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GeForce 6500 vs RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce 6500

2012Core: 1058 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700

2025Core: 1660 MHzBoost: 2920 MHz
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GeForce 6500 vs RADEON 9500 PRO / 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
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
0.5 GB 300
42
+10.5%
brand logoMOBILITY RADEON 7000 IGP
brand logoMOBILITY RADEON 9700
brand logoMOBILITY RADEON 9550
brand logoMOBILITY RADEON 9600
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 RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 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
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
1080P
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
low2 FPS
medium2 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
1080P
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
low2 FPS
medium2 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
1080P
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
low2 FPS
medium2 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
1080P
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
low2 FPS
medium2 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Among Us

Among Us

1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
1080P
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
low2 FPS
medium2 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Apex Legends

Apex Legends

1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
1080P
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
low2 FPS
medium2 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders

1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
1080P
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
low2 FPS
medium2 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3

1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
1080P
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
low2 FPS
medium2 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
1080P
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
low2 FPS
medium2 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Call of Duty: Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone

1080P
GeForce 6500
low2 FPS
medium1 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
1080P
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
low2 FPS
medium2 FPS
high1 FPS
ultra1 FPS
Check FPS with Custom Builds

GeForce 6500 vs RADEON 9500 PRO / 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

  • ✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 0.4 vs 0 G3D/$ ($100 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • ✅Draws 65W instead of 300W, a 235W reduction.
  • ✅Measures 168mm instead of 175mm, a 7mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Lower PassMark G3D performance (38 vs 42).
  • ❌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.

RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700

2025

Why buy it

  • ✅+10.5% higher PassMark G3D performance.
  • ✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (512 MB vs 256 MB).
  • ✅Better long-term bet: RDNA 4.0 (2025) on 4nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 0.4 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
  • ❌361.5% higher power demand at 300W vs 65W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 10.5% in PassMark G3D (42 vs 38), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 512 MB vs 256 MB of VRAM, the newer upscaling stack, FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, a 4nm process instead of 28nm, and 64 vs 0 ray-tracing units. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce 6500 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, GeForce 6500 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 6500 vs RADEON 9500 PRO / 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

RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700

The RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in July 23 2025. It features the RDNA 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1660 MHz to 2920 MHz. It has 4096 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 4 nm process technology. It features 64 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 42 points. Launch price was $1,299.

⚡

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce 6500 scores 38 versus the RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700's 42 — the RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 leads by 10.5%. The GeForce 6500 is built on Kepler while the RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 uses RDNA 4.0, both on 28 nm vs 4 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce 6500) vs 4,096 (RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700). Raw compute: 0.8125 TFLOPS (GeForce 6500) vs 47.84 TFLOPS (RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700).

FeatureGeForce 6500RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
G3D Mark Score
38
42+11%
Architecture
Kepler
RDNA 4.0
Process Node
28 nm
4 nm
Shading Units
384
4096+967%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.8125 TFLOPS
47.84 TFLOPS+5788%
ROPs
16
128+700%
TMUs
32
256+700%
L2 Cache
0.25 MB
8 MB+3100%
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 6500 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 6500RADEON 9500 PRO / 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 RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 carries 512 MB. RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 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 9500 PRO / 9700. L2 Cache: 0.25 MB (GeForce 6500) vs 8 MB (RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700) — the RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce 6500RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
VRAM Capacity
0.25 GB
0.5 GB+100%
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
128-bit+100%
64-bit
L2 Cache
0.25 MB
8 MB+3100%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 9.0c (GeForce 6500) vs 9.0 (RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700). Vulkan: None vs N/A. OpenGL: 2.1 vs 2.0. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

FeatureGeForce 6500RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
DirectX
9.0c
9.0
Vulkan
None
N/A
OpenGL
2.1+5%
2.0
Max Displays
2
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (GeForce 6500) vs None (RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700). Decoder: PureVideo vs VideoShader. Supported codecs: MPEG-2 (GeForce 6500) vs MPEG-2 (RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700).

FeatureGeForce 6500RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
Encoder
No
None
Decoder
PureVideo
VideoShader
Codecs
MPEG-2
MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 6500 draws 65W versus the RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700's 300W — a 128.8% difference. The GeForce 6500 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 6500) vs 350W (RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700). Power connectors: Legacy vs Legacy. Card length: 168mm vs 175mm, occupying 1 vs 1 slots. Typical load temperature: 65°C vs 70.

FeatureGeForce 6500RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
TDP
65W-78%
300W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
Legacy
Length
168mm
175mm
Height
100mm
100mm
Slots
1
1
Temp (Load)
65°C-7%
70
Perf/Watt
0.6+500%
0.1
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 6500 came in at $100, while the RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 launched at $0. On MSRP, RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 was 100+% cheaper ($100 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 0.4 (GeForce 6500) vs Infinity (RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700) — the RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 offers Infinity% better value. The newer card here is RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700 (2025 vs 2012).

FeatureGeForce 6500RADEON 9500 PRO / 9700
MSRP
$100
$0-100%
Performance per Dollar
0.4
Infinity
Codename
GK107
Navi 48
Release
September 6 2012
July 23 2025
Ranking
#719
#23
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