AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

VS
Performance
Radeon RX 6500 XT43% better
22,95422% of 104,598
GeForce GTX 970
16,03315% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6500 XT has 43% better performance than the GeForce GTX 970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
Radeon RX 6500 XT137% better
115.3571% of 161.45
GeForce GTX 970
48.7330% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6500 XT has 137% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop Radeon RX 6500 XT
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Summary

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About the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT GPU

The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q1 2022 with a MSRP of $199. It is built on the RDNA 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Navi 24) and is manufactured on a 6 nm process.

Memory

The RX 6500 XT has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 2,248 MHz memory clock and a 64 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 143.9 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The RX 6500 XT includes 1,024 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 2,310 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,815 MHz. It usually operates at 2,610 MHz during typical gaming workloads. Complementing the processing units are 64 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 16 ray accelerators dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RX 6500 XT occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 300 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 107 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RX 6500 XT has the 102nd best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 21.94% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 22,954 score and $199 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 115.35. This is the 9th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q3 2014 with a MSRP of $329. It is built on the Maxwell 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GM204) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 970 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,753 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 224.4 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The GTX 970 includes 1,664 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,050 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,178 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 104 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 56 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GTX 970 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 300 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 148 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The GTX 970 has the 138th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 15.33% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 16,033 score and $329 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 48.73. This is the 66th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

General Info

General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.

InfoRadeon RX 6500 XTGeForce GTX 970
ManufacturerAMDNVIDIA
ArchitectureRDNA 2.0Maxwell 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ1 2022Q3 2014
Launch Price (MSRP)$199$329
Production StatusActiveEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for F1 24
F1 24
Display FPS for Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Display FPS for Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima
Display FPS for Dragon's Dogma 2
Dragon's Dogma 2
Display FPS for Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West
Display FPS for Alone in the Dark (2024)
Alone in the Dark (2024)
Display FPS for Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest

FPS Benchmarks

This table showcases the average frame rate (FPS) achieved both GPUs in at various resolutions. Frame rate is a crucial indicator of how smoothly the GPU can run the game. A higher FPS generally translates to a smoother gameplay experience.

  • Frames Per Second
FPS data for F1 24
F1 24
Radeon RX 6500 XTGeForce GTX 970
Low - 1080p
86 FPS
--
Medium - 1080p
57 FPS
--
High - 1080p
37 FPS
--
Ultra - 1080p
10 FPS
--
QHD - 1440p
7 FPS
--
4K UHD - 2160p
--
--
FPS Source: Notebookcheck

Compare Frames Per Second (FPS)

The average frame rate (FPS) in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, higher FPS results in a smoother gameplay experience.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon RX 6500 XT orGeForce GTX 970
GPUFrames Per Second
Arc A77042+518%
Arc A75037.1+446%
GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER34.8+412%
GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER28.8+324%
Radeon RX 660020.1+196%
Radeon RX 6500 XT6.8

Compare Cost Per Frame

The average cost per frame in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. Generally, a lower cost per frame implies better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon RX 6500 XT orGeForce GTX 970
GPUCost Per Frame
Arc A7507.79-73%
Arc A7707.83-73%
GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER13.85-53%
GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER14.34-51%
Radeon RX 660016.37-44%
Radeon RX 6500 XT29.26

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon RX 6500 XT43% better
22,95422% of 104,598
GeForce GTX 970
16,03315% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6500 XT has 43% better performance than the GeForce GTX 970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon RX 6500 XT is ranked 102nd with a score of 22,954, and the GeForce GTX 970 is ranked 138th with a score of 16,033.

Performance per dollar
Radeon RX 6500 XT137% better
115.3571% of 161.45
GeForce GTX 970
48.7330% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6500 XT has 137% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon RX 6500 XT is ranked 9th with a performance per dollar of 115.35, and the GeForce GTX 970 is ranked 66th with a performance per dollar of 48.73.

