A week after launch the Radeon RX 6500 XT is still in stock, but nowhere near launch price
The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT hasn't exactly had a great start in life. The lack of VRAM coupled with the uninspiring performance made for a card that isn't very appealing even in these GPU-starved times, earning itself a lowly 47% in our review. We also had our doubts about how long there would be cards available at the launch price of $199.
Sure enough, a week on from the launch, you won't find any cards sporting that original price tag, although cards are actually still available. There's stock of the Sapphire Pulse on Amazon for $299, while Newegg has the teeny Powercolor ITX card for $269, among others. Both are a lot more expensive than that launch price, but at least you can grab one if you are desperate.
The fact that there is stock available can be read one of two ways: Either people are heeding the reviews and actively avoiding the worst card of this generation, or AMD really has managed to get a serious amount of stock out there. As ever, it's probably a little from column A and a little from column B here.
Before the launch, AMD stated:
«AMD is working closely with board partners, OEMs, SIs and etail/retail partners to ensure as many graphics cards are available to gamers as possible, and we expect that a strong supply of AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT graphics cards will be available at launch.»
From AMD's perspective, the Navi 24 used in the 6500 XT is a tiny chip, measuring just 107mm2. For reference, the Navi 23 used in the 6600 XT measures almost double that at 237mm2. And smaller is clearly better here, as it means each wafer equates to more finished GPUs for our graphics cards.
It's a gamble for AMD because smaller also means less powerful, and the Radeon RX 6500 XT certainly suffers on that front, even if it is
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