Radeon R9 285 vs RX 6500 XT

Place in the ranking	222	317
Place by popularity	75	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	57.89	8.67
Power efficiency	16.00	6.30
Architecture	RDNA 2.0 (2020−2024)	GCN 3.0 (2014−2019)
GPU code name	Navi 24	Tonga
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	19 January 2022 (3 years ago)	2 September 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$199	$249

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 6500 XT has 568% better value for money than R9 285.

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 cores	1024	1792
Core clock speed	2610 MHz	918 MHz
Boost clock speed	2815 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	5,400 million	5,000 million
Manufacturing process technology	6 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	107 Watt	190 Watt
Texture fill rate	180.2	102.8
Floating-point processing power	5.765 TFLOPS	3.29 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	64	112
Ray Tracing Cores	16	no 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).

Interface	PCIe 4.0 x4	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	no data	221 mm
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	2x 6-pin

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 type	GDDR6	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	2 GB
Memory bus width	64 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	2248 MHz	1375 MHz
Memory bandwidth	143.9 GB/s	176.0 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

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 Connectors	1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a	2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2
HDMI	+	+

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 Ultimate (12_2)	12 (12_0)
Shader Model	6.6	6.5
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	2.2	2.1
Vulkan	1.3	1.2.170

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 6500 XT 24.87
+43.1%

R9 285 17.38

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 6500 XT 9560
+43.1%

R9 285 6680

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

RX 6500 XT 15712
+83.3%

R9 285 8570

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 HD	64 +60%	40−45 −60%
1440p	30 +66.7%	18−21 −66.7%
4K	16 +60%	10−12 −60%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	3.11 +100%	6.23 −100%
1440p	6.63 +109%	13.83 −109%
4K	12.44 +100%	24.90 −100%

RX 6500 XT has 100% lower cost per frame in 1080p
RX 6500 XT has 109% lower cost per frame in 1440p
RX 6500 XT has 100% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	64 +60%	40−45 −60%
Cyberpunk 2077	72 +44%	50−55 −44%
Elden Ring	79 +43.6%	55−60 −43.6%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	75−80 +52%	50−55 −52%
Counter-Strike 2	40 +48.1%	27−30 −48.1%
Cyberpunk 2077	27 +50%	18−20 −50%
Forza Horizon 4	128 +50.6%	85−90 −50.6%
Metro Exodus	97 +49.2%	65−70 −49.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2	50−55 +54.3%	35−40 −54.3%
Valorant	100−105 +53.8%	65−70 −53.8%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	75−80 +52%	50−55 −52%
Counter-Strike 2	28 +55.6%	18−20 −55.6%
Cyberpunk 2077	17 +70%	10−11 −70%
Dota 2	106 +51.4%	70−75 −51.4%
Elden Ring	63 +57.5%	40−45 −57.5%
Far Cry 5	43 +43.3%	30−33 −43.3%
Fortnite	120−130 +47.1%	85−90 −47.1%
Forza Horizon 4	107 +52.9%	70−75 −52.9%
Grand Theft Auto V	86 +43.3%	60−65 −43.3%
Metro Exodus	62 +55%	40−45 −55%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	150−160 +56%	100−105 −56%
Red Dead Redemption 2	50−55 +54.3%	35−40 −54.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	80−85 +47.3%	55−60 −47.3%
Valorant	100−105 +53.8%	65−70 −53.8%
World of Tanks	250−260 +51.2%	170−180 −51.2%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	75−80 +52%	50−55 −52%
Counter-Strike 2	24 +50%	16−18 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	15 +50%	10−11 −50%
Dota 2	110 +46.7%	75−80 −46.7%
Far Cry 5	75−80 +52%	50−55 −52%
Forza Horizon 4	83 +50.9%	55−60 −50.9%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	150−160 +56%	100−105 −56%
Valorant	100−105 +53.8%	65−70 −53.8%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	37 +54.2%	24−27 −54.2%
Elden Ring	19 +58.3%	12−14 −58.3%
Grand Theft Auto V	37 +54.2%	24−27 −54.2%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	170−180 +45.8%	120−130 −45.8%
Red Dead Redemption 2	21−24 +43.8%	16−18 −43.8%
World of Tanks	160−170 +50%	110−120 −50%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	50−55 +66.7%	30−33 −66.7%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +50%	14−16 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	9 +50%	6−7 −50%
Far Cry 5	70−75 +44%	50−55 −44%
Forza Horizon 4	56 +60%	35−40 −60%
Metro Exodus	57 +62.9%	35−40 −62.9%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	35−40 +50%	24−27 −50%
Valorant	65−70 +48.9%	45−50 −48.9%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	7 +75%	4−5 −75%
Dota 2	34 +61.9%	21−24 −61.9%
Elden Ring	6 +50%	4−5 −50%
Grand Theft Auto V	34 +61.9%	21−24 −61.9%
Metro Exodus	11 +57.1%	7−8 −57.1%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	75−80 +52%	50−55 −52%
Red Dead Redemption 2	16−18 +60%	10−11 −60%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	34 +61.9%	21−24 −61.9%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	24−27 +44.4%	18−20 −44.4%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +57.1%	14−16 −57.1%
Cyberpunk 2077	2 +100%	1−2 −100%
Dota 2	67 +48.9%	45−50 −48.9%
Far Cry 5	30−35 +57.1%	21−24 −57.1%
Fortnite	30−35 +47.6%	21−24 −47.6%
Forza Horizon 4	25 +56.3%	16−18 −56.3%
Valorant	30−35 +52.4%	21−24 −52.4%

This is how RX 6500 XT and R9 285 compete in popular games:

RX 6500 XT is 60% faster in 1080p
RX 6500 XT is 67% faster in 1440p
RX 6500 XT is 60% faster in 4K

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	24.87	17.38
Recency	19 January 2022	2 September 2014
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	2 GB
Chip lithography	6 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	107 Watt	190 Watt

RX 6500 XT has a 43.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 366.7% more advanced lithography process, and 77.6% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 6500 XT is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 285 in performance tests.

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