PSA: DON'T Buy The RX 6500-XT (Unless There's LITERALLY Nothing Else)

[r.linder]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFpuJqx9Qmw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArW4-mkGHSw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmE8iZWaLWE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5_oM3Ow_CI

Right out of the gate, the RX 6500-XT is being outperformed by the RX 580, a 5 year old refresh of a 6 year old GPU architecture. It can sometimes win against the 580, but it loses battles against it more than it wins, and there's just other issues with the card, like the fact that it only uses up to 4 PCI-e lanes out of a x16 PCI-e slot, and lacking some encoding support like HEVC.
AMD seems to have intentionally stripped down the 6500-XT, I guess to cut cost, but the MSRP is still basically around the same as what the RX 580 was, and that number doesn't mean anything anymore because of scalpers, that card is probably still going to be scalped even though it's terrible, which makes it even worse for people who might end up buying a scalped 6500-XT.

In my opinion, don't buy the 6500-XT, you're much better off paying more for a GTX 1660 SUPER or RTX 2060. If the 6500-XT sells out, it'll only show AMD that their shady design choices are a-okay with us, but it shouldn't be, this is absolutely disgusting that a 4 year old GPU is still consistently faster than their latest. And don't give me that "well the RX 580 was the top end of Polaris" crap, they've released the RX 590, which is even faster, than the 5500-XT, which was slower than that, and now the 6500-XT, which is basically the same GPU but actually worse in some aspects. The 580 was always a mid-range GPU in actual performance when it launched, now it's just barely above entry level, this isn't acceptable.
I don't really recommend buying Radeon GPUs at all at this point. AMD is starting to become more like Intel and NVIDIA and they're doing it wrong, they're making it too obvious that they're flipping their budget users off. At least their competitors are a lot more subtle about it.

[Illusion of Progress]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Bad 💀 Motha:

I wouldn't even give an AMD or NVIDIA x50/xx50/x500 GPU to a young PC Gamer. They aren't going to enjoy games as much with terrible graphics. Something where even most games on PS3 and PS4 look better and run better. You are NOT going to enjoy games like GTAV or RDR2 on a GPU like a GTX 1050, 1050 Ti, AMD 5500/6500 series; just never going to happen. They are too low-end. In which case playing a game like RDR2 on even the older PS4 non-PRO would be more fun, run smoother and look heck of alot better; all for way cheaper.

If all you needed was a work PC; then something with an 8th Gen i5 or later and using the onboard Intel GPU would be plenty.

You're kind of serving as an example for what was my point. You're stating that high fidelity/performance on demanding games is your focus, which should be apparent are uses above what entry level products should be expected to provide. It doesn't mean they are bad products; it just means you have desires that they wouldn't meet. Being a poor match for you does not equal being bad for the wider market.

I also don't understand who would trash on entry level hardware but in the same breath try and suggest onboard graphics from generations ago as an alternative to it. Why are we comparing something like a UHD 530 to a GTX 1050 when even a GT 1030 would probably be many times faster in a lot of situations? So why don't you use entry level products for your high end needs, if people with entry level needs should just use onboard? See how silly that sounds now?

And yes, consoles are often considered to get you "a better deal" as far as experience for cost especially if some triple A titles are your goal in normal times, let alone this joke of a current GPU market. Granted, the mid-range, let alone the entry level, has been more or less absent for a while now, but my point was more about your claim that the entry level x50 tier has always been bad, when traditionally it's been just fine for what it is.

[Heretic]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Overseer:

The PCIe talk is because of the card only having 4 lanes. You put it into a x16 slot but only 4 connect via the PCB. Thats why PCIe 4 is better with the new 6500 XT. You pick between PCIe Gen 3.0 x4 or PCIe x4 Gen 4.0.

It's the equivalent of a PCIE 2.0 x16 slot, which could run a 1080Ti, even though it was a PCIE 3.0 card. The problem for the 6500XT is that it's tight on vram, where the 1080Ti, especially at the time, would never run out. The issue of today is that even for 1080p 4GB may not be enough without toning down a lot of the graphics settings. If they released an 8gb or even a 6gb model then it may well be a reasonable baby card.

