AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT review: the typical performance upgrade spectrum

We conclude our testing of traditional, rasterised game performance with AC Unity, released in 2014 and currently enjoying a new lease of life on Xbox Series X's back-compat catalogue - plus two fresher titles, Metro Exodus (note: not the Enhanced Edition!) and Dirt Rally 2.0.

In order to deliver precise results, our performance data is more than just a readout of an average frame-rate at the end of a test. Instead, we use the FCAT tool built into Rivatuner Statistics Server (RTSS), which overlays a coloured border to the left side of the screen. Each new frame is represented by another coloured box in the sequence - and its height signifies the time it took to generate. We capture a direct feed of the game footage and border from the graphics card we're testing, analysing the resultant video file with our own tools to essentially write down the frame-time for each frame. This metadata is uploaded to the Eurogamer site, then rendered by the server into the live widgets you see below, allowing us to choose the comparisons you'll find most interesting - while giving you the power to make your own selections too.

Metro Exodus

The Metro Exodus benchmark is a convenient way to test different cards or find the right balance of settings; you can find it as a standalone program ('Benchmark.exe') in the game's install directory. From here, you can choose from a wide range of presets, settings and resolutions, plus run the game several times in a row to guarantee accurate results - you even get a nice frame-time graph at the end. We're using the Ultra preset here, if you want to play along, and we have RT results on the next page.

The RX 6500 XT is again equivalent to the RX 580, with an average 1080p frame-rate of around 41fps (the RX 580 is 38fps). That's not great, given that the RX 6600 is at a comfortable 67fps, and the closest competitor from Nvidia is the old RTX 2060 Super (which is still 60 percent faster).

Dirt Rally 2.0

Dirt Rally 2.0's benchmark is hard to set up, but runs a treat once you've got the XML files figured out. It's also plenty long, encompassing an a full section of a point-to-point rally race, making it one of the longest repeatable stretches of actual gameplay in an integrated benchmark. This game is also kind to AMD hardware, but it's not enough to save the 6500 XT from another disappointing result - 54fps is just a shade ahead of the RX 580, a card from 2017, and less than two thirds of what the RX 6600 is capable of. The RTX 3060 is 59 percent faster than the 6500 XT too.

Assassin's Creed Unity

AC Unity made its DF reputation by showcasing CPU limitations and highlighting issues with driver limitations, and this venerable member of the 2021 GPU test suite still has the power to trip up modern graphics hardware. The RX 6500 XT delivers a remarkable sub-60fps experience at high settings, the likes of which we've not seen for years. The RX 6600 is 2.5x faster here.

So that's the standard benchmark suite out of the way. Now, let's see how the 6600 performs in RT workloads - maybe avert your eyes?

AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT analysis

• Introduction and hardware analysis
• Doom Eternal, Control, Borderlands 3, Shadow of the Tomb Raider - Game Benchmarks Part 1
• Death Stranding, Far Cry 5, Hitman 2, Assassin's Creed Odyssey - Game Benchmarks Part 2
• Metro Exodus, Dirt Rally 2, Assassin's Creed Unity - Game Benchmarks Part 3 [This Page]
• Control, Metro Exodus, Battlefield 5 - RT game benchmarks
• PCIe 3.0 vs PCIe 4.0 - How does bandwidth affect frame-rate?
• AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT - the Digital Foundry verdict