Relative Performance

The average score in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon RX 6500 XT or
GPUBenchmark Performance
Radeon RX 59023,362.5+2%
GeForce GTX 980 Ti23,057+0%
Radeon RX 6500 XT22,954
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti22,891.5-0%
GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER21,980.5-4%
Radeon R9 Nano17,282-25%
Radeon R9 290X16,167.5-30%
GeForce GTX 97016,033-30%
GeForce GTX 780 Ti15,619-32%
GeForce GTX 165013,645-41%

Relative Value For Money

The average performance per dollar in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. A higher score implies a better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon RX 6500 XT or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
Arc A770125.54+9%
Radeon RX 5500 XT115.38+0%
Radeon RX 6500 XT115.35
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER114.62-1%
Radeon RX 570112.23-3%
GeForce GTX 96054.11-53%
GeForce GTX 95052.52-54%
GeForce GTX 97048.73-58%
Radeon R9 390X41.83-64%
Radeon R9 280X36.09-69%

Benchmark Scores

This table showcases the average performance scores achieved by both GPUs across industry-standard benchmark tests. These scores provide a valuable insight into overall performance. Powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

  • Popular
BenchmarkRadeon RX 6500 XTGeForce GTX 970
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
4,967
(+40.15%)
3,544
3DMark Time Spy Score
5,536
(+49.91%)
3,693
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
91,909
(+26.22%)
72,819
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
15,712
(+31.44%)
11,954
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
64,682
--
3DMark 11 Performance Score
22,899
(+72.84%)
13,249
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
--
141.6
PassMark G3D Mark
9,566
9,638
(+0.75%)
PassMark G2D Mark
801
(+4.43%)
767
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

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Graphics Processor

General information about the graphics processing unit like their architecture, manufacturing process size, and transistor count. Newer GPU architectures generally bring efficiency improvements and may introduce technologies that enhance graphical capabilities.

SpecRadeon RX 6500 XTGeForce GTX 970
CodenameNavi 24GM204
ArchitectureRDNA 2.0Maxwell 2.0
Process Size6 nm28 nm
Transistors5,400 million5,200 million

Memory Details

Memory specifications like their capacity, bandwidth, and clock speeds. GPU memory stores graphics data like frames, textures, and shadows which helps display rendered images. These specs are crucial for graphics-intense applications like gaming and 3D modeling.

SpecRadeon RX 6500 XTGeForce GTX 970
Memory Size4 GB4 GB
Memory TypeGDDR6GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth143.9 Gb/s224.4 Gb/s
Memory Clock2,248 MHz1,753 MHz
Memory Interface64 bit256 bit
L1 Cache128 KB48 KB
L2 Cache1,024 KB2 MB

Board Compatibility

Compatibility information like their slot size, bus interface, power consumption, and display support. These specs are useful for verifying compatibility with your motherboard, power supply, and monitor.

SpecRadeon RX 6500 XTGeForce GTX 970
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 4.0 x4PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)107 W148 W
Suggested PSU300 W300 W
Power Connectors1x 6-pin2x 6-pin
OutputsHDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4aDVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2

Cores & Clock Speeds

Processing power information like its cores and clock speed. These specs impact how fast they can process graphics. Each type of core or component serves a specific computational purpose.

SpecRadeon RX 6500 XTGeForce GTX 970
Stream Processors (SP)1,024--
CUDA Cores--1,664
Compute Units (CU)16--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)64104
Render Output Units (ROP)3256
Ray Accelerators16--
Core Clock Speed2,310 MHz1,050 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)2,815 MHz1,178 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Game)2,610 MHz--

Theoretical Performance

Theoretical performance numbers derived from the raw specifications of the different components like core count and clock speeds. While these provide a glimpse into peak processing power, they do not represent real-world performance.

SpecRadeon RX 6500 XTGeForce GTX 970
Pixel Fill Rate90.08 GPixel/s65.97 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate180.2 GTexel/s122.5 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance5.77 TFLOPS3.92 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance360.3 GFLOPS122.5 GFLOPS

API Support

Graphics API versions supported by these graphics cards. APIs evolve over time, introducing new features and functionalities. Older GPUs may not support recent versions.

SpecRadeon RX 6500 XTGeForce GTX 970
DirectX12 Ultimate (12_2)12 (12_1)
OpenCL2.23.0
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.86.8

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* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.