The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT in its 4 GB trim is a sub $200 USD (₱6,912 PHP locally) graphics card. It has the AMD RDNA 2 architecture at its core, which is technically the 6 nm Navi 24 with 16 ray tracing acceleration cores.
Ray tracing capabilities aside, AMD pegs the RX 6500 XT as a graphics card fit to fill the bill for a smooth 1080P gaming without breaking the bank.
Update: The card actually retails for about ₱9,750 PHP. A huge thank for everyone who sent comments and messages about this blunder. I hope not to make the same mistake again.
Disclosure: AMD sent the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 6500 XT Eagle 4G for the purpose of this review. The company did not ask me to say anything particular about it. All thoughts and opinion are of course my own.
- Product Page: GIGABYTE Radeon RX 6500 XT EAGLE 4G
- Price: $199 (MSRP at launch) / ₱9,750 PHP (Lazada)
- Release Date: Q1 2022
Technical Specifications
| GPU | |
|---|---|
| Cores | 1024 SU, 64 TMU, 32 ROP, 16 CU/RT |
| Core Clock | 2815 MHz (Boost) |
| Architecture | Navi 24 |
| Manufacturing Process | 6 nm |
| TDP | 107 W |
| Memory | |
| Memory Clock | 2248 MHz |
| Memory Bus Width | 64-bit |
| Memory Capacity | 4 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 |
| Connectivity | |
| Display | DisplayPort 1.4a, HDMI 2.1 |
| Power | 6-pin |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 192 mm |
| Width | 117 mm |
| Height | 38 mm |
| Weight | 430 g |
Packaging and Accessories
Pretty simple packaging we got here for the Radeon RX 6500 XT – least for the GIGABYTE model we got.
Here’s what you should expect inside the box:
- GIGABYTE Radeon RX 6500 XT Eagle 4G
- Documentation
Design, Layout and Build Quality
The last graphics card we’ve tested is massive, so the dinky RX 6500 XT is a fresh breath of air to look at. It is small enough to fit most systems and is not an eyesore to look at considering its sharp styling.
With its trivial weight of around 430 grams, there’s no need for a back plate nor a frame to support it. The cooler is also extended by about an inch so it also expels air upwards (for conventional cases) so it will likely affect cooling for other components such as memory kits.
Connectivity options are well, just enough to get into plural term. We’ve got a single DisplayPort here and a single HDMI port. Good news is, the card has plenty of ventilation here.
I have nothing against the card. I felt like its dual 80 mm fans are more than enough to provide airflow into the dual heat-pipe cooling solution.
Test Setup and Methodology
Our test setup relies on the measurements taken with CapFrameX. It is important to note that we are testing the review sample after burn-in, with at least 24-hours of uptime. This is done so to negate the FOTB (fresh out the box) state of the DUT (device under test), yielding better benchmarking consistency.
| Test System Specifications | |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 3600 |
| Motherboard | BIOSTAR B550M-SILVER |
| Cooler | Noctua NH-U12S Redux |
| Memory | ADATA Premier 2666MHz 16 GB |
| GPU | ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4070 Ti OC Edition 12 GB |
| Storage | Plextor M9PE NVME 512 GB |
| Case | Mechanical Library JXK-K3 |
| PSU | Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 850W |
| Display | LG UF680T |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit |
Selected game titles are tested at high settings with standard display resolutions. The following configurations are then applied to ensure a more level playing field between GPU manufacturers:
- Render Scale: 100%
- Anisotropic Filtering: x16
- Motion Blur: Off, if possible
- Depth of Field: Off, if possible
- V-Sync: Off
- Anti-Aliasing: FXAA>TAA>Off
- Nvidia Exclusive Features: Off
- AMD Exclusive Features: Off
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is a multi-player first-person shooter developed by Ubisoft Montreal. It runs on the AnvilNext 2.0 engine, utilizing the DirectX 11 and the Vulkan API.
Like the previous card we’ve tested, I believe the results here do not represent the performance of the graphics card. I kept this just in case Ubisoft decided to fix the game.
