GeForce GTX 970
Radeon RX 6500 XT
GeForce GTX 970 vs Radeon RX 6500 XT 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 970 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.
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 GTX 970 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 970
2014Why buy it
- ✅3.4% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
Trade-offs
- ❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
- ❌2014 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
- ❌65.3% HIGHER MSRP$329 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 29.3 vs 48.3 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
- ❌40.2% higher power demand at 150W vs 107W.
Radeon RX 6500 XT
2022Why buy it
- ✅Costs $130 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
- ✅Delivers 64.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 48.3 vs 29.3 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $329 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.
- ✅Draws 107W instead of 150W, a 43W reduction.
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 970 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
Quick Answers
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GeForce GTX 970 vs Radeon RX 6500 XT Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
GeForce GTX 970
The GeForce GTX 970 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in September 19 2014. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1050 MHz to 1178 MHz. It has 1664 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,640 points. Launch price was $329.
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.
Graphics Performance
The GeForce GTX 970 scores 9,640 and the Radeon RX 6500 XT reaches 9,603 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 970 is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the Radeon RX 6500 XT uses RDNA 2.0, both on 28 nm vs 6 nm. Shader units: 1,664 (GeForce GTX 970) vs 1,024 (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Raw compute: 3.92 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 970) vs 5.765 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Boost clocks: 1178 MHz vs 2815 MHz.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 9,640 | 9,603 |
| Architecture | Maxwell 2.0 | RDNA 2.0 |
| Process Node | 28 nm | 6 nm |
| Shading Units | 1664+63% | 1024 |
| Compute (TFLOPS) | 3.92 TFLOPS | 5.765 TFLOPS+47% |
| Boost Clock | 1178 MHz | 2815 MHz+139% |
| ROPs | 56+75% | 32 |
| TMUs | 104+63% | 64 |
| L1 Cache | 624 KB+144% | 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 970 does not have comparable native support in the same tier.The GeForce GTX 970 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 970 | 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)
Both cards ship with 4 GB of video memory. Memory bandwidth: 224 GB/s (GeForce GTX 970) vs 144 GB/s (Radeon RX 6500 XT) — a 55.6% advantage for the GeForce GTX 970. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce GTX 970 and 64-bit on the Radeon RX 6500 XT. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 970) vs 1 MB (Radeon RX 6500 XT) — the GeForce GTX 970 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 224 GB/s+56% | 144 GB/s |
| Bus Width | 256-bit+300% | 64-bit |
| L2 Cache | 2 MB+100% | 1 MB |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 12 (FL 12_1) (GeForce GTX 970) vs 12.2 (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 2.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (FL 12_1) | 12.2+2% |
| Vulkan | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Max Displays | 4+100% | 2 |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: NVENC 2nd gen (GeForce GTX 970) vs None (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Decoder: PureVideo VP6 vs VCN 3.0 (Limited). Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC (GeForce GTX 970) vs MPEG-2,H.264 (Decode),HEVC (Decode) (Radeon RX 6500 XT).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | NVENC 2nd gen | None |
| Decoder | PureVideo VP6 | VCN 3.0 (Limited) |
| Codecs | H.264,H.265/HEVC | MPEG-2,H.264 (Decode),HEVC (Decode) |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce GTX 970 draws 150W versus the Radeon RX 6500 XT's 107W — a 33.5% difference. The Radeon RX 6500 XT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 970) vs 400W (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 172mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 70°C.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 150W | 107W-29% |
| Recommended PSU | 500W | 400W-20% |
| Power Connector | 2x 6-pin | 1x 6-pin |
| Length | 267mm | 172mm |
| Height | 111mm | 112mm |
| Slots | 2 | 2 |
| Temp (Load) | 80°C | 70°C-13% |
| Perf/Watt | 64.3 | 89.7+40% |
Value Analysis
At launch, the GeForce GTX 970 came in at $329, while the Radeon RX 6500 XT launched at $199. On MSRP, Radeon RX 6500 XT was 39.5% cheaper ($130 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 29.3 (GeForce GTX 970) vs 48.3 (Radeon RX 6500 XT) — the Radeon RX 6500 XT offers 64.8% better value. The newer card here is Radeon RX 6500 XT (2022 vs 2014).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 970 | Radeon RX 6500 XT |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $329 | $199-40% |
| Performance per Dollar | 29.3 | 48.3+65% |
| Codename | GM204 | Navi 24 |
| Release | September 19 2014 | January 19 2022 |
| Ranking | #269 | #270 |
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