GeForce PCX 5900 vs RADEON 9600 XT

NVIDIA

GeForce PCX 5900

2011Core: 607 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

RADEON 9600 XT

2022Core: 1387 MHzBoost: 2394 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce PCX 5900 vs RADEON 9600 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 PCX 5900 vs RADEON 9600 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 PCX 5900 vs RADEON 9600 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 PCX 5900

2011

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

  • 2011 hardware with 256 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 0.2 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
  • 21.7% higher power demand at 365W vs 300W.

RADEON 9600 XT

2022

Why buy it

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 0.2 vs 0 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • Better long-term bet: RDNA 3.0 (2022−2026) on 5nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
  • Draws 300W instead of 365W, a 65W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
RADEON 9600 XT is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2.9% in PassMark G3D (35 vs 34), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
RADEON 9600 XT is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer upscaling stack, FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, a 5nm process instead of 40nm, 84 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2022 generation instead of 2011. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
RADEON 9600 XT makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup.

GeForce PCX 5900 vs RADEON 9600 XT Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce PCX 5900

The GeForce PCX 5900 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 24 2011. It features the Fermi 2.0 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: 34 points. Launch price was $699.

AMD

RADEON 9600 XT

The RADEON 9600 XT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 3 2022. It features the RDNA 3.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1387 MHz to 2394 MHz. It has 5376 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 5 nm process technology. It features 84 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 35 points. Launch price was $899.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce PCX 5900 scores 34 and the RADEON 9600 XT reaches 35 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce PCX 5900 is built on Fermi 2.0 while the RADEON 9600 XT uses RDNA 3.0, both on 40 nm vs 5 nm. Shader units: 1,024 (GeForce PCX 5900) vs 5,376 (RADEON 9600 XT). Raw compute: 1.244 TFLOPS ×2 (GeForce PCX 5900) vs 51.48 TFLOPS (RADEON 9600 XT).

FeatureGeForce PCX 5900RADEON 9600 XT
G3D Mark Score
34
35+3%
Architecture
Fermi 2.0
RDNA 3.0
Process Node
40 nm
5 nm
Shading Units
1024 ×2
5376+425%
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.244 TFLOPS ×2
51.48 TFLOPS+4038%
ROPs
48 ×2
192+300%
TMUs
64 ×2
336+425%
L1 Cache
1 MB
3 MB+200%
L2 Cache
0.75 MB
6 MB+700%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce PCX 5900 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The RADEON 9600 XT leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce PCX 5900RADEON 9600 XT
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 256 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce PCX 5900 and 64-bit on the RADEON 9600 XT. L2 Cache: 0.75 MB (GeForce PCX 5900) vs 6 MB (RADEON 9600 XT) — the RADEON 9600 XT has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce PCX 5900RADEON 9600 XT
VRAM Capacity
0.25 GB
0.25 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
128-bit+100%
64-bit
L2 Cache
0.75 MB
6 MB+700%
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce PCX 5900 draws 365W versus the RADEON 9600 XT's 300W — a 19.5% difference. The RADEON 9600 XT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce PCX 5900) vs 350W (RADEON 9600 XT). Power connectors: Legacy vs Legacy.

FeatureGeForce PCX 5900RADEON 9600 XT
TDP
365W
300W-18%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
Legacy
Perf/Watt
0.1
0.1
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce PCX 5900 came in at $0, while the RADEON 9600 XT launched at $199. On MSRP, GeForce PCX 5900 was 100+% cheaper ($199 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): Infinity (GeForce PCX 5900) vs 0.2 (RADEON 9600 XT) — the GeForce PCX 5900 offers Infinity% better value. The newer card here is RADEON 9600 XT (2022 vs 2011).

FeatureGeForce PCX 5900RADEON 9600 XT
MSRP
$0-100%
$199
Performance per Dollar
Infinity
0.2
Codename
GF110
Navi 31
Release
March 24 2011
November 3 2022
Ranking
#555
#21

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