[ZeekAncient]

I think that "budget" cards are needed, especially in a market such as this that has obviously catered to the top end lately. I mean why should Nvidia or AMD release a card for $200 or less, that years ago would have sold more than the top end cards, when currently the top end cards are selling out instantly. And at prices that are well above MSRP.

So right now the GPU market is in dire need of the x50 tier. Which in the past have been some really good viable options for those that don't necessarily need an expensive top end card or simply can't afford it.

So to see AMD and Nvidia releasing cards in the x50 tier and showing that budget cards still exist is an awesome sign, and something that is desperately needed in this market. But what is not awesome is AMD basically stripping the RDNA2 architecture down as much as it can and releasing this lackluster GPU that is worse than the budget cards of the last generation. Then turning around and saying it is to detract miners. Well they are detracting gamers too, IMO.

There was no need for AMD to strip this card as much as it did. Scalpers are still gonna scoop this up and sell it for double, or more. They could have released a card for $200 to $250 dollars that had the full PCI-E 4.0 x 16 interface and came in a 4 or 8GB variant. At least a card that would outperform the budget cards of the last generations. This thing is a joke.

Here is hoping that Nvidia's RTX 3050 performs a lot better. Even if it has an MSRP $50 more than this, I think that is the route AMD should have taken. Obviously, I am not in the market for a budget card, but for those that are, that don't have the means to pay ridiculous prices for a GPU, I am really hoping that the 3050 can be a saving grace. If it is at least 10 to 15% better than the budget card of the last generation, then I think it could be a viable investment for someone. Even if is more than the 6500XT. I would just pay the extra and avoid the 6500XT at all costs.

I am really anxious to see Intel's line of GPUs. IMO, they can't get here soon enough.

[Illusion of Progress]

Początkowo opublikowane przez ZeekAncient:

So right now the GPU market is in dire need of the x50 tier.

It is, although I think a distinction could be made here. What the market is lacking isn't necessarily just the existence of entry level or more specifically mid range products themselves, but at the price points those segments will accommodate. For example, it means nothing if a mid-range x60 tier part exists but is priced higher than yesterday's x80 tier (or, when it is priced at MSRP that it's nearly impossible for most to obtain, so before people start talking about the MSRP being lower than street value and the existence of queue programs, this means little when availability is too low to count for the market at large). At that point the mid-range and below don't actually exist IMO, even if products with the x50/x500 and x60/x600 numbering do.

Początkowo opublikowane przez ZeekAncient:

So to see AMD and Nvidia releasing cards in the x50 tier and showing that budget cards still exist is an awesome sign, and something that is desperately needed in this market.

The entry level and mid-range market never went away and neither nVidia nor AMD think that they did. Despite this, they simply aren't worth catering to in the current climate as they were forced out of the buying market by pricing being pushed so far up beyond what they are willing to spend. That pricing was pushed up due to a nearly infinite demand because the products are valued so much higher than MSRP due to the product itself creating profit, so nVidia and AMD understandably took advantage of this infinite demand and devoted as much production time and resources as possible towards higher end SKUs as they have a higher profit margin. Production went way up (apparently 25% by the numbers but when you consider higher end SKUs require more silicon space it's potentially been higher than that even if you look at thiat way), but yet we still have "shortages". That's because the real issue is the demand side, not supply side. And the demand is pricing the lower end out, which is typically what happens in markets where demand so far outstrips supply.

While the high end may not like the higher prices (it's forced some x80 tier buyers to consider the x70 or x60 Ti range though I've noticed), they seem less resistant to totally abstain from the market (especially when some of them justify offsetting the costs by mining, which is a flawed argument to begin with because this only works if you can justify that much higher price offset to begin with), whereas the $300 and below market has been left with little to no options at all and is less likely to spend up (if they were, they'd more likely be higher range buyers to begin with). This is why, even though they're bad for mining, you're seeing even lower end GPUs like GT 1030s and even GT 710s go up in price and down in availability (though not by nearly as much as the ones that are effective at mining). Desperate people fighting over the scraps, so to speak.

