Radeon RX 6500 vs RX 6800 XT

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon RX 6800 XT with Radeon RX 6500, including specs and performance data.

RX 6800 XT
2020
16 GB GDDR6, 300 Watt
64.97
+227%

RX 6800 XT outperforms RX 6500 by a whopping 227% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking28278
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation50.59no data
Power efficiency14.85no data
ArchitectureRDNA 2.0 (2020−2024)no data
GPU code nameNavi 21no data
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date28 October 2020 (4 years ago)no data
Launch price (MSRP)$649 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 cores4608no data
Core clock speed1825 MHzno data
Boost clock speed2250 MHzno data
Number of transistors26,800 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology7 nmno data
Power consumption (TDP)300 Wattno data
Texture fill rate648.0no data
Floating-point processing power20.74 TFLOPSno data
ROPs128no data
TMUs288no data
Ray Tracing Cores72no 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).

InterfacePCIe 4.0 x16no data
Length267 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors2x 8-pinno 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 typeGDDR6no data
Maximum RAM amount16 GBno data
Memory bus width256 Bitno data
Memory clock speed2000 MHzno data
Memory bandwidth512.0 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 Connectors1x HDMI, 2x DisplayPort, 1x USB Type-Cno data
HDMI+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 Ultimate (12_2)no data
Shader Model6.5no data
OpenGL4.6no data
OpenCL2.1no data
Vulkan1.2-

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 6800 XT 64.97
+227%
RX 6500 19.86

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 6800 XT 25020
+227%
RX 6500 7649

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 HD207
+245%
60−65
−245%
1440p143
+258%
40−45
−258%
4K93
+244%
27−30
−244%

Cost per frame, $

1080p3.14no data
1440p4.54no data
4K6.98no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 120−130
+291%
30−35
−291%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 130−140
+205%
40−45
−205%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 158
+379%
30−35
−379%
Battlefield 5 200−210
+217%
65−70
−217%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 110−120
+190%
40−45
−190%
Cyberpunk 2077 120−130
+291%
30−35
−291%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+150%
45−50
−150%
Far Cry New Dawn 150−160
+196%
50−55
−196%
Forza Horizon 4 230−240
+89.4%
120−130
−89.4%
Hitman 3 132
+238%
35−40
−238%
Horizon Zero Dawn 240−250
+150%
95−100
−150%
Metro Exodus 144
+260%
40−45
−260%
Red Dead Redemption 2 122
+130%
50−55
−130%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 260−270
+306%
65−70
−306%
Watch Dogs: Legion 309
+240%
90−95
−240%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 130−140
+205%
40−45
−205%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 135
+309%
30−35
−309%
Battlefield 5 200−210
+217%
65−70
−217%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 110−120
+190%
40−45
−190%
Cyberpunk 2077 120−130
+291%
30−35
−291%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+150%
45−50
−150%
Far Cry New Dawn 150−160
+196%
50−55
−196%
Forza Horizon 4 230−240
+89.4%
120−130
−89.4%
Hitman 3 136
+249%
35−40
−249%
Horizon Zero Dawn 240−250
+150%
95−100
−150%
Metro Exodus 144
+109%
65−70
−109%
Red Dead Redemption 2 110−120
+125%
50−55
−125%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 355
+438%
65−70
−438%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 130−140
+204%
45−50
−204%
Watch Dogs: Legion 309
+240%
90−95
−240%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 130−140
+205%
40−45
−205%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 118
+258%
30−35
−258%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 110−120
+231%
35−40
−231%
Cyberpunk 2077 120−130
+291%
30−35
−291%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+150%
45−50
−150%
Forza Horizon 4 230−240
+89.4%
120−130
−89.4%
Hitman 3 122
+249%
35−40
−249%
Horizon Zero Dawn 279
+228%
85−90
−228%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 302
+236%
90−95
−236%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 160
+256%
45−50
−256%
Watch Dogs: Legion 112
+23.1%
90−95
−23.1%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 120
+243%
35−40
−243%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 140−150
+231%
45−50
−231%
Far Cry New Dawn 100−110
+240%
30−33
−240%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 75−80
+275%
20−22
−275%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 98
+444%
18−20
−444%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 75−80
+262%
21−24
−262%
Cyberpunk 2077 65−70
+500%
10−12
−500%
Far Cry 5 75−80
+230%
21−24
−230%
Forza Horizon 4 270−280
+146%
110−120
−146%
Hitman 3 114
+280%
30−33
−280%
Horizon Zero Dawn 215
+231%
65−70
−231%
Metro Exodus 112
+273%
30−33
−273%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 222
+242%
65−70
−242%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 110−120
+280%
30−33
−280%
Watch Dogs: Legion 314
+168%
110−120
−168%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 116
+231%
35−40
−231%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+271%
21−24
−271%
Far Cry New Dawn 60−65
+256%
18−20
−256%
Hitman 3 55−60
+273%
14−16
−273%
Horizon Zero Dawn 220−230
+117%
100−110
−117%
Metro Exodus 126
+500%
21−24
−500%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 110
+450%
20−22
−450%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 50−55
+333%
12−14
−333%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 65
+550%
10−11
−550%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 45−50
+236%
14−16
−236%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−35
+675%
4−5
−675%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+309%
10−12
−309%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+293%
27−30
−293%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 133
+233%
40−45
−233%
Watch Dogs: Legion 49
+513%
8−9
−513%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 76
+262%
21−24
−262%

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 6800 XT and RX 6500 compete in popular games:

  • RX 6800 XT is 245% faster in 1080p
  • RX 6800 XT is 258% faster in 1440p
  • RX 6800 XT is 244% faster in 4K

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

  • in Cyberpunk 2077, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RX 6800 XT is 675% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • RX 6800 XT is ahead in 52 tests (78%)
  • there's a draw in 15 tests (22%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 64.97 19.86

RX 6800 XT has a 227.1% higher aggregate performance score.

The Radeon RX 6800 XT is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon RX 6500 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon RX 6800 XT 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.

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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
Radeon RX 6800 XT
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.


4.3 3566 votes

Rate Radeon RX 6800 XT 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

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