Radeon RX 6500 vs RX 540

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon RX 540 and Radeon RX 6500, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

RX 540
2017
2 GB GDDR5, 50 Watt
7.24

RX 6500 outperforms RX 540 by a whopping 174% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking542278
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency9.93no data
ArchitectureGCN 4.0 (2016−2020)no data
GPU code nameLexano data
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date11 November 2017 (7 years ago)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 cores512no data
Core clock speed1124 MHzno data
Boost clock speed1219 MHzno data
Number of transistors2,200 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology14 nmno data
Power consumption (TDP)50 Wattno data
Texture fill rate39.01no data
Floating-point processing power1.248 TFLOPSno data
ROPs16no data
TMUs32no 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).

Laptop sizelargeno data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x8no data
Supplementary power connectorsNoneno data

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 amount2 GBno data
Memory bus width128 Bitno data
Memory clock speed1500 MHzno data
Memory bandwidth96 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 ConnectorsNo outputsno data

Supported technologies

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

FreeSync+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_0)no data
Shader Model6.4no data
OpenGL4.6no data
OpenCL2.0no data
Vulkan1.2.131-

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.

RX 540 7.24
RX 6500 19.85
+174%

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.

RX 540 2788
RX 6500 7649
+174%

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 HD23
−161%
60−65
+161%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
−191%
30−35
+191%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 18−20
−144%
40−45
+144%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 9−10
−267%
30−35
+267%
Battlefield 5 21−24
−210%
65−70
+210%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
−167%
40−45
+167%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
−191%
30−35
+191%
Far Cry 5 13
−254%
45−50
+254%
Far Cry New Dawn 20−22
−165%
50−55
+165%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
−156%
120−130
+156%
Hitman 3 14−16
−179%
35−40
+179%
Horizon Zero Dawn 40−45
−129%
95−100
+129%
Metro Exodus 21−24
−162%
55−60
+162%
Red Dead Redemption 2 20−22
−165%
50−55
+165%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 40
−65%
65−70
+65%
Watch Dogs: Legion 50−55
−68.5%
90−95
+68.5%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 18−20
−144%
40−45
+144%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 9−10
−267%
30−35
+267%
Battlefield 5 21−24
−210%
65−70
+210%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
−167%
40−45
+167%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
−191%
30−35
+191%
Far Cry 5 10
−360%
45−50
+360%
Far Cry New Dawn 20−22
−165%
50−55
+165%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
−156%
120−130
+156%
Hitman 3 14−16
−179%
35−40
+179%
Horizon Zero Dawn 40−45
−129%
95−100
+129%
Metro Exodus 21−24
−229%
65−70
+229%
Red Dead Redemption 2 20−22
−165%
50−55
+165%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 24−27
−175%
65−70
+175%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 21−24
−105%
45−50
+105%
Watch Dogs: Legion 50−55
−68.5%
90−95
+68.5%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 18−20
−144%
40−45
+144%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 9−10
−267%
30−35
+267%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
−167%
40−45
+167%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
−191%
30−35
+191%
Far Cry 5 7
−557%
45−50
+557%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
−156%
120−130
+156%
Hitman 3 14−16
−150%
35−40
+150%
Horizon Zero Dawn 40−45
−162%
110−120
+162%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 24−27
−171%
65−70
+171%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 7
−543%
45−50
+543%
Watch Dogs: Legion 50−55
−68.5%
90−95
+68.5%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 20−22
−150%
50−55
+150%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 14−16
−150%
35−40
+150%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−12
−173%
30−33
+173%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 7−8
−186%
20−22
+186%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 3−4
−500%
18−20
+500%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 7−8
−157%
18−20
+157%
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4
−267%
10−12
+267%
Far Cry 5 8−9
−188%
21−24
+188%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
−323%
110−120
+323%
Hitman 3 10−12
−173%
30−33
+173%
Horizon Zero Dawn 14−16
−167%
40−45
+167%
Metro Exodus 8−9
−163%
21−24
+163%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 5−6
−140%
12−14
+140%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 6−7
−167%
16−18
+167%
Watch Dogs: Legion 45−50
−154%
110−120
+154%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
−150%
30−33
+150%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 6−7
−167%
16−18
+167%
Far Cry New Dawn 5−6
−140%
12−14
+140%
Hitman 3 3−4
−400%
14−16
+400%
Horizon Zero Dawn 21−24
−348%
100−110
+348%
Metro Exodus 4−5
−425%
21−24
+425%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 4−5
−400%
20−22
+400%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 4−5
−200%
12−14
+200%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 3−4
−233%
10−11
+233%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3−4
−167%
8−9
+167%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
−300%
4−5
+300%
Far Cry 5 4−5
−175%
10−12
+175%
Forza Horizon 4 8−9
−238%
27−30
+238%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 2−3
−150%
5−6
+150%
Watch Dogs: Legion 2−3
−300%
8−9
+300%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 7−8
−157%
18−20
+157%

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 RX 540 and RX 6500 compete in popular games:

  • RX 6500 is 161% faster in 1080p

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

  • in Far Cry 5, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RX 6500 is 557% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • RX 6500 is ahead in 52 tests (78%)
  • there's a draw in 15 tests (22%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 7.24 19.85

RX 6500 has a 174.2% higher aggregate performance score.

The Radeon RX 6500 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon RX 540 in performance tests.


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

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AMD Radeon RX 540
Radeon RX 540
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.


3.7 157 votes

Rate Radeon RX 540 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.1 39 votes

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

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

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