G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GRID P40-2Q

2015

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
2763.8% HIGHER MSRP
$5,699 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.7 vs 48.3 G3D/$ ($5,699 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
❌110.3% higher power demand at 225W vs 107W.

Radeon RX 6500 XT

2022

Why buy it

✅Costs $5,500 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $5,699 MSRP).
✅Delivers 2770.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 48.3 vs 1.7 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $5,699 MSRP).
✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
✅More future proof: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 6nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 107W instead of 225W, a 118W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

GRID P40-2Q

2015

Radeon RX 6500 XT

2022

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Why buy it

✅Costs $5,500 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $5,699 MSRP).
✅Delivers 2770.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 48.3 vs 1.7 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $5,699 MSRP).
✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
✅More future proof: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 6nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 107W instead of 225W, a 118W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
2763.8% HIGHER MSRP
$5,699 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.7 vs 48.3 G3D/$ ($5,699 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
❌110.3% higher power demand at 225W vs 107W.

Trade-offs

❌Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon RX 6500 XT better than GRID P40-2Q?

Yes. Radeon RX 6500 XT is clearly the better overall GPU here. You are also looking at 9,603 vs 9,581 in G3D Mark. On top of that, Radeon RX 6500 XT is a 2022 card with FSR 3 + AFMF, while GRID P40-2Q is a 2015 model from an older generation with no meaningful modern upscaling stack. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Radeon RX 6500 XT is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2022 generation instead of 2015, better upscaling support with FSR 3 (2023) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack and better frame-generation support with FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, and a 6nm process instead of 28nm. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

Radeon RX 6500 XT can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $199 MSRP. Radeon RX 6500 XT is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. Radeon RX 6500 XT is about $5,500 cheaper on MSRP at $199 MSRP versus $5,699 MSRP, and you are getting 0.2% higher G3D Mark. Moving to $199 MSRP gets you newer hardware, lower power draw (107W vs 225W), and FSR 3 + AFMF.

Is GRID P40-2Q still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. GRID P40-2Q is still a strong gaming card in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. Price is really the swing factor here. If you find it at or below $5,699 MSRP, it remains a very sensible buy. Radeon RX 6500 XT is still the safer recommendation for most fresh builds because it offers a cleaner overall package with newer hardware and FSR 3 + AFMF.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GRID P40-2Q Benchmark Check

Radeon RX 6500 XT Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GRID P40-2Q	Radeon RX 6500 XT
1080p
low	104 FPS	107 FPS
medium	90 FPS	94 FPS
high	73 FPS	81 FPS
ultra	44 FPS	67 FPS
1440p
low	91 FPS	95 FPS
medium	80 FPS	80 FPS
high	58 FPS	67 FPS
ultra	33 FPS	56 FPS
4K
low	29 FPS	47 FPS
medium	27 FPS	44 FPS
high	18 FPS	33 FPS
ultra	16 FPS	29 FPS

Open GRID P40-2Q Open Radeon RX 6500 XT

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GRID P40-2Q	Radeon RX 6500 XT
1080p
low	162 FPS	184 FPS
medium	128 FPS	143 FPS
high	94 FPS	108 FPS
ultra	75 FPS	69 FPS
1440p
low	119 FPS	119 FPS
medium	92 FPS	92 FPS
high	74 FPS	69 FPS
ultra	57 FPS	48 FPS
4K
low	68 FPS	58 FPS
medium	52 FPS	45 FPS
high	43 FPS	37 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	25 FPS

Open GRID P40-2Q Open Radeon RX 6500 XT

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GRID P40-2Q	Radeon RX 6500 XT
1080p
low	431 FPS	359 FPS
medium	345 FPS	315 FPS
high	287 FPS	234 FPS
ultra	216 FPS	189 FPS
1440p
low	323 FPS	291 FPS
medium	259 FPS	257 FPS
high	216 FPS	196 FPS
ultra	162 FPS	156 FPS
4K
low	216 FPS	166 FPS
medium	172 FPS	145 FPS
high	144 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	108 FPS	70 FPS

Open GRID P40-2Q Open Radeon RX 6500 XT

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GRID P40-2Q	Radeon RX 6500 XT
1080p
low	182 FPS	299 FPS
medium	148 FPS	228 FPS
high	133 FPS	202 FPS
ultra	103 FPS	171 FPS
1440p
low	132 FPS	216 FPS
medium	110 FPS	161 FPS
high	99 FPS	136 FPS
ultra	77 FPS	110 FPS
4K
low	77 FPS	108 FPS
medium	60 FPS	80 FPS
high	49 FPS	70 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	55 FPS

Open GRID P40-2Q Open Radeon RX 6500 XT

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GRID P40-2Q and Radeon RX 6500 XT

GRID P40-2Q

The GRID P40-2Q is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in August 30 2015. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 557 MHz to 1178 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 225W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,581 points.

