AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains one directly comparable benchmark between these two cards: Geekbench OpenCL. In that test, the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT scored 48,289, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 scored 13,300. The delta shows the RX 6500 XT finishes 72.5% ahead of the GTX 480 in this workload. That is a decisive margin, and it reflects the architectural gulf between a Fermi-era GPU from 2010 and an RDNA 2 part from 2022.

Looking at the GTX 480's position in the database, its average benchmark score of 13,300 places it at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 555X at 13,321 (0.2% faster), the AMD FirePro M6100 at 13,354 (0.4% faster), and the AMD Radeon RX 5500M at 13,356 (0.4% faster). The GTX 480 is effectively tied with these mobile and workstation cards, all within a fraction of a percent of each other. This tells you the GTX 480's compute performance, as measured by OpenCL, sits in a very crowded band of mid-tier GPUs from several generations later.

The RX 6500 XT, by contrast, posts an average benchmark score of 11,842, which lands it at the 51st percentile. Its nearest rivals are a different class of hardware: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 at 11,960 (1% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960A at 11,998 (1.3% faster), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 at 11,680 (1.4% slower). The RX 6500 XT also trails the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT by 1.9%, with that card scoring 11,627. The spread here is tight, meaning the RX 6500 XT's average score clusters with cards that were flagship or upper-midrange parts in their own time.

The single head-to-head result is lopsided. The RX 6500 XT's OpenCL score of 48,289 dwarfs the GTX 480's 13,300, a 72.5% advantage. But the broader benchmark picture adds nuance: the GTX 480's average score (13,300) is actually higher than the RX 6500 XT's average score (11,842). That seems contradictory until you factor in the RX 6500 XT's other recorded tests. It has ten benchmark entries, including PassMark G3D at 9,608, PassMark G2D at 815, PassMark GPU Compute at 4,456, and Geekbench Vulkan at 54,724. The GTX 480 only has the one OpenCL result. When these additional tests are averaged in, the RX 6500 XT's overall mean drops below the GTX 480's single score.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6500 XT wins the only directly comparable test, and it wins big. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 72.5% higher than the GTX 480's. That alone makes it the clear choice for any OpenCL compute workload. Additionally, the RX 6500 XT records strong scores in other APIs: 54,724 in Geekbench Vulkan, 4,456 in PassMark GPU Compute, and 9,608 in PassMark G3D. These are all modern workloads that the GTX 480 simply cannot run or has no recorded scores for.

The GTX 480 does not win any head-to-head test in the database. Its only benchmark result is the OpenCL score of 13,300, which loses decisively. However, its average benchmark score of 13,300 is higher than the RX 6500 XT's average of 11,842. That is a statistical artifact of the different test suites each card has been put through, not evidence of superiority. The GTX 480's percentile ranking of 53 is also slightly higher than the RX 6500 XT's 51, again because the two cards are measured against different pools of competitors.

For traditional rasterization workloads, the RX 6500 XT's PassMark DirectX scores offer some insight. It records 108 in DirectX 9, 90 in DirectX 11, 60 in DirectX 10, and 38 in DirectX 12. These are not comparable to the GTX 480 because the GTX 480 lacks PassMark entries. The RX 6500 XT also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the GTX 480 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0). That is a generational feature gap that matters for modern game compatibility.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner for anyone choosing between these two today. The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 by 72.5% in the only shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL. It also carries modern API support, including Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 Ultimate, while the GTX 480 has no Vulkan support at all and only DirectX 12 (11_0). If the task involves OpenCL compute, modern graphics APIs, or any workload from the last decade, the RX 6500 XT is the only rational pick from the recorded measurements.

The GTX 480's sole advantage is its higher average benchmark score (13,300 vs. 11,842) and its slightly better percentile placement (53 vs. 51). But those figures come from different benchmark sets, and the one test where both cards appear together favors the RX 6500 XT overwhelmingly. The GTX 480's nearest rivals are all AMD Radeon Pro or FirePro mobile parts from years later, which suggests its performance has aged into a narrow niche. The RX 6500 XT, by contrast, keeps company with the GTX 1080, GTX 1660, and RX 7800 XT, a much more modern peer group.

For a buyer with legacy software that specifically requires Fermi-era compatibility, the GTX 480 might still function, but the benchmark data offers no reason to prefer it. For anyone else, the RX 6500 XT wins on measured performance, modern features, and efficiency. The verdict is not close.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT scores 48,289 versus the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480's 13,300, a 72.5% advantage for the RX 6500 XT.