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus is a single-player first-person shooter developed by 4A Games. It runs on the 4A Engine engine, utilizing the DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 API.
Now Metro Exodus performance is acceptable if you stay within the realm of 1080P gaming. It is noticeably slower compared to the GTX 1660 Super though.
Assetto Corsa
Assetto Corsa is a multi-player simulation racing game developed by Kunos Simulazioni. It runs on an in-house game engine, utilizing the DirectX 11 API.
Performance at Assetto Corsa checks out fine even at 4K. It is still considerably slower compared to the GTX 1660 Super.
F1 2020
F1 2020 is a multi-player racing game developed by Codemasters. It runs on the Ego Engine 3.0, utilizing the DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 API.
F1 2020 performance where it is marginally faster compared to the GTX 1660 Super – at 1080P alone. The RX 6500 XT with its 4 GB VRAM just cant compete at higher resolutions with the said card.
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker is an MMORPG developed by Square Enix. It runs on the Crystal Tools engine, utilizing the DirectX 11 API.
End Walker is playable at both 1080P and 1440P.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn is an single-player adventure developed by Guerrilla Games. It runs on the Decima engine, utilizing the DirectX 12 API.
Horizon Zero Dawn is best played at 1080P with the RX 6500 XT.
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is a strategy game developed by Firaxis Games. It runs on an in-house game engine, utilizing the DX11 and DX12 API.
Civilization VI is totally playable at 1080P and 1440P.
Total War: Three Kingdoms
Total War: Three Kingdoms is a strategy game developed by Creative Assembly. It runs one the WarScape engine, utilizing the DirectX 11 API.
Total War: Three Kingdoms is as usual stringent on graphics cards. That said, I recommend lowering the graphics settings a bit to get an average FPS above 60.
Thermals
Temperature is measured in degree Celcius (ºC) at system idle and load. This is done via AIDA64 Extreme and its built-in System Stability Test.
Thermal output at idle is acceptable for a graphics card featuring zero dB capable cooler. Same could be said for the load but it could definitely be lowered if you don’t mind a slightly more audible fan noise.
Power
Power is measured in Watts (W) at system idle and load. This is done via AIDA64 Extreme and its built-in System Stability Test.
Power output at load is the best among the cards tested.
Noise
Sound Pressure Level is measured in Decibels (dBA) at system idle and load. This is done via AIDA64 Extreme and its built-in System Stability Test.
The RX 6500 XT is silent enough at full load. It is hardly pushing the fans, just about 54% of its speed which is 1919 RPM so there is plenty of room here for better thermals at the expense of noise levels.
Features
The RX 6500 XT Eagle 4G comes with support for GIGABYTE’s AORUS Engine which is essentially the company’s own GPU tweaking tool. You could overclock the graphics card here, adjust its fan speed and even its lighting if it supports it.
This, being an AMD card with the Navi 24 architecture also means that it supports a number of recent Radeon features. That includes the AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition which is also a utility you could use to overclock the card. Personally speaking, I would suggest AMD’s own software.
Final Thoughts
AMD markets the RX 6500 XT as a 1080P capable machine and it is indeed one, no cap. Our GIGABYTE Radeon RX 6500 XT Eagle 4G for example showed good results at 1080P, while still maintaining a playable frame rate at 1440P across our benchmarks. Power efficient and relatively silent at its stock form, this card seems like a perfect budget graphics card for Full HD gaming.
Now the main gripe I have with this card is its memory configuration. With its 4 GB capacity and 64-bit bus width, the RX 6500 XT is just lacking. Sure, there’s the 8 GB variant but that is still a 64-bit card. You’ll just end up paying more for the VRAM without actually using it to its full potential. The additional ray tracing cores also felt more like a checkbox over an actual feature.
Anyway, I am glad that I did not review it at launch. I just can’t recommend it at $199 USD.
GIGABYTE Radeon RX 6500 XT Eagle 4G
Summary
The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT is a graphics card I could recommend if you could get it below $150 USD. Otherwise, skip it if you can’t.
