AMD s RX 6600 is a puzzling card. This most current release by Group Red targets 1080p pc gaming and also is, basically, a pared down variation of the previously released RX 6600 XT, which also targeted 1080p gaming. The RX 6600 isn t always a bad card, however with the silicon lacks plaguing the entire electronic devices market in addition to rising GPU rates, I need to wonder specifically for that this card is planned.
AMD are positioning the RX 6600 as an upgrade over the last generation RX 5600 XT.By and big, it fits the brief. Without referral board version available like the RX 6600 XT prior to it, we were sent a PowerColor RX 6600 Boxer variation for our testimonial. AMD recommends a recommended e-tail cost (SEP) of $329, though your rate might differ relying on the market. This is $50 cheaper than the SEP of the 6600 XT. Does it do enough to warrant 1080p pc gaming offered the genuinely greater cost you may pay?
Requirements
Architecture: RDNA 2.0
Memory: 8GB GDDR6
Memory Bus: 128-bit
Video game Clock: Up To 2044 MHz
Boost Clock: As Much As 2491 MHz
Memory Transmission capacity: as much as 224 GB/s
Shading systems: 1792
Compute Units: 28
Ray Accelerators: 28
ROPS: 64
AMD Infinity Cache: 32 MEGABYTES
I/O: 3x DisplayPort 1.4; 1x HMDI 2.1
Cost: $329 Recommended Retail Price
First Words
The PowerColor AMD RX 6600 Fighter is on the smaller sized side, which is a nice adjustment of rate from the impressive cards that have resided inside my examination bench of late. 2 fans rest on the front of the 6600which use PowerCooler s Mute Fan modern technology. This maintains the card quiet under 60 levels Celsius. The card lacks the personality I ve pertained to appreciate from the referral cards AMD has actually launched this generation. Gone are the big Group Rocket-esque R logo designs which jazz up the front of reference boards from AMD s higher-end offerings. Instead, we have a low-key, matte black coating all over.
That isn t necessarily a poor thing, however I actually loved the style of the 6000-series GPUs. It s simply an embarassment companion boards don t lean right into that more– specifically because there isn t a recommendation board below available for those that want it.
It should be noted there aren t any kind of reference boards in any kind of evaluations you may review today. Rather, our evaluation was carried out using the PowerColor version as previously pointed out. Because of this, I do suggest reviewing multiple testimonials to get a broad and varied viewpoint prior to buying decision. This is our typical referral, however we wish to highlight this as a result of the lots of different variations of the RX 6600 offered at differing cost factors. Fortunately, the PowerColor Boxer variation of the RX 6600 retails at $329, so our value recommendation with this card will mirror the SEP by AMD.
The RX 6600 is, in result, a pared back version of the RX 6600 XT. It features a minimized video game clock is compared to the XT– 2044 MHz below 2359 MHz. Stream Processors are likewise reduced from 2048 to 1792. For those trying to find ray tracing performance, the RX 6600 has less ray accelerators than its larger sibling, down to 28 from the 6600 XT s 32.
Both cards include 32 MB of Infinity Cache to take advantage of AMD functions like Smart Access Memory if you re using a Ryzen CPU geared up PC (though you ll require either the 3000 or 5000 series Ryzen to take advantage of this). The RX 6600 can additionally utilize AMD s suite of pc gaming modern technologies in its FidelityFX toolset consisting of AMD s Image Honing, Radeon Chill, along with the just recently released FidelityFX Super Resolution.
This last innovation is suggested to enhance gaming performance with very little loss to aesthetic top quality, and is typically made use of as a way to enable expensive GPU strategies such as ray tracing while maintaining appropriate structure rates. While usually compared to Nvidia s Deep Understanding Super Sampling, or DLSS, it s a fundamentally various technique at play here.
While Nvidia s DLSS is an artificial intelligence accelerated reconstruction of a picture, AMD s FSR technique is instead a spatial upscaler and does not leverage any type of machine knowing. FSR takes the existing picture of your video game and afterwards upscales it to your target resolution by detecting sides as well as using reconstruction on those edges. This, in impact, increases performance thanks to the reduced interior rendering resolution, while creating an image that looks near-native in movement. While FSR lagged in designer assistance upon launch, there are over titles and also engines that currently sustain FSR consisting of the just recently launched Deathloop and Much Cry 6 .
With all that established up off the beaten track, it s time to reach just how the PowerColor AMD RX 6600 Fighter in fact carries out.
