Radeon RX 6500 vs GeForce GTX 960

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 960 with Radeon RX 6500, including specs and performance data.

GTX 960
2015
4 GB GDDR5, 120 Watt
15.79

RX 6500 outperforms GTX 960 by a significant 26% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking342278
Place by popularity55not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation9.09no data
Power efficiency9.02no data
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)no data
GPU code nameGM206no data
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date22 January 2015 (9 years ago)no data
Launch price (MSRP)$199 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores1024no data
Core clock speed1127 MHzno data
Boost clock speed1178 MHzno data
Number of transistors2,940 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology28 nmno data
Power consumption (TDP)120 Wattno data
Texture fill rate75.39no data
Floating-point processing power2.413 TFLOPSno data
ROPs32no data
TMUs64no data

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Bus supportPCI Express 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16no data
Length241 mmno data
Height4.376" (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slotno data
Recommended system power (PSU)400 Wattno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pinno data
SLI options+-

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5no data
Maximum RAM amount4 GBno data
Memory bus width128 Bitno data
Memory clock speed7.0 GB/sno data
Memory bandwidth112 GB/sno data
Shared memory-no data

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display ConnectorsDual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2no data
Multi monitor support4 displaysno data
HDMI+-
HDCP+-
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
G-SYNC support+-
Audio input for HDMIInternalno data

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

GameStream+-
GeForce ShadowPlay+-
GPU Boost2.0no data
GameWorks+-

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12 (12_1)no data
Shader Model6.4no data
OpenGL4.4no data
OpenCL1.2no data
Vulkan+-
CUDA+-

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 960 15.79
RX 6500 19.85
+25.7%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GTX 960 6084
RX 6500 7649
+25.7%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD62
−21%
75−80
+21%
4K28
−25%
35−40
+25%

Cost per frame, $

1080p3.21no data
4K7.11no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
−28%
30−35
+28%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 35−40
−22.2%
40−45
+22.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
−26.9%
30−35
+26.9%
Battlefield 5 50−55
−27.5%
65−70
+27.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−35
−25%
40−45
+25%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
−28%
30−35
+28%
Far Cry 5 35−40
−24.3%
45−50
+24.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 40−45
−23.3%
50−55
+23.3%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
−21.8%
120−130
+21.8%
Hitman 3 30−33
−30%
35−40
+30%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
−21.5%
95−100
+21.5%
Metro Exodus 50−55
−20.4%
65−70
+20.4%
Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
−23.3%
50−55
+23.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 50−55
−29.4%
65−70
+29.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion 80−85
−13.8%
90−95
+13.8%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 35−40
−22.2%
40−45
+22.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
−26.9%
30−35
+26.9%
Battlefield 5 50−55
−27.5%
65−70
+27.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−35
−25%
40−45
+25%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
−28%
30−35
+28%
Far Cry 5 35−40
−24.3%
45−50
+24.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 40−45
−23.3%
50−55
+23.3%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
−21.8%
120−130
+21.8%
Hitman 3 30−33
−30%
35−40
+30%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
−21.5%
95−100
+21.5%
Metro Exodus 50−55
−27.8%
65−70
+27.8%
Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
−23.3%
50−55
+23.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 50−55
−29.4%
65−70
+29.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 131
+191%
45−50
−191%
Watch Dogs: Legion 80−85
−13.8%
90−95
+13.8%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 35−40
−22.2%
40−45
+22.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
−26.9%
30−35
+26.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−35
−25%
40−45
+25%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
−28%
30−35
+28%
Far Cry 5 35−40
−24.3%
45−50
+24.3%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
−21.8%
120−130
+21.8%
Hitman 3 30−33
−16.7%
35−40
+16.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
−20.3%
95−100
+20.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 50−55
−17.6%
60−65
+17.6%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 28
−60.7%
45−50
+60.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion 80−85
−13.8%
90−95
+13.8%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
−16.3%
50−55
+16.3%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 30−33
−16.7%
35−40
+16.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 24−27
−25%
30−33
+25%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 16−18
−25%
20−22
+25%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12−14
−38.5%
18−20
+38.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 16−18
−23.5%
21−24
+23.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 8−9
−37.5%
10−12
+37.5%
Far Cry 5 18−20
−27.8%
21−24
+27.8%
Forza Horizon 4 80−85
−32.5%
110−120
+32.5%
Hitman 3 18−20
−10.5%
21−24
+10.5%
Horizon Zero Dawn 30−35
−25%
40−45
+25%
Metro Exodus 27−30
−25%
35−40
+25%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 27−30
−20.7%
35−40
+20.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
−23.5%
21−24
+23.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion 95−100
−21.9%
110−120
+21.9%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 24−27
−15.4%
30−33
+15.4%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 14−16
−20%
18−20
+20%
Far Cry New Dawn 12−14
−16.7%
14−16
+16.7%
Hitman 3 10−12
−36.4%
14−16
+36.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
−30.4%
100−110
+30.4%
Metro Exodus 16−18
−31.3%
21−24
+31.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
−33.3%
20−22
+33.3%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 9−10
−33.3%
12−14
+33.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 8−9
−25%
10−11
+25%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 8−9
−25%
10−11
+25%
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4
−33.3%
4−5
+33.3%
Far Cry 5 8−9
−37.5%
10−12
+37.5%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
−28.6%
27−30
+28.6%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 16−18
−12.5%
18−20
+12.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion 6−7
−33.3%
8−9
+33.3%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
−14.3%
16−18
+14.3%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Hitman 3 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Metro Exodus 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%

This is how GTX 960 and RX 6500 compete in popular games:

  • RX 6500 is 21% faster in 1080p
  • RX 6500 is 25% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 960 is 191% faster.
  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RX 6500 is 61% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • GTX 960 is ahead in 1 test (1%)
  • RX 6500 is ahead in 51 test (76%)
  • there's a draw in 15 tests (22%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 15.79 19.85

RX 6500 has a 25.7% higher aggregate performance score.

The Radeon RX 6500 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 960 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 960 is a desktop card while Radeon RX 6500 is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
GeForce GTX 960
AMD Radeon RX 6500
Radeon RX 6500

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


4 3812 votes

Rate GeForce GTX 960 on a scale of 1 to 5:

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3.1 39 votes

Rate Radeon RX 6500 on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.