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.

Radeon 8040S

2025

Why buy it

✅Draws 55W instead of 107W, a 52W reduction.
✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon RX 6500 XT across 39 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
❌
101% HIGHER MSRP
$400 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 24.4 vs 48.3 G3D/$ ($400 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).

Radeon RX 6500 XT

2022

Why buy it

✅17.1% more average FPS across 39 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Costs $201 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $400 MSRP).
✅Delivers 97.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 48.3 vs 24.4 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $400 MSRP).
✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).

Trade-offs

❌94.5% higher power demand at 107W vs 55W.

Radeon 8040S

2025

Radeon RX 6500 XT

2022

Why buy it

✅Draws 55W instead of 107W, a 52W reduction.
✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Why buy it

✅17.1% more average FPS across 39 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Costs $201 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $400 MSRP).
✅Delivers 97.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 48.3 vs 24.4 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $400 MSRP).
✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon RX 6500 XT across 39 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
❌
101% HIGHER MSRP
$400 MSRPvs$199 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 24.4 vs 48.3 G3D/$ ($400 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌94.5% higher power demand at 107W vs 55W.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon RX 6500 XT better than Radeon 8040S?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. Radeon RX 6500 XT averages 17.1% more FPS across 39 tracked games in our benchmark data. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 9,756 vs 9,603 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer Radeon RX 6500 XT is the overall package: you are getting FSR 3 + AFMF.

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

Radeon 8040S is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2025 generation instead of 2022, better upscaling support with FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of FSR 3 (2023), and a 4nm process instead of 6nm. 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 is the smarter buy today, but it is not as lopsided as a simple winner label makes it sound. Radeon RX 6500 XT is about $201 cheaper on MSRP at $199 MSRP versus $400 MSRP, and you are getting 17.1% more estimated average FPS across 39 tracked games in our benchmark data and a lower G3D Mark (9,603 vs 9,756). It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 97.9%. Radeon 8040S is the newer 2025 card, so it still has a real case if you care more about newer architecture, lower power draw (55W vs 107W), and future-proofing than about squeezing out the strongest gaming value today.

When does Radeon 8040S make more sense than Radeon RX 6500 XT?

Yes. Radeon 8040S is still an excellent gaming GPU in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It makes more sense if your priority is newer architecture, lower power draw (55W vs 107W), future-proofing, and staying closer to $400 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon RX 6500 XT. The trade-off is that Radeon RX 6500 XT currently gives you a lower G3D Mark (9,603 vs 9,756) and 17.1% more estimated average FPS across 39 tracked games in our benchmark data. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 97.9%.

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.

Radeon 8040S Benchmark Check

Radeon RX 6500 XT Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon 8040S	Radeon RX 6500 XT
1080p
low	100 FPS	107 FPS
medium	90 FPS	94 FPS
high	76 FPS	81 FPS
ultra	63 FPS	67 FPS
1440p
low	91 FPS	95 FPS
medium	78 FPS	80 FPS
high	64 FPS	67 FPS
ultra	53 FPS	56 FPS
4K
low	45 FPS	47 FPS
medium	41 FPS	44 FPS
high	30 FPS	33 FPS
ultra	27 FPS	29 FPS

Open Radeon 8040S Open Radeon RX 6500 XT

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon 8040S	Radeon RX 6500 XT
1080p
low	135 FPS	184 FPS
medium	101 FPS	143 FPS
high	73 FPS	108 FPS
ultra	49 FPS	69 FPS
1440p
low	88 FPS	119 FPS
medium	59 FPS	92 FPS
high	45 FPS	69 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	48 FPS
4K
low	40 FPS	58 FPS
medium	29 FPS	45 FPS
high	24 FPS	37 FPS
ultra	17 FPS	25 FPS

Open Radeon 8040S Open Radeon RX 6500 XT

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon 8040S	Radeon RX 6500 XT
1080p
low	320 FPS	359 FPS
medium	274 FPS	315 FPS
high	201 FPS	234 FPS
ultra	165 FPS	189 FPS
1440p
low	235 FPS	291 FPS
medium	208 FPS	257 FPS
high	160 FPS	196 FPS
ultra	125 FPS	156 FPS
4K
low	140 FPS	166 FPS
medium	122 FPS	145 FPS
high	85 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	57 FPS	70 FPS

