Sapphire’s Pulse Radeon RX 6500 XT 8GB, which not too long ago launched, is now obtainable for $229.99 (opens in new tab). The Navi 24-powered graphics card is simply $20 dearer than the vanilla Radeon RX 6500 XT, one of many greatest graphics playing cards round when you’re on a critical price range.
One of many extra questionable facets of the Radeon RX 6500 XT was the 4GB of GDDR6 reminiscence. In a weblog publish (opens in new tab) titled “Sport Past 4GB,” printed in 2020, AMD argued that 4GB easy wasn’t sufficient for contemporary gaming. Due to this fact, AMD’s choice to include solely 4GB of reminiscence into the Radeon RX 6500 XT nonetheless makes many scratch their heads. Nonetheless, Sapphire’s Pulse Radeon RX 6500 XT 8GB solves the Radeon RX 6500 XT’s reminiscence deficiency. Sadly, AMD would not formally listing a Radeon RX 6500 XT 8GB on its web site, so it will seem Sapphire produced the 8GB model out of its personal volition, and we might not see different distributors observe swimsuit.
The Pulse Radeon RX 6500 XT 8GB clocks in barely sooner than the Pulse Radeon RX 6500 XT 4GB. The 8GB mannequin contains a 2,695 MHz recreation clock and a pair of,855 MHz, whereas the 4GB variant comes with a 2,685 MHz recreation clock and a 2,825 MHz enhance clock. That is lower than a 2% distinction. Essentially the most vital improve lies within the reminiscence system.
Sapphire’s new mannequin comes with double the reminiscence as the unique. Nonetheless, the reminiscence nonetheless operates at 18 Gbps throughout a 64-bit reminiscence interface. Due to this fact, the Pulse Radeon RX 6500 XT 8GB presents the identical reminiscence bandwidth of 143.9 GBps as every other Radeon RX 6500 XT.
The Radeon RX 6500 XT is a 107W graphics card. Sapphire charges the 4GB and 8GB fashions with a board energy of 130W. Nonetheless, the marginally sooner clock speeds and the double reminiscence compelled the producer to swap PCIe energy connectors. Consequently, the Pulse Radeon RX 6500 XT 8GB has an 8-pin PCIe energy connector versus the 6-pin one on the 4GB counterpart. Show outputs nonetheless come right down to a single HDMI 2.1 port and DisplayPort 1.4 output.
The Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6500 XT 8GB retails for $229.99 (opens in new tab) on Newegg. That was the unique price ticket on the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6500 XT 4GB. The 4GB mannequin sells for $209.99 (opens in new tab) earlier than reductions and promotions. You get double the reminiscence for $20 (10%). The issue is that different customized Radeon RX 6500 XT 4GB fashions begin at $185, so the Sapphire graphics card already carries a premium over its rival. To worsen the scenario, the Radeon RX 6600 is out there for as little as $259.99. For a lot of shoppers, it is sensible to go as much as the Radeon RX 6600, which already sports activities 8GB and presents considerably increased efficiency.
