Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X vs Radeon RX 6500 XT

AMD

Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X

2015Boost: 1050 MHz
VS
AMD

Radeon RX 6500 XT

2022Core: 2610 MHzBoost: 2815 MHz
RX family
·······

Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X 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.

Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X 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.

Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X 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.

Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X

2015

Why buy it

  • 20.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

  • No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
  • 2015 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • 226.1% HIGHER MSRP
    $649 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 15.0 vs 48.3 G3D/$ ($649 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
  • 157% higher power demand at 275W vs 107W.

Radeon RX 6500 XT

2022

Why buy it

  • Costs $450 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $649 MSRP).
  • Delivers 221.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 48.3 vs 15.0 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $649 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 275W, a 168W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 20.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.4% in PassMark G3D (9,741 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: native frame generation with FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023), while Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X has no comparable frame-generation support, a 6nm process instead of 28nm, 16 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2022 generation instead of 2015. 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 to buy today. It is $450 cheaper on MSRP at $199 vs $649, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 221.5% (48.3 vs 15.0), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X vs Radeon RX 6500 XT Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X

The Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 24 2015. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1050 MHz. It has 4096 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 275W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,741 points. Launch price was $649.

AMD

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 Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X scores 9,741 and the Radeon RX 6500 XT reaches 9,603 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X is built on GCN 3.0 while the Radeon RX 6500 XT uses RDNA 2.0, both on 28 nm vs 6 nm. Shader units: 4,096 (Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X) vs 1,024 (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Raw compute: 8.602 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X) vs 5.765 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Boost clocks: 1050 MHz vs 2815 MHz.

FeatureRadeon R9 Fury + Fury XRadeon RX 6500 XT
G3D Mark Score
9,741+1%
9,603
Architecture
GCN 3.0
RDNA 2.0
Process Node
28 nm
6 nm
Shading Units
4096+300%
1024
Compute (TFLOPS)
8.602 TFLOPS+49%
5.765 TFLOPS
Boost Clock
1050 MHz
2815 MHz+168%
ROPs
64+100%
32
TMUs
256+300%
64
L1 Cache
1 MB+300%
0.25 MB
L2 Cache
2 MB+100%
1 MB
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling
FSR 3 + AFMF

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 Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X does not have comparable native support in the same tier.

FeatureRadeon R9 Fury + Fury XRadeon RX 6500 XT
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
FSR 3
Frame Generation
Not Supported
FSR Frame Generation + AFMF
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 4 GB of video memory. Memory bandwidth: 512 GB/s (Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X) vs 144 GB/s (Radeon RX 6500 XT) — a 255.6% advantage for the Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X. Memory bus width is 4096-bit on the Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X and 64-bit on the Radeon RX 6500 XT. L2 Cache: 2 MB (Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X) vs 1 MB (Radeon RX 6500 XT) — the Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon R9 Fury + Fury XRadeon RX 6500 XT
VRAM Capacity
4 GB
4 GB
Memory Type
HBM
GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth
512 GB/s+256%
144 GB/s
Bus Width
4096-bit+6300%
64-bit
L2 Cache
2 MB+100%
1 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.0 (Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X) vs 12.2 (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.4 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 2.

FeatureRadeon R9 Fury + Fury XRadeon RX 6500 XT
DirectX
12.0
12.2+2%
Vulkan
1.2
1.3+8%
OpenGL
4.4
4.6+5%
Max Displays
4+100%
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 3.0 (Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X) vs None (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Decoder: UVD 6.0 vs VCN 3.0 (Limited). Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X) vs MPEG-2,H.264 (Decode),HEVC (Decode) (Radeon RX 6500 XT).

FeatureRadeon R9 Fury + Fury XRadeon RX 6500 XT
Encoder
VCE 3.0
None
Decoder
UVD 6.0
VCN 3.0 (Limited)
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC
MPEG-2,H.264 (Decode),HEVC (Decode)
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X draws 275W versus the Radeon RX 6500 XT's 107W — a 88% difference. The Radeon RX 6500 XT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 600W (Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X) vs 400W (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Power connectors: 2x 8-pin vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 195mm vs 172mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 65°C vs 70°C.

FeatureRadeon R9 Fury + Fury XRadeon RX 6500 XT
TDP
275W
107W-61%
Recommended PSU
600W
400W-33%
Power Connector
2x 8-pin
1x 6-pin
Length
195mm
172mm
Height
115mm
112mm
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
65°C-7%
70°C
Perf/Watt
35.4
89.7+153%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X came in at $649, while the Radeon RX 6500 XT launched at $199. On MSRP, Radeon RX 6500 XT was 69.3% cheaper ($450 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 15.0 (Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X) vs 48.3 (Radeon RX 6500 XT) — the Radeon RX 6500 XT offers 222% better value. The newer card here is Radeon RX 6500 XT (2022 vs 2015).

FeatureRadeon R9 Fury + Fury XRadeon RX 6500 XT
MSRP
$649
$199-69%
Performance per Dollar
15.0
48.3+222%
Codename
Fiji
Navi 24
Release
June 24 2015
January 19 2022
Ranking
#282
#270

Affiliate Disclosure

ChipVERSUS is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through our links. This comes at no additional cost to you and helps support our work in providing comprehensive PC building guides and tools.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.