GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon RX 6500 XT

CPU

GPU

GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design

2017Core: 1215 MHzBoost: 1379 MHz

GTX family

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Radeon RX 6500 XT

2022Core: 2610 MHzBoost: 2815 MHz

RX family

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GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon RX 6500 XT Performance Spectrum

GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design

8 GB 115

9,842

+2.5%

GeForce GTX 570 Rev. 2

GeForce GTX 1650 Ti with Max-Q Design

GeForce GTX 1650 Ti

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design

GeForce GTX 1070

RTX 2000 Ada Generation

GeForce RTX 5060

GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile

Radeon RX 6500 XT

4 GB 107

9,603

0.0%

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 GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon RX 6500 XT 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 GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon RX 6500 XT: 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 GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design

2017

Why buy it

✅35.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 4 GB).

Trade-offs

❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
❌2017 hardware with 8 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 48.3 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $199 MSRP).

Radeon RX 6500 XT

2022

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 48.3 vs 0 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
✅Better long-term bet: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 6nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 35.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 2.5% in PassMark G3D (9,842 vs 9,603), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Radeon RX 6500 XT is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer feature stack, with FSR 3 (2023) and FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023), while GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design is limited to no meaningful modern upscaling stack and no comparable frame-generation support, a 6nm process instead of 16nm, 16 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2022 generation instead of 2017. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon RX 6500 XT makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon RX 6500 XT Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design

The GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 27 2017. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1215 MHz to 1379 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 115W. Manufactured using 16 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,842 points.

Radeon RX 6500 XT

The Radeon RX 6500 XT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 19 2022. It features the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 2610 MHz to 2815 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 107W. Manufactured using 6 nm process technology. It features 16 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,603 points. Launch price was $199.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design scores 9,842 and the Radeon RX 6500 XT reaches 9,603 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design is built on Pascal while the Radeon RX 6500 XT uses RDNA 2.0, both on 16 nm vs 6 nm. Shader units: 2,048 (GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design) vs 1,024 (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Raw compute: 5.648 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design) vs 5.765 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Boost clocks: 1379 MHz vs 2815 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 6500 XT
G3D Mark Score	9,842+2%	9,603
Architecture	Pascal	RDNA 2.0
Process Node	16 nm	6 nm
Shading Units	2048+100%	1024
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.648 TFLOPS	5.765 TFLOPS+2%
Boost Clock	1379 MHz	2815 MHz+104%
ROPs	64+100%	32
TMUs	128+100%	64
L1 Cache	768 KB+200%	256 KB
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The clearest feature edge for the Radeon RX 6500 XT is support for FSR Frame Generation + AFMF. In games that support it, that can smooth out motion and lift perceived FPS. The GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design does not have comparable native support in the same tier.The GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon RX 6500 XT leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 6500 XT
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR 3
Frame Generation	Not Supported	FSR Frame Generation + AFMF
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design has 8 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon RX 6500 XT carries 4 GB. GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bandwidth: 256 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design) vs 144 GB/s (Radeon RX 6500 XT) — a 77.8% advantage for the GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design and 64-bit on the Radeon RX 6500 XT. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design) vs 1 MB (Radeon RX 6500 XT) — the GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 6500 XT
VRAM Capacity	8 GB+100%	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth	256 GB/s+78%	144 GB/s
Bus Width	256-bit+300%	64-bit
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design) vs 12.2 (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 2.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 6500 XT
DirectX	12.1	12.2
Vulkan	1.1	1.3+18%
OpenGL	4.5	4.6+2%
Max Displays	4+100%	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 4.0 (GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design) vs None (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 vs VCN 3.0 (Limited). Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design) vs MPEG-2,H.264 (Decode),HEVC (Decode) (Radeon RX 6500 XT).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 6500 XT
Encoder	NVENC 4.0	None
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP6	VCN 3.0 (Limited)
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC	MPEG-2,H.264 (Decode),HEVC (Decode)

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design draws 115W versus the Radeon RX 6500 XT's 107W — a 7.2% difference. The Radeon RX 6500 XT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design) vs 400W (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 172mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 70°C.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 6500 XT
TDP	115W	107W-7%
Recommended PSU	500W	400W-20%
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	1x 6-pin
Length	0mm	172mm
Height	0mm	112mm
Slots	0-100%	2
Temp (Load)	85°C	70°C-18%
Perf/Watt	85.6	89.7+5%

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon RX 6500 XT (2022 vs 2017).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1070 with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 6500 XT
MSRP	—	$199
Codename	GP104	Navi 24
Release	June 27 2017	January 19 2022
Ranking	#358	#270

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