AMD RX 6600– Performance Benchmarks
AMD heralds the 6600 as a card efficient in, powerhouse performance, at 1080p. The resolution is still one of the most extensively utilized, though 1440p and also 4K are being adopted increasingly more just recently. In our screening, we put the 6600 up versus its AMD 6000-series brethren, as well as AMD s previous generation, the 5700 XT and the 5600 XT. AMD positions the 6600 as a replacement for the 5600 XT, and straight contrasts its performance to Nvidia s 30-series RTX 3060 in its in-house criteria. As a result, we included those in our bench as well and rounded it out with the RTX 3060 Ti. While AMD is targeting 1080p, we likewise checked out 1440p performance to see how well the RX 6600 ranges when throwing the greater resolution at the card, specifically in titles that consist of FSR as an alternative.
As our examination bench is not outfitted with a Ryzen CPU, all tests were done without Smart Access Memory enabled. We highly recommend reviewing various other evaluations that do use SAM, as it has been proven to offer a performance uplift in both independent as well as internal standard screening, and will certainly offer a more comprehensive picture of the card s total performance.
Examination Bench
CPU: Intel i7-10700K @ 3.8 GHz (Boost Clock up to 5.1 GHz).
Cooling: Corsair 100i 240mm Fluid Colder.
Motherboard: Gigabyte Aorus Z490 Ultra.
RAM: Corsair Revenge 32GB @ 3200MHz.
Storage Space: Intel 760p 2TB M. 2 NVMe, ADATA Falcon 1TB M. 2 NVMe.
PSU: RM 850X 850W.
Situation: Lian Li 011 Dynamic.
AMD RX 6600– Artificial Criteria.
For our synthetic testing, we looked to 3DMark s DX12 and DX11 examinations once more. We decided for the fundamental variations of Time Spy and also FireStrike using default setups on the test given that the RX 6600 is meant for 1080p video gaming.
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When contrasted straight to the previous generation of AMD cards, the RX 6600 does defeat the intensified variation of RX 5600 XT we had in our screening collection, the XFX RX 5600 XT THICC II. When contrasted to the 5700 XT, the 6600 loses in our FireStrike testing, though it does rack up a major win when contrasted to the EVGA RTX 3060 Black in our bench.
For Time Spy, we see the RTX 3060 take a lead versus the 6600, though the last card still triumphes against the 5600 XT. When contrasted to the 6600 XT, which is only $50 even more (in a best market), the extra costly card easily beats the 6600, while AMD s RX 6700 XT– a card positioned to target 1440p specifically– squeezes out the total top ratings throughout the board.
We likewise checked 3DMark s Port Royal ray tracing test, but we will certainly damage that down in the Ray Tracing standards section of the testimonial.
AMD RX 6600 Video Gaming Criteria.
For video gaming, we adhered to both 1080 and also 1440p at the highest settings feasible to reveal performance when pressed to its absolute limit. AMD states the RX 6600 is meant for those players that desire to, totally accept 1080p video gaming without concessions, so we wished to ensure our standards showed this as high as feasible.
To keep results as constant as possible, we made use of in-game standard tools when offered. If there were no in-game benchmarks available, as holds true with Treatment s Control and also Pearl Abyss Black Desert Online Remastered , we chose to recreate the same pass as identically as we might to obtain as regular a result as feasible. For Control, this implied running via Passage of Doom as we have in a couple of tests currently. For Black Desert, this consisted of attacking beasts near the very early game boss Tiny Nose using a predetermined move set to continually get the very same results on display as long as feasible. All data was recorded utilizing Nvidia s FrameView benchmarking tool.
We also threw a gamut of game engines at the RX 6600 including Ubisoft s Anvil Next in Watch Dogs Legion , as well as both DX11 and also DX12 APIs.
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Generally, at 1080p when contrasted to the last generation 5600 XT, the RX 6600 does instead well. Typically, the RX 6600 executes 8% far better than the 5600 XT. When contrasted to the competition, the 6600 appears to delay behind. Nvidia s RTX 3060 squeezes out victories against its similarly priced challenger in every video game, appearing ahead to the song of nearly 14% generally. Gamings such as Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker see the RTX 3060 rest at 130fps on average at 1080p compared to the RX 6600 s 124fps average. Contrasted to the RX 6600 XT, the 6600 comes up short throughout the board– that makes feeling offered it s a pared back version of the 6600 XT itself. The extra costly 1080p offering by AMD appears 15% better on average, while the 5700 XT sees a 16% boost at 1080p generally over the new 1080p card by AMD.
