GeForce 6500
Radeon X1250
GeForce 6500 vs Radeon X1250 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 X1250 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 X1250: 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
- ✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 0.4 vs 0 G3D/$ ($100 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
Trade-offs
- ❌Less VRAM, with 256 MB vs 512 MB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
- ❌2012 hardware with 256 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌30% higher power demand at 65W vs 50W.
Radeon X1250
2017Why buy it
- ✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (512 MB vs 256 MB).
- ✅Draws 50W instead of 65W, a 15W reduction.
- ✅More future proof: GCN 4.0 (2016−2020) on 14nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
Trade-offs
- ❌2017 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 0.4 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
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GeForce 6500 vs Radeon X1250 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 X1250
The Radeon X1250 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 20 2017. It features the GCN 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1100 MHz to 1183 MHz. It has 512 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 37 points. Launch price was $79.
Graphics Performance
The GeForce 6500 scores 38 and the Radeon X1250 reaches 37 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 6500 is built on Kepler while the Radeon X1250 uses GCN 4.0, both on 28 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce 6500) vs 512 (Radeon X1250). Raw compute: 0.8125 TFLOPS (GeForce 6500) vs 1.211 TFLOPS (Radeon X1250).
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon X1250 |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 38+3% | 37 |
| Architecture | Kepler | GCN 4.0 |
| Process Node | 28 nm | 14 nm |
| Shading Units | 384 | 512+33% |
| Compute (TFLOPS) | 0.8125 TFLOPS | 1.211 TFLOPS+49% |
| ROPs | 16 | 16 |
| TMUs | 32 | 32 |
| L1 Cache | 32 KB | 128 KB+300% |
| 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 Radeon X1250 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon X1250 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 X1250 carries 512 MB. Radeon X1250 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 X1250.
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon X1250 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 0.25 GB | 0.5 GB+100% |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Bus Width | 128-bit+100% | 64-bit |
| L2 Cache | 256 KB | 256 KB |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 9.0c (GeForce 6500) vs 9.0b (Radeon X1250). Vulkan: None vs N/A. OpenGL: 2.1 vs 2.0. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon X1250 |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 9.0c | 9.0b |
| Vulkan | None | N/A |
| OpenGL | 2.1+5% | 2.0 |
| Max Displays | 2 | 2 |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: No (GeForce 6500) vs Avivo (Radeon X1250). Decoder: PureVideo vs Avivo. Supported codecs: MPEG-2 (GeForce 6500) vs MPEG-2,MPEG-4,WMV9 (Radeon X1250).
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon X1250 |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | No | Avivo |
| Decoder | PureVideo | Avivo |
| Codecs | MPEG-2 | MPEG-2,MPEG-4,WMV9 |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce 6500 draws 65W versus the Radeon X1250's 50W — a 26.1% difference. The Radeon X1250 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 6500) vs 350W (Radeon X1250). Power connectors: Legacy vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 168mm vs 0mm, occupying 1 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 65°C vs 70.
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon X1250 |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 65W | 50W-23% |
| Recommended PSU | 350W | 350W |
| Power Connector | Legacy | PCIe-powered |
| Length | 168mm | 0mm |
| Height | 100mm | 0mm |
| Slots | 1 | 0-100% |
| Temp (Load) | 65°C-7% | 70 |
| Perf/Watt | 0.6 | 0.7+17% |
Value Analysis
At launch, the GeForce 6500 came in at $100, while the Radeon X1250 launched at $0. On MSRP, Radeon X1250 was 100+% cheaper ($100 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 0.4 (GeForce 6500) vs Infinity (Radeon X1250) — the Radeon X1250 offers Infinity% better value. The newer card here is Radeon X1250 (2017 vs 2012).
| Feature | GeForce 6500 | Radeon X1250 |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $100 | $0-100% |
| Performance per Dollar | 0.4 | Infinity |
| Codename | GK107 | Lexa |
| Release | September 6 2012 | April 20 2017 |
| Ranking | #719 | #668 |
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