Best RX 6500 XT Graphics Card

Out of the entire AMD RX 6000 series, the RX 6500 XT got the most criticism because of its underwhelming specifications. Only 4GB VRAM, 64-bit memory interface, 144 GB/s bandwidth, and many other shortcomings.

However, despite these disadvantages, the RX 6500 XT can be a good GPU pick for many people with a tight budget simply because the alternatives can be considerably more expensive.

If you’re going down this route, we want to ensure that you get the best possible value out of your budget and the best thermals/performance out of the RX 6500 XT.

Let’s see exactly which RX 6500 XT variants are the best out of the bunch.

Pricing

The MSRP of the RX 6500 XT is $200. However, aftermarket cards from Sapphire, Asus, Gigabyte, etc., usually come with a more expensive price tag.

Unfortunately, none of these companies have specified an MSRP for their models, so we can only approximate their cost.

Pulse variants from Sapphire always provide good results out of the box, so we have hopes for this Sapphire Radeon RX 6500 XT Pulse too. Expect a price of $20 to $40 higher than the MSRP.

Either way, a card like the RX 6500 XT doesn’t need a significant heatsink or fans to keep it cool.

Let us have a look at the different factors.

Design

The Sapphire Radeon RX 6500 XT Pulse is a small card weighing almost 500 g and 19.5 cm in length. It takes the same Pulse design we’ve seen on other RX 6000 cards.

There is a backplate. That is uncommon on lower-end cards like these, and it is made out of metal, so it won’t impede thermals.

It’s a shame that it’s limited to only one HDMI and Display Port. However, that constraint is on AMD, not Sapphire.

Performance And Overclocking Capabilities

Reference RX 6500 XT boost clock is 2815 MHz, while Sapphire’s boost clock is 2825 MHz. No substantial difference there. But let’s see how it performs in-game.

In Cyberpunk 2077, TechPowerUp recorded an average GPU clock speed of 2742 MHz and 2234 MHz for memory clocks. A tad slower than the advertised speeds, but that’s nothing unusual, so let’s move over to overclocking.

Overclocking the RX 6500 XT Pulse takes the GPU clock speeds up to 2940 MHz and 2400 MHz memory overclock. Not bad at all.

Real in-game performance enhancements would be around 6% to 7%.

Enough about that; take a peek at the temperature figures below.

Thermals And Acoustics

While gaming, the GPU heats up to about 68 degrees Celsius and hovers around that mark. But, since this is a rather efficient card, Sapphire is cooling it with a very gentle fan curve with an average RPM of 826. Overall, noise levels stay at around 23 dBA.

That’s very silent, even for an entry-card GPU.

ASUS’ TUF Gaming coolers have proved to be sufficient enough for both RTX and RX high-end GPUs, so we’re certain that it will be enough for this RX 6500 XT too.

We expect to see it somewhere around the $240 price point.

Let’s examine how this card performs!

Design

The TUF Gaming has quite a simple design. With the exception of a few brandings here and there, the entire shroud covering the PCB is black. It’s a bit longer (25cm) and heavier than the Sapphire card, but it’s still compact since it has only two fans.

There is a backplate, and thankfully, it is made out of metal, so it won’t be trapping heat as some plastic backplates we’ve seen on other cards.

Performance And Overclocking Capabilities

The ASUS Radeon RX 6500 XT TUF Gaming specifications show no factory overclock, so the boost clock is set at 2825 MHz.

However, in Cyberpunk 2077, the clock speeds average around 2900 MHz which is definitely a bit higher than the reported boost clock (again, based on TechPowerUp’s review).

Overclocking the card isn’t as impressive, though, unfortunately. TechPowerUp’s maximum GPU clock overclock is 2870 MHz and a memory clock of 2400 MHz. However, AMD probably has overclocking limitations set in place, so going higher than this might be impossible.

Thermals And Acoustics

This TUF Gaming card has two BIOS options. One is a performance preset (P-mode), while the other is a silent preset (Q-Mode or Quiet BIOS).

With the P-Mode BIOS, the temperature average is around 51°C, but at the expense of noise and fan speed. Fan RPM jumps up to 1600 RPM and noise levels to 33 dBA. So definitely a very chilly card, but we suggest switching to the quiet BIOS. Why?

Well, in this mode, even though the average temperature jumps to 59°C, fan speeds drop to 1150 RPM, and noise levels down to 25 dBA. Still cool while considerably quieter.

PowerColor often has premium offers for AMD’s card, but since this is a very low-end card, the PowerColor RX 6500 XT Fighter is elementary as it can get.

We expect this card to be priced at no more than $20 than AMD’s suggested retail price.

Design

This PowerColor variant of the RX 6500 XT is quite the entry-level card. It’s small in size, the fans are smaller than usual, and it doesn’t even have a backplate.

No fancy features like a BIOS switch or anything like that.

That’s all, so we’re presenting the card’s performance outcomes.

Performance And Overclocking Capabilities

Like the previous two cards in this article, this too is clocked entirely the same as AMD’s reference card at 2825 MHz. In-game, boost clocks are also close to that stock number.

However, when it comes to overclocking, the PowerColor Fighter puts up a good fight with an overclock up to 2950 MHz which is higher than the Sapphire. With this kind of OC, expect a 7% to 8% performance improvement.

Thermals And Acoustics

It’s a small card, so we can’t expect anything remarkable regarding thermals and acoustics.

During heavy loads, this PowerColor card heats up to 63 degrees Celsius and noise levels up to 33 dBA. So, definitely cooler than the Sapphire, but a tad noisier. However, this can certainly be resolved by adjusting the fan curve in AMD’s software.

The Gigabyte RX 6500 XT Eagle is a pretty basic GPU like the PowerColor Fighter. Thin heatsink, small fans, and an overall tiny GPU.

We also guess this one should go only $10 or $20 above AMD’s MSRP. Anything above that is not really worth it.

Design

Not only is this card in a tiny package, it is also the tiniest card out of the group. Therefore, if you want to create a small mini-ITX PC, this could be a nice option.

Design-wise, it’s fairly straightforward. A flat, rectangular grey shroud covers the entire GPU with no backplate on the back.

Performance And Overclocking

Clock speeds are rated the same as the reference specifications, but in Cyberpunk 2077, they average around 2878 MHz. Not bad.

Overclocking brings the typical GPU clock speed to 2957 MHz, which is the top result compared to the rest of the GPUs.

Thermals And Acoustics

At stock settings, while gaming, the GPU peaks at just 60 degrees Celsius, which is actually remarkable considering the card’s compact form factor.

Even at that temperature, the fan speed is just around 1280 RPM, based on KitGuru’s review. Noise levels were recorded at 33 dBA.

Overall, a frigid and serene card.

Which RX 6500 XT Should You Get?

So, out of these four RX 6500 XT variants, which one should you obtain?

It is a challenging choice as all of these cards are very similar in many ways, but we have to pick one.

We want to give the Sapphire Radeon RX 6500 XT Pulse the Best Overall award because of its remarkably quiet cooling, good design, and robust overclock.

Our second-best overall choice is the Gigabyte RX 6500 XT Eagle because it is inexpensive and performs in every aspect.

PowerColor and ASUS’ offers are also worth considering if you can’t get your hands on the Sapphire GPU.