Despite the ongoing graphics card shortage making it impossible to upgrade a PC with the latest components, AMD is kicking off 2022 with the launch of a new entry-level desktop GPU: the Radeon RX 6500 XT.
Intended to supplant older entry-level cards like Nvidia’s GTX 1650 and AMD’s own RX 570, AMD claims the new RX 6500 XT should support strong 1080p gaming performance (at high settings) with frame rates that are 1.2 to 1.6 times higher than the GTX 1650, depending on the title.
As a follow-up to AMD’s Radeon 6600 GPU, which was announced back in the fall, the RX 6500 XT looks to be an even more affordable option for budget-conscious PC builders. Pricing is expected to vary slightly between board partners like Asus, ASRock, and others, prices for the RX 6500 XT are expected fall below $300 (that is, before they inevitably get marked up by scalpers and third-party retailers).
AMD has only provided a handful of specs thus far: The RX 6500 XT is expected to feature a game clock of 2.6Ghz, 16 compute units and ray accelerators, and 16MB of Infinity Cache. As with all of AMD’s recent desktop GPUs, the RX 6500 XT will also support AMD’s Fidelity FX Super Resolution processing, which can boost performance by as much as 30% or more in games like Call of Duty: Vanguard and Deathloop with little impact on overall image quality.
Alongside the new RX 6500 XT, AMD also offered a preview of some of the new features coming to its Adrenalin software, which is scheduled to be released sometime in the first quarter of 2022.
As a supplement to AMD’s FSR, AMD will soon offer Radeon Super Resolution, which is an in-driver upscaler designed to bring the power of AMD’s Super Resolution tech to an even wider selection of games—apparently “thousands” of titles will be supported.
AMD Link 5.0 is an updated version of AMD’s tech that allows you to connect up to four additional systems to your Radeon-powered desktop in order to stream games or clips from your PC to other nearby laptops, tablets, and phones.
AMD’s new Privacy View tool uses real-time eye tracking designed in partnership with Eyeware to catch people who might be trying to spy over your shoulder and steal potentially sensitive work info.
The high prices of GPUs currently might make the arrival of the RX 6500 XT a bit less exciting than it might otherwise be, but it’s nice to have a new affordable option—even if actually buying one will be close to impossible.
