GeForce FX 5900 vs RADEON 9500

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 FX 5900 vs RADEON 9500 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.

GeForce FX 5900 vs RADEON 9500: 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 FX 5900

2011

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌2011 hardware with 128 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
122.9% HIGHER MSRP
$399 MSRPvs$179 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0.1 vs 0.2 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $179 MSRP).
❌284.2% higher power demand at 365W vs 95W.

RADEON 9500

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $220 less on MSRP ($179 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Delivers 129.3% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 0.2 vs 0.1 G3D/$ ($179 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Draws 95W instead of 365W, a 270W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌2015 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?

RADEON 9500 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2.9% in PassMark G3D (36 vs 35), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce FX 5900 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

RADEON 9500 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $220 cheaper on MSRP at $179 vs $399, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 129.3% (0.2 vs 0.1), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, RADEON 9500 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce FX 5900 has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce FX 5900 vs RADEON 9500 Technical Specifications

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

GeForce FX 5900

The GeForce FX 5900 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 24 2011. It features the Rankine architecture. The core clock speed is 607 MHz. It has 1024 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 365W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 35 points. Launch price was $699.

RADEON 9500

The RADEON 9500 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in September 29 2015. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 735 MHz to 1000 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 95W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 36 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce FX 5900 scores 35 and the RADEON 9500 reaches 36 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce FX 5900 is built on Rankine while the RADEON 9500 uses GCN 3.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,024 (GeForce FX 5900) vs 2,048 (RADEON 9500). Raw compute: 1.244 TFLOPS ×2 (GeForce FX 5900) vs 4.096 TFLOPS (RADEON 9500).

Feature	GeForce FX 5900	RADEON 9500
G3D Mark Score	35	36+3%
Architecture	Rankine	GCN 3.0
Process Node	40 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1024 ×2	2048+100%
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.244 TFLOPS ×2	4.096 TFLOPS+229%
ROPs	48 ×2+50%	32
TMUs	64 ×2	128+100%
L1 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB
L2 Cache	768 KB+50%	512 KB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce FX 5900 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The RADEON 9500 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce FX 5900	RADEON 9500
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)

Both cards ship with 128 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce FX 5900 and 64-bit on the RADEON 9500. L2 Cache: 768 KB (GeForce FX 5900) vs 512 KB (RADEON 9500) — the GeForce FX 5900 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce FX 5900	RADEON 9500
VRAM Capacity	0.125 GB	0.125 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Bus Width	128-bit+100%	64-bit
L2 Cache	768 KB+50%	512 KB

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce FX 5900 draws 365W versus the RADEON 9500's 95W — a 117.4% difference. The RADEON 9500 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce FX 5900) vs 350W (RADEON 9500). Power connectors: Legacy vs Legacy.

Feature	GeForce FX 5900	RADEON 9500
TDP	365W	95W-74%
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	Legacy	Legacy
Length	218mm	—
Slots	1	—
Perf/Watt	0.1	0.4+300%

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce FX 5900 came in at $399, while the RADEON 9500 launched at $179. On MSRP, RADEON 9500 was 55.1% cheaper ($220 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 0.1 (GeForce FX 5900) vs 0.2 (RADEON 9500) — the RADEON 9500 offers 100% better value. The newer card here is RADEON 9500 (2015 vs 2011).

Feature	GeForce FX 5900	RADEON 9500
MSRP	$399	$179-55%
Performance per Dollar	0.1	0.2+100%
Codename	GF110	Amethyst
Release	March 24 2011	September 29 2015
Ranking	#555	#420

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