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Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce 6500 vs Radeon 3015e Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
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.
Radeon 3015e
The Radeon 3015e is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 13 2019. It features the GCN 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1082 MHz to 1218 MHz. It has 512 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 351 points.
Graphics Performance
In G3D Mark, the GeForce 6500 scores 38 versus the Radeon 3015e's 351 — the Radeon 3015e leads by 823.7%. The GeForce 6500 is built on Kepler while the Radeon 3015e uses GCN 4.0, both on 28 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce 6500) vs 512 (Radeon 3015e). Raw compute: 0.8125 TFLOPS (GeForce 6500) vs 1.247 TFLOPS (Radeon 3015e).
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon 3015e |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 38 | 351+824% |
| Architecture | Kepler | GCN 4.0 |
| Process Node | 28 nm | 14 nm |
| Shading Units | 384 | 512+33% |
| Compute (TFLOPS) | 0.8125 TFLOPS | 1.247 TFLOPS+53% |
| ROPs | 16 | 16 |
| TMUs | 32 | 32 |
| L1 Cache | 32 KB | 128 KB+300% |
| L2 Cache | 256 KB | 512 KB+100% |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
The GeForce 6500 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon 3015e leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon 3015e |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Radeon 3015e carries 512 MB. Radeon 3015e 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 64-bit on the Radeon 3015e. L2 Cache: 256 KB (GeForce 6500) vs 512 KB (Radeon 3015e) — the Radeon 3015e has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon 3015e |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 0.25 GB | 0.5 GB+100% |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Bus Width | 128-bit+100% | 64-bit |
| L2 Cache | 256 KB | 512 KB+100% |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 9.0c (GeForce 6500) vs 12 (12_1) (Radeon 3015e). Vulkan: None vs 1.2. OpenGL: 2.1 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon 3015e |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 9.0c | 12 (12_1)+33% |
| Vulkan | None | 1.2 |
| OpenGL | 2.1 | 4.6+119% |
| Max Displays | 2 | 2 |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: No (GeForce 6500) vs VCN 1.0 (Radeon 3015e). Decoder: PureVideo vs VCN 1.0. Supported codecs: MPEG-2 (GeForce 6500) vs H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1 (Radeon 3015e).
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon 3015e |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | No | VCN 1.0 |
| Decoder | PureVideo | VCN 1.0 |
| Codecs | MPEG-2 | H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1 |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce 6500 draws 65W versus the Radeon 3015e's 50W — a 26.1% difference. The Radeon 3015e is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 6500) vs 350W (Radeon 3015e). Power connectors: Legacy vs PCIe-powered.
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon 3015e |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 65W | 50W-23% |
| Recommended PSU | 350W | 350W |
| Power Connector | Legacy | PCIe-powered |
| Length | 168mm | — |
| Height | 100mm | — |
| Slots | 1 | — |
| Temp (Load) | 65°C | — |
| Perf/Watt | 0.6 | 7.0+1067% |
Value Analysis
At launch, the GeForce 6500 came in at $100, while the Radeon 3015e launched at $49. On MSRP, Radeon 3015e was 51% cheaper ($51 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 0.4 (GeForce 6500) vs 7.2 (Radeon 3015e) — the Radeon 3015e offers 1700% better value. The newer card here is Radeon 3015e (2019 vs 2012).
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon 3015e |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $100 | $49-51% |
| Performance per Dollar | 0.4 | 7.2+1700% |
| Codename | GK107 | Polaris 23 |
| Release | September 6 2012 | May 13 2019 |
| Ranking | #719 | #757 |
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