Open Radeon 8040S Open Radeon RX 6500 XT

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon 8040S	Radeon RX 6500 XT
1080p
low	242 FPS	299 FPS
medium	179 FPS	228 FPS
high	149 FPS	202 FPS
ultra	126 FPS	171 FPS
1440p
low	186 FPS	216 FPS
medium	140 FPS	161 FPS
high	110 FPS	136 FPS
ultra	91 FPS	110 FPS
4K
low	90 FPS	108 FPS
medium	68 FPS	80 FPS
high	57 FPS	70 FPS
ultra	46 FPS	55 FPS

Open Radeon 8040S Open Radeon RX 6500 XT

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon 8040S and Radeon RX 6500 XT

Radeon 8040S

The Radeon 8040S is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 6 2025. It features the RDNA 3.5 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1295 MHz to 2800 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 55W. Manufactured using 4 nm process technology. It features 16 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,756 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 Radeon 8040S scores 9,756 and the Radeon RX 6500 XT reaches 9,603 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon 8040S is built on RDNA 3.5 while the Radeon RX 6500 XT uses RDNA 2.0, both on 4 nm vs 6 nm. Shader units: 1,024 (Radeon 8040S) vs 1,024 (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Raw compute: 5.734 TFLOPS (Radeon 8040S) vs 5.765 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Boost clocks: 2800 MHz vs 2815 MHz. Ray tracing: 16 RT cores (Radeon 8040S) vs 16 (Radeon RX 6500 XT).

Feature	Radeon 8040S	Radeon RX 6500 XT
G3D Mark Score	9,756+2%	9,603
Architecture	RDNA 3.5	RDNA 2.0
Process Node	4 nm	6 nm
Shading Units	1024	1024
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.734 TFLOPS	5.765 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	2800 MHz	2815 MHz
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	64	64
L2 Cache	8 MB+700%	1 MB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling + RSR	FSR 3 + AFMF
Ray Tracing Cores	16	16

✨

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 Radeon 8040S lacks specific hardware/driver support for this native frame generation tier.

Feature	Radeon 8040S	Radeon RX 6500 XT
Upscaling Tech	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4	FSR 3
Frame Generation	Not Supported	FSR Frame Generation + AFMF
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	AMD Anti-Lag	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 4 GB of video memory. Bus width: System vs 64-bit. L2 Cache: 8 MB (Radeon 8040S) vs 1 MB (Radeon RX 6500 XT) — the Radeon 8040S has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon 8040S	Radeon RX 6500 XT
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	Shared	GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth	System	144 GB/s
Bus Width	System	64-bit
L2 Cache	8 MB+700%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.2 (Radeon 8040S) vs 12.2 (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Vulkan: 1.4 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 2.

Feature	Radeon 8040S	Radeon RX 6500 XT
DirectX	12.2	12.2
Vulkan	1.4+8%	1.3
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4+100%	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 4.5 (Radeon 8040S) vs None (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Decoder: VCN 4.5 vs VCN 3.0 (Limited). Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Radeon 8040S) vs MPEG-2,H.264 (Decode),HEVC (Decode) (Radeon RX 6500 XT).

Feature	Radeon 8040S	Radeon RX 6500 XT
Encoder	VCN 4.5	None
Decoder	VCN 4.5	VCN 3.0 (Limited)
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1	MPEG-2,H.264 (Decode),HEVC (Decode)

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon 8040S draws 55W versus the Radeon RX 6500 XT's 107W — a 64.2% difference. The Radeon 8040S is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon 8040S) vs 400W (Radeon RX 6500 XT). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 172mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 70°C.

Feature	Radeon 8040S	Radeon RX 6500 XT
TDP	55W-49%	107W
Recommended PSU	500W	400W-20%
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	1x 6-pin
Length	0mm	172mm
Height	0mm	112mm
Slots	0-100%	2
Temp (Load)	85°C	70°C-18%
Perf/Watt	177.4+98%	89.7

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon 8040S launched at $400 MSRP, while the Radeon RX 6500 XT launched at $199. The Radeon RX 6500 XT costs 50.2% less ($201 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 24.4 (Radeon 8040S) vs 48.3 (Radeon RX 6500 XT) — the Radeon RX 6500 XT offers 98% better value. The Radeon 8040S is the newer GPU (2025 vs 2022).