AMD Radeon RX 6500M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6500M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 represent two very different generations of mobile graphics, with the comparison highlighting a stark trade-off between modern feature sets and raw legacy throughput. The data shows a clear split: the RX 6500M wins decisively in a single modern API benchmark, while the GTX 1070 dominates across the board in DirectX and compute workloads. The GTX 1070 holds a commanding lead in 8 of the 9 head-to-head tests, yet the RX 6500M’s one victory is by a massive margin, underscoring its architectural focus on newer rendering paths.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6500M has a higher average benchmark score of 10362, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070’s 9780. However, the GTX 1070’s percentile rank among all GPUs is 47, while the RX 6500M sits at 48.

Q: How do the two compare in the Vulkan API test?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6500M wins the Geekbench Vulkan test decisively, scoring 43837 against the GTX 1070’s 22121. This represents a 98.2% advantage for the RX 6500M.

Q: What is the largest performance delta in the head-to-head tests?

A: The largest delta is in Passmark DirectX 9, where the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 wins with a score of 197 versus the RX 6500M’s 92. This is a 53.3% difference in favor of the GTX 1070.

Q: Which GPU has a lower thermal design power (TDP)?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6500M has a TDP of 50 W, which is significantly lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070’s 150 W. This makes the RX 6500M far more power-efficient on paper.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth between the two?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 offers 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth from its 256-bit GDDR5 memory, while the AMD Radeon RX 6500M provides 144.0 GB/s from a 64-bit GDDR6 interface. The GTX 1070 has a 78% bandwidth advantage.

Q: Do both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate?

A: No, only the AMD Radeon RX 6500M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1).

Where Each One Wins

The use-case split is stark, defined by API generation and workload type. The AMD Radeon RX 6500M is the clear winner in Vulkan-based applications, as evidenced by its 43837 score in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 98.2% higher than the GTX 1070’s 22121. This suggests the RX 6500M is better optimized for modern, low-overhead rendering APIs that are increasingly common in newer game engines and compute workloads.

Conversely, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the dominant force in every other benchmark category measured. It wins all Passmark DirectX tests, from DirectX 9 (197 vs 92) through DirectX 10, 11, and 12. In DirectX 11, the GTX 1070 scores 100 versus the RX 6500M’s 70, a 30% advantage. The GTX 1070 also excels in general compute tasks, with a Passmark GPU Compute score of 6102 compared to the RX 6500M’s 2669, representing a 56.3% lead. For legacy DirectX titles and general-purpose GPU compute, the GTX 1070 is the superior choice.

The GTX 1070 also wins in 2D performance, scoring 846 in Passmark G2D versus the RX 6500M’s 385, a 54.5% difference. This indicates that for everyday desktop rendering and non-3D graphics tasks, the older NVIDIA card is significantly faster. The RX 6500M’s sole victory in Vulkan suggests it is tailored for forward-looking software, while the GTX 1070 remains a jack-of-all-trades for established workloads.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is fundamental. The AMD Radeon RX 6500M is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 24 chip, manufactured on a 6 nm process at TSMC. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 uses the Pascal architecture with the GP104 chip, fabricated on a 16 nm process, also by TSMC. This means the RX 6500M uses a much denser process, with a transistor density of 50.5 million per mm², versus the GTX 1070’s 22.9 million per mm².

The RX 6500M’s chip is notably smaller at 107 mm², housing 5,400 million transistors. The GTX 1070’s die is nearly three times larger at 314 mm², containing 7,200 million transistors. This gives the GTX 1070 a raw hardware resource advantage, with 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, compared to the RX 6500M’s 1024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

A key feature difference is ray tracing. The RX 6500M includes 16 dedicated ray-tracing cores, a hallmark of RDNA 2.0, while the GTX 1070 has no such hardware. The RX 6500M also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which is a feature set the Pascal-based GTX 1070 cannot match. The GTX 1070, however, offers a broader display output configuration with 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, whereas the RX 6500M’s outputs are listed as portable-device dependent.

Specification Differences

The specification sheet reveals two cards with very different design philosophies. The AMD Radeon RX 6500M operates at a higher base clock of 2000 MHz and boost clock of 2400 MHz, with a game clock of 2191 MHz. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 has a lower base clock of 1506 MHz and boost clock of 1683 MHz. Despite the clock speed advantage, the RX 6500M’s overall throughput is lower due to its narrower execution resources.

Memory configuration differs significantly. The RX 6500M uses 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 144.0 GB/s. The GTX 1070 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.3 GB/s. The GTX 1070’s memory bandwidth is a critical advantage for high-resolution textures and data-heavy workloads. The RX 6500M’s memory runs at 18 Gbps effective, while the GTX 1070’s runs at 8 Gbps effective, but the wider bus of the GTX 1070 wins.

Power and physical design are also divergent. The RX 6500M has a TDP of 50 W and is listed as an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors, making it suitable for thin-and-light laptops. The GTX 1070 has a TDP of 150 W, requires a single 8-pin power connector, and is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length. The RX 6500M uses a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, while the GTX 1070 uses the older PCIe 3.0 x16 interface. The GTX 1070’s launch MSRP was 379 USD.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data is unambiguous in its verdict. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 wins 8 of the 9 head-to-head comparisons, often by substantial margins. The biggest win for the GTX 1070 comes in Passmark GPU Compute, where it scores 6102 against the RX 6500M’s 2669, a 56.3% lead. This is followed by Passmark G2D, where the GTX 1070’s 846 score is 54.5% higher than the RX 6500M’s 385.

In DirectX 9, the GTX 1070 shows its legacy strength with a score of 197, which is 53.3% higher than the RX 6500M’s 92. The DirectX 12 test is closer, but the GTX 1070 still wins with 48 versus 34, a 29.2% difference. The DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 tests show similar patterns, with the GTX 1070 leading by 36.6% and 30%, respectively. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the GTX 1070 scores 44700 against the RX 6500M’s 38586, a 13.7% advantage.

The RX 6500M’s sole victory is in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where it scores 43837 versus the GTX 1070’s 22121. This 98.2% delta is the most extreme result in the entire comparison, dwarfing any single win by the GTX 1070. This suggests that in Vulkan-specific applications, the RX 6500M is over twice as fast as the GTX 1070, a remarkable turnaround from the other tests. In the Passmark G3D test, the GTX 1070 wins with 13498 versus 7531, a 44.2% lead, reinforcing its overall superiority in standard 3D rendering workloads.