Radeon Sky 500 vs RTXA5000-24Q

AMD

Radeon Sky 500

2013Core: 950 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
NVIDIA

RTXA5000-24Q

2021Core: 1170 MHzBoost: 1695 MHz
Similar parts
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Radeon Sky 500 vs RTXA5000-24Q 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 Sky 500 vs RTXA5000-24Q: 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 Sky 500

2013

Why buy it

  • Costs $3,221 less on MSRP ($500 MSRP vs $3,721 MSRP).
  • Delivers 631.8% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 9.4 vs 1.3 G3D/$ ($500 MSRP vs $3,721 MSRP).
  • Draws 150W instead of 230W, a 80W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • 2013 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

RTXA5000-24Q

2021

Why buy it

  • Better long-term bet: Ampere (2020−2025) on 8nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
  • More future proof: Ampere (2020−2025) on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 644.2% HIGHER MSRP
    $3,721 MSRPvs$500 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.3 vs 9.4 G3D/$ ($3,721 MSRP vs $500 MSRP).
  • 53.3% higher power demand at 230W vs 150W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
RTXA5000-24Q is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1.7% in PassMark G3D (4,803 vs 4,723), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
RTXA5000-24Q is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 8nm process instead of 28nm, 64 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2021 generation instead of 2013. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon Sky 500 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $3,221 cheaper on MSRP at $500 vs $3,721, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 631.8% (9.4 vs 1.3), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon Sky 500 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, RTXA5000-24Q has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon Sky 500 vs RTXA5000-24Q Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Radeon Sky 500

The Radeon Sky 500 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 27 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 950 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,723 points.

NVIDIA

RTXA5000-24Q

The RTXA5000-24Q is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in April 12 2021. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 1170 MHz to 1695 MHz. It has 8192 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 230W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 64 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,803 points.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon Sky 500 scores 4,723 and the RTXA5000-24Q reaches 4,803 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon Sky 500 is built on GCN 1.0 while the RTXA5000-24Q uses Ampere, both on 28 nm vs 8 nm. Shader units: 1,280 (Radeon Sky 500) vs 8,192 (RTXA5000-24Q). Raw compute: 2.432 TFLOPS (Radeon Sky 500) vs 27.77 TFLOPS (RTXA5000-24Q).

FeatureRadeon Sky 500RTXA5000-24Q
G3D Mark Score
4,723
4,803+2%
Architecture
GCN 1.0
Ampere
Process Node
28 nm
8 nm
Shading Units
1280
8192+540%
Compute (TFLOPS)
2.432 TFLOPS
27.77 TFLOPS+1042%
ROPs
32
96+200%
TMUs
80
256+220%
L1 Cache
0.31 MB
8 MB+2481%
L2 Cache
0.5 MB
6 MB+1100%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The RTXA5000-24Q gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon Sky 500 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureRadeon Sky 500RTXA5000-24Q
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
NVIDIA Reflex
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 2 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the Radeon Sky 500 and 64-bit on the RTXA5000-24Q. L2 Cache: 0.5 MB (Radeon Sky 500) vs 6 MB (RTXA5000-24Q) — the RTXA5000-24Q has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon Sky 500RTXA5000-24Q
VRAM Capacity
2 GB
2 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
64-bit
64-bit
L2 Cache
0.5 MB
6 MB+1100%
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon Sky 500 draws 150W versus the RTXA5000-24Q's 230W — a 42.1% difference. The Radeon Sky 500 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon Sky 500) vs 350W (RTXA5000-24Q). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureRadeon Sky 500RTXA5000-24Q
TDP
150W-35%
230W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Perf/Watt
31.5+51%
20.9
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon Sky 500 came in at $500, while the RTXA5000-24Q launched at $3721. On MSRP, Radeon Sky 500 was 86.6% cheaper ($3221 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 9.4 (Radeon Sky 500) vs 1.3 (RTXA5000-24Q) — the Radeon Sky 500 offers 623.1% better value. The newer card here is RTXA5000-24Q (2021 vs 2013).

FeatureRadeon Sky 500RTXA5000-24Q
MSRP
$500-87%
$3721
Performance per Dollar
9.4+623%
1.3
Codename
Pitcairn
GA102
Release
March 27 2013
April 12 2021
Ranking
#455
#53

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