Radeon RX 6500 XT

The Radeon RX 6500 XT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 19 2022. It features the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 2610 MHz to 2815 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 107W. Manufactured using 6 nm process technology. It features 16 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,603 points. Launch price was $199.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GRID P40-2Q scores 9,581 and the Radeon RX 6500 XT reaches 9,603 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GRID P40-2Q is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the Radeon RX 6500 XT uses RDNA 2.0, both on 28 nm vs 6 nm. Shader units: 2,048 (GRID P40-2Q) vs 1,024 (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Raw compute: 4.825 TFLOPS (GRID P40-2Q) vs 5.765 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Boost clocks: 1178 MHz vs 2815 MHz.

Feature	GRID P40-2Q	Radeon RX 6500 XT
G3D Mark Score	9,581	9,603
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0	RDNA 2.0
Process Node	28 nm	6 nm
Shading Units	2048+100%	1024
Compute (TFLOPS)	4.825 TFLOPS	5.765 TFLOPS+19%
Boost Clock	1178 MHz	2815 MHz+139%
ROPs	64+100%	32
TMUs	128+100%	64
L1 Cache	768 KB+200%	256 KB
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

A critical advantage for the Radeon RX 6500 XT is support for FSR Frame Generation + AFMF. This allows it to generate entire frames using AI/Algorithms, essentially doubling the frame rate in CPU-bound scenarios or heavy ray-tracing titles. The GRID P40-2Q lacks specific hardware/driver support for this native frame generation tier.

Feature	GRID P40-2Q	Radeon RX 6500 XT
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR 3
Frame Generation	Not Supported	FSR Frame Generation + AFMF
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	Standard	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 4 GB of GDDR6. Bus width: 128-bit vs 64-bit. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GRID P40-2Q) vs 1 MB (Radeon RX 6500 XT) — the GRID P40-2Q has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GRID P40-2Q	Radeon RX 6500 XT
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR6
Bus Width	128-bit+100%	64-bit
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GRID P40-2Q) vs 12.2 (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 2.

Feature	GRID P40-2Q	Radeon RX 6500 XT
DirectX	12.1	12.2
Vulkan	1.1	1.3+18%
OpenGL	4.5	4.6+2%
Max Displays	0	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 4.0 (2x) (GRID P40-2Q) vs None (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 vs VCN 3.0 (Limited). Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GRID P40-2Q) vs MPEG-2,H.264 (Decode),HEVC (Decode) (Radeon RX 6500 XT).

Feature	GRID P40-2Q	Radeon RX 6500 XT
Encoder	NVENC 4.0 (2x)	None
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP6	VCN 3.0 (Limited)
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC	MPEG-2,H.264 (Decode),HEVC (Decode)

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GRID P40-2Q draws 225W versus the Radeon RX 6500 XT's 107W — a 71.1% difference. The Radeon RX 6500 XT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GRID P40-2Q) vs 400W (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 172mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 70°C.

Feature	GRID P40-2Q	Radeon RX 6500 XT
TDP	225W	107W-52%
Recommended PSU	500W	400W-20%
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	1x 6-pin
Length	267mm	172mm
Height	112mm	112mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	85°C	70°C-18%
Perf/Watt	42.6	89.7+111%

💰

Value Analysis

The GRID P40-2Q launched at $5699 MSRP, while the Radeon RX 6500 XT launched at $199. The Radeon RX 6500 XT costs 96.5% less ($5500 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 1.7 (GRID P40-2Q) vs 48.3 (Radeon RX 6500 XT) — the Radeon RX 6500 XT offers 2741.2% better value. The Radeon RX 6500 XT is the newer GPU (2022 vs 2015).