[ZeekAncient]

^ I think the ultimate point I was trying to make though is that AMD could have released a 6500XT that was much better than what they actually released. Regardless of the market and what final price this SKU is gonna actually go for, with an MSRP of $200, you are seeing a lot of people hoping that this was going to be THE budget card for 2022. With the 3050 getting an MSRP of $250, which is what a x60 tiered card would have went for years ago, many people were hoping that the 6500XT was going to be the go to budget card. What AMD ended up releasing is a GPU that nobody should pay $200 for, let alone the jacked up prices that this card will end up going for. I know they said they were trying to dissuade miners from buying this card, but what they ended up releasing was a slap in the face. That is why I hope that the 3050 will have a much better showing. Because regardless of price, with the way the market is, the xx50 tier is still considered the "budget" tier, no matter how expensive they end up going for.

[Witski]

Different products for different people, anyone who buys a gpu for gaming will not look at this or any xx50 to begin with,at least is what i think, being "modern" and freshly released mean it will have more support via drivers and what not and still better than entry level igpus.

It's small,low-ish tdp etc,good for a lot of things,for students who write a lot or do other things,1080p free to play games or old ones,being small is good for itx rigs that can be taken with you while have a "decent" gpu in it for their needs,somewhat plug and play.Just look at the whole picture and don't focus on what i need/want and the price i want it to be for the need i want it to have.
It's just another products and more product / choices is always good.

[FatalError]

I'll never buy any amd card ever again, after what they did with their drivers.

The rx5700 have been half broken since launch over 2 years ago and they know about it, but they are never gonna fix it.

Even as we speak, their current driver doesn't work. The control panel doesn't open and it's been like that for about 3 months now, but they just do not give any

DO NOT BUY AMD EVER

[Lord Flashheart]

Sadly I think it will sell, as those with a tight budget will have little choice.
AMD knows this.

[DarkStarClassic]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Dr StrangeGlove:

Sadly I think it will sell, as those with a tight budget will have little choice.
AMD knows this.

Budget? https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/1785050/asus-radeon-rx-6500-xt-oc-edition.html

[UserNotFound]

Which is why I think MSRP is an illusion, and AMD and nVidia could better serve their customers by just saying it's up to their AIB's, they can recommend 200USD, but expect 250-300USD (or something to this effect).

Asus, like GB and MSI, are famous for jacking up the price of their cards simply because they're the big three. Checking out newegg listings, they have a Sapphire Pulse and Asrock Phantom Gaming listed at 199USD, and yes, they're out OOS.

[KZ_Understanding_the_Rain_000]

It's sad that I bought my RX 570 8GB for under $200 three years ago (an eternity in tech), and now three years later I would pay the same or more for basically the same performance (RX 6500 XT performs like an RX 570 when it's in a PCIE 3.0 system).

[Meatball]

Początkowo opublikowane przez FatalError:

Look up the changelog for literally any 5700 driver since like 2 years and it will say "known issues: enhanced sync can cause black screens"

Początkowo opublikowane przez FatalError:

The rx5700 have been half broken since launch over 2 years ago and they know about it, but they are never gonna fix it.:ujel:

LMAO xDDDDDDDD

[carl]

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd/radeon-rx-6500-xt-series

As of now the card is still available for near MSRP in the UK. They had the sapphire version at £180 on launch day. Inclusive of sales tax.

I don't think the card would've got criticised as much had AMD set $100 to $150 MSRP.

[carl]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Witski:

Different products for different people, anyone who buys a gpu for gaming will not look at this or any xx50 to begin with,at least is what i think, being "modern" and freshly released mean it will have more support via drivers and what not and still better than entry level igpus.

It's small,low-ish tdp etc,good for a lot of things,for students who write a lot or do other things,1080p free to play games or old ones,being small is good for itx rigs that can be taken with you while have a "decent" gpu in it for their needs,somewhat plug and play.Just look at the whole picture and don't focus on what i need/want and the price i want it to be for the need i want it to have.
It's just another products and more product / choices is always good.

This is what got my initial interest in the card but there are other features disabled such as some media decode and encode which make it less useful if you want a home theatre system. I don't understand why AMD didn't disable Ray tracing as its not powerful enough. I hope they have plans for FSR for this card in future.

[Meatball]

4GB of VRAM. No comment xD
This is going to cause a huge backlash.I don't know what they were thinking.