GeForce GTX 465 vs Radeon HD 6950

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 465

2010Core: 607 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 6950

2010Boost: 800 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce GTX 465 vs Radeon HD 6950 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 GTX 465 vs Radeon HD 6950 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 465 vs Radeon HD 6950: 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 465

2010

Why buy it

  • Costs $20 less on MSRP ($279 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
  • Measures 241mm instead of 275mm, a 34mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 6950 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2010 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon HD 6950

2010

Why buy it

  • 18.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

  • 2010 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 7.2% HIGHER MSRP
    $299 MSRPvs$279 MSRP
  • 14.1% longer card at 275mm vs 241mm.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon HD 6950 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 18.9% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GTX 465 instead at 2,654 vs 2,593, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GTX 465 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?
GeForce GTX 465 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $20 cheaper on MSRP at $279 vs $299, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 9.7% (9.5 vs 8.7), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon HD 6950 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce GTX 465 vs Radeon HD 6950 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 465

The GeForce GTX 465 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in May 31 2010. It features the Fermi architecture. The core clock speed is 607 MHz. It has 352 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,654 points. Launch price was $279.

AMD

Radeon HD 6950

The Radeon HD 6950 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in December 14 2010. It features the TeraScale 3 architecture. The boost clock speed is 800 MHz. It has 1408 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,593 points. Launch price was $299.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 465 scores 2,654 and the Radeon HD 6950 reaches 2,593 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 465 is built on Fermi while the Radeon HD 6950 uses TeraScale 3, both on a 40 nm process. Shader units: 352 (GeForce GTX 465) vs 1,408 (Radeon HD 6950). Raw compute: 0.8554 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 465) vs 2.253 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 6950).

FeatureGeForce GTX 465Radeon HD 6950
G3D Mark Score
2,654+2%
2,593
Architecture
Fermi
TeraScale 3
Process Node
40 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
352
1408+300%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.8554 TFLOPS
2.253 TFLOPS+163%
ROPs
32
32
TMUs
44
88+100%
L1 Cache
704 KB+100%
352 KB
L2 Cache
512 KB
512 KB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 465 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 6950 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTX 465Radeon HD 6950
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 1 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce GTX 465 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 6950.

FeatureGeForce GTX 465Radeon HD 6950
VRAM Capacity
1 GB
1 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
102.6 GB/s
Unknown
Bus Width
256-bit+100%
128-bit
L2 Cache
512 KB
512 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_0) (GeForce GTX 465) vs 11_2 (Radeon HD 6950). Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 4.

FeatureGeForce GTX 465Radeon HD 6950
DirectX
12 (11_0)+9%
11_2
Max Displays
2
4+100%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: None (GeForce GTX 465) vs UVD 3 (Radeon HD 6950). Decoder: VP4 vs UVD 3.

FeatureGeForce GTX 465Radeon HD 6950
Encoder
None
UVD 3
Decoder
VP4
UVD 3
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 465 draws 200W versus the Radeon HD 6950's 200W — a 0% difference. The Radeon HD 6950 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 550W (GeForce GTX 465) vs 500W (Radeon HD 6950). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs 2x 6-pin. Card length: 241mm vs 275mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots.

FeatureGeForce GTX 465Radeon HD 6950
TDP
200W
200W
Recommended PSU
550W
500W-9%
Power Connector
2x 6-pin
2x 6-pin
Length
241mm
275mm
Height
111mm
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
85
Perf/Watt
13.3+2%
13.0
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX 465 came in at $279, while the Radeon HD 6950 launched at $299. On MSRP, GeForce GTX 465 was 6.7% cheaper ($20 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 9.5 (GeForce GTX 465) vs 8.7 (Radeon HD 6950) — the GeForce GTX 465 offers 9.2% better value.

FeatureGeForce GTX 465Radeon HD 6950
MSRP
$279-7%
$299
Performance per Dollar
9.5+9%
8.7
Codename
GF100
Cayman
Release
May 31 2010
December 14 2010
Ranking
#618
#623

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