Q: How does the GTX 480 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 480's average score of 13,300 is 0.2% below the AMD Radeon Pro 555X, 0.4% below the AMD FirePro M6100, and 0.4% below the AMD Radeon RX 5500M.

Q: What is the RX 6500 XT's average benchmark score and percentile?

A: The RX 6500 XT has an average benchmark score of 11,842, placing it at the 51st percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Does the GTX 480 support Vulkan?

A: No, the GTX 480's API list includes DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but no Vulkan support. The RX 6500 XT supports Vulkan 1.4.

Q: How far is the RX 6500 XT from the GTX 1080 in average score?

A: The GTX 1080 scores 11,960, which is 1% higher than the RX 6500 XT's 11,842.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RX 6500 XT has 1,024 shading units, while the GTX 480 has 480.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different architectural eras. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 uses the GF100 chip, built on the Fermi architecture, fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It packs 3,100 million transistors into a 529 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 5.9 million per square millimeter. That is a large, hot chip by modern standards. The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT uses the Navi 24 chip, built on RDNA 2.0, fabricated on a 6 nm process, also at TSMC. It fits 5,400 million transistors into a 107 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 50.5 million per square millimeter. The density difference is enormous: the RX 6500 XT packs more than eight times the transistors per area.

The memory subsystems differ just as much. The GTX 480 has 1,536 MB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 177.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6500 XT has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 143.9 GB/s. Despite having a much narrower bus, the RX 6500 XT uses faster memory (18 Gbps effective versus 3.7 Gbps effective) to nearly match bandwidth. The GTX 480's memory clock is 924 MHz, while the RX 6500 XT's memory clock is 2,248 MHz.

Compute resources also shift dramatically. The GTX 480 has 480 shading units, 60 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The RX 6500 XT has 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RX 6500 XT also includes 16 ray tracing cores, which the GTX 480 lacks entirely. Pixel rate favors the RX 6500 XT at 90.08 GPixel/s versus 21.03 GPixel/s. Texture rate favors the RX 6500 XT at 180.2 GTexel/s versus 42.06 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 5.765 TFLOPS for the RX 6500 XT versus 1,345.0 GFLOPS for the GTX 480. The RX 6500 XT also has FP16 capability at 11.53 TFLOPS, while the GTX 480 has no recorded FP16 figure.

Specification Differences

The process node differs: 40 nm for the GTX 480, 6 nm for the RX 6500 XT. Transistor count differs: 3,100 million versus 5,400 million. Die size differs: 529 mm² versus 107 mm². Transistor density differs: 5.9M per mm² versus 50.5M per mm².

Clock speeds are only recorded for the RX 6500 XT, with a base of 2,310 MHz, a boost of 2,815 MHz, and a game clock of 2,610 MHz. The GTX 480 has no base or boost clock listed. Memory clock is 924 MHz (3.7 Gbps effective) for the GTX 480 and 2,248 MHz (18 Gbps effective) for the RX 6500 XT.

Memory size is 1,536 MB versus 4 GB. Memory type is GDDR5 versus GDDR6. Bus width is 384-bit versus 64-bit. Bandwidth is 177.4 GB/s versus 143.9 GB/s. Shading units are 480 versus 1,024. TMUs are 60 versus 64. ROPs are 48 versus 32. Ray tracing cores are absent on the GTX 480 and present at 16 on the RX 6500 XT.

Pixel rate is 21.03 GPixel/s versus 90.08 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 42.06 GTexel/s versus 180.2 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 1,345.0 GFLOPS versus 5.765 TFLOPS. FP16 is not recorded for the GTX 480 but is 11.53 TFLOPS for the RX 6500 XT.

TDP is 250 W for the GTX 480 and 107 W for the RX 6500 XT. Power connectors are 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin for the GTX 480, versus 1x 6-pin for the RX 6500 XT. Suggested PSU is 600 W versus 300 W. Bus interface is PCIe 2.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x4. Display outputs are 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a for the GTX 480, versus 1x HDMI 2.1 and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a for the RX 6500 XT.

DirectX support is 12 (11_0) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2). OpenGL is 4.6 for both. Vulkan is not listed for the GTX 480 but is 1.4 for the RX 6500 XT. The GTX 480 is 267 mm long (10.5 inches), while the RX 6500 XT has no recorded dimensions. Release dates are March 2010 for the GTX 480 and January 2022 for the RX 6500 XT. The GTX 480's launch MSRP was 499 USD; the RX 6500 XT's was 199 USD. The GTX 480 succeeds the GeForce 200 series and precedes the GeForce 500. The RX 6500 XT succeeds Navi and precedes Navi III.