AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

FPS benchmarks across 150 games (reference CPU: r9-9950x3D2), live prices, popularity and community builds.

AMD

RX 6500 XT

RDNA 2 · 4 GB GDDR6

#31 / 71▼

Overall score Relative gaming performance score, based on the average FPS measured across our benchmarked games. 100 = the fastest card in our catalog.9/100

Lowest price

223€

FPS / €

1.48

See the cheapest model See all 6 models

Nvidia

RTX 5090

Blackwell · 32 GB GDDR7

#10 / 71

Overall score Relative gaming performance score, based on the average FPS measured across our benchmarked games. 100 = the fastest card in our catalog.100/100

Lowest price

5,687€

FPS / €

0.135

See the cheapest model See all 29 models

Our verdict

The RTX 5090 is on average 119% faster than the RX 6500 XT at 1440p across our reference games.
The RX 6500 XT is currently 5,464€ cheaper (223€ vs 5,687€).
With 1.48 FPS/€, the RX 6500 XT offers the best price-to-performance ratio.
The RTX 5090 packs more video memory (32 GB vs 4 GB), an advantage for 4K and heavy textures.

Gaming performance

Benchmarks measured with a r9-9950x3D2 to avoid bottlenecking the graphics cards.

RX 6500 XT

RTX 5090

Counter-Strike 2

+54%

342 FPS

1% low 187

526 FPS

1% low 299

Apex Legends

+116%

179 FPS

1% low 119

387 FPS

1% low 264

Grand Theft Auto V

+327%

56 FPS

1% low 43

239 FPS

1% low 170

Red Dead Redemption 2

+244%

78 FPS

1% low 59

268 FPS

1% low 187

Cyberpunk 2077

+280%

56 FPS

1% low 43

213 FPS

1% low 150

Rocket League

+113%

604 FPS

1% low 261

1284 FPS

1% low 601

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

+191%

90 FPS

1% low 66

262 FPS

1% low 195

Crimson Desert

+242%

66 FPS

1% low 50

226 FPS

1% low 158

FPS / €

The higher the number, the better the performance you get for your money.

RX 6500 XT

1.48

RTX 5090

0.135

Want to see FPS in other games? Explore all our benchmarks

Specifications

	RX 6500 XT	RTX 5090
Architecture	RDNA 2	Blackwell
Release date	2022-01	2025-01
Video memory	4 GB	32 GB
Memory type	GDDR6	GDDR7
Memory bus	64 bit	512 bit
Bandwidth	144 GB/s	1792 GB/s
Shading units	1024	21760
Boost clock	2815 MHz	2407 MHz
Power draw (TDP)	107 W	575 W
Recommended PSU	400 W	1000 W
Interface	PCIe 4.0 x4	PCIe 5.0 x16
Launch price	$199	$1999

Popularity on DropReference

RX 6500 XT

#31 / 71

Popularity score3/100

Share of builds Percentage of builds created by the DropReference community that use this GPU.0.1%

Number of builds created with this GPU

Average build price

700€

Most paired CPUs

Most used power supply

MSI MAG A550BN 550W 80 Plus Bronze Black

550 W · 49€

Latest builds

Unnamed build

Unnamed build

Unnamed build

RTX 5090

#10 / 71

Popularity score17.5/100

Share of builds Percentage of builds created by the DropReference community that use this GPU.1.8%

Number of builds created with this GPU

523

Average build price

10,738€

Most paired CPUs

Most used power supply

be quiet! Power Zone 2 1000W 80 Plus Platinum

1000 W · 149€

Latest builds

Unnamed build

Unnamed build

Unnamed build

All models

Real-time prices and stock in your region

Price indicator

Awesome deal

Good deal

Decent deal

Relatively poor deal

RX 6500 XT

6 models tracked

See all models in stock

RTX 5090

29 models tracked

See all models in stock

Frequently asked questions

Which is the better graphics card, the RX 6500 XT or the RTX 5090?

The RTX 5090 is on average 119% faster than the RX 6500 XT at 1440p across our reference games. The RX 6500 XT is currently 5,464€ cheaper (223€ vs 5,687€). With 1.48 FPS/€, the RX 6500 XT offers the best price-to-performance ratio. The RTX 5090 packs more video memory (32 GB vs 4 GB), an advantage for 4K and heavy textures.

Which card should you pick for 1440p gaming: RX 6500 XT or RTX 5090?

At 1440p, the RX 6500 XT averages 305 FPS versus 669 FPS for the RTX 5090 across our reference games.

What power supply do you need for the RX 6500 XT?

A power supply of around 400 W is recommended for the RX 6500 XT. On DropReference, the most used PSU with this card is the MSI MAG A550BN 550W 80 Plus Bronze Black.

What power supply do you need for the RTX 5090?

A power supply of around 1000 W is recommended for the RTX 5090. On DropReference, the most used PSU with this card is the be quiet! Power Zone 2 1000W 80 Plus Platinum.

Which CPU should you pair with the RX 6500 XT?

In community builds, the CPU most often paired with the RX 6500 XT is the r5-5500 (17 builds).

Which CPU should you pair with the RTX 5090?

In community builds, the CPU most often paired with the RTX 5090 is the r9-9950x3D (158 builds).

How much does the RX 6500 XT cost right now?

The RX 6500 XT is available from 223€. We track 6 models in real time.

How much does the RTX 5090 cost right now?

The RTX 5090 is available from 5,687€. We track 29 models in real time.

AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT

The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT, based on RDNA 2 architecture, offers entry-level gaming performance with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory. Perfect for 1080p gaming, it supports ray tracing and provides excellent value for money for beginner gamers.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, with Blackwell architecture, offers ultra high-end gaming performance with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory. The absolute flagship card of the RTX 5000 series excels at 4K and competes with the best cards of its generation.