At 1440p, the spaces broaden. While the RX 6600 is not promoted as a 1440p card, it can deal with some 1440p pc gaming theoretically specifically if you lower some setups. The RX 6600 still vanquishes the RX 5600 XT, though the margins narrow to a 4% rise over last gen on average, though that s where the gains end. The RX 6600 is vanquished by every other card by at the very least 19% generally throughout the board at 1440p. However, for the large bulk of the titles, the framerates serve, especially when take into consideration all the settings in each game go to their maximum. You can easily knock a few down and obtain ample performance out of your RX 6600 at 1440p if you select to.
Furthermore, some the titles are outfitted with FSR including Black Desert Online and also Godfall . In both instances, both resolutions see monstrous gains on the RX 6600.
In Black Desert Online Remastered , an MMO commended for its unbelievably beautiful yet demanding visuals, FidelityFX Super Resolution provides some of the largest performance gains I ve seen considering that we started benchmarking FSR. Seeing the 1080p number on the RX 6600 go from approximately 97 FPS to 188fps– an increase of 93% – is crazy. Furthermore, 1440p fares well, taking a performance number from 48fps generally without FSR allowed to 96 FPS, a 100% boost to performance. As well as this is utilizing Top quality setting– if you desired even higher framerates you can in theory attain this by enabling Performance in BDO s FSR alternatives.
It should be noted right here too that while I ve personally be unimpressed with just how FSR searches in motion in various video games, specifically when contrasted to DLSS handling of motion, Black Desert Online Remastered was the first title where I couldn t discern a decrease in image quality with FSR made it possible for.
AMD RX 6600– Ray Tracing Benchmarks.
Yet how does the card trace the rays?
In our ray tracing collection, we consisted of titles that are indicated to push the card in various ways from Watch Dogs Myriad s reflections, to the ray traced darkness in Shadow of the Burial Place Raider . We ve likewise included Godfall in this examination as it s a video game which includes both ray mapped representations and FSR.
3DMark Port Royal s examination shows what we have actually seen this whole generation: Nvidia s running start and second-generation RT cores actually give it an edge across the board. The RX 6600 sits at the end of the pack right here, that makes feeling as it has the least RT cores in its silicon. This trend does proceed as gaming criteria are thrown into the mix.
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When looking at ray traced performance, Nvidia s RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti draw ahead of the pack across the board, beating out also the mid-range RX 6700 XT, which did truly well in our rasterized benchmarks. While Watch Dogs Myriad s numbers are harsh on AMD s 6600, Solution s Control fares a bit better, though it s performance still lags behind as soon as Nvidia s DLSS is allowed in the title. The RX 6600 peak at 26FPS at 1080p, easily defeated by every card on the table, and also more so as soon as the RTX 3060 made it possible for DLSS, seeing the comparably priced card hit over 60fps with ray tracing allowed.
On the other hand, when we take a look at Godfall , AMD does far better, especially with FidelityFX Super Resolution. Without FSR enabled, Godfall almost strikes 60fps usually at 1080p, resting just under at 58fps. Compared to the remainder of the cards available, this is still the least expensive worth, however it s respectable without a doubt. When FSR is activated, 1080p performance enhances to 82FPS, a 41% boost. 1440p prosper also, seeing framerates on the RX 6600 go from 39 at native resolution to 66 utilizing FSR Quality, a great 69% increase.
It ought to be kept in mind, though, that both indigenous as well as FSR performance on even the RTX 3060 vanquish the performance for both on the RX 6600. As a matter of fact, the 1440 numbers for Nvidia s card are more on par with the 1080p numbers for AMD s offering, more showing the void in between the 2 companies and where they are with hardware increased ray tracing performance.
FSR does make hitting greater framerates while making use of ray tracing more attainable on those video games that sustain it, and it stands to factor that by switching on FSR performance and even tearing down some settings those FPS numbers will boost also.
Temperature levels As Well As Sound.
The PowerColor RX 6600 Competitor s followers did their task, maintaining the RX 6600 amazing, also throughout ray tracing tests. The card never ever peaked greater than 75 degrees Celsius, keeping my office good and also cool throughout testing. Even throwing real-world gameplay at the 6600 in the kind of New World , the card never seemingly damaged a sweat.
At the same time it was the quietest card during benchmark and pc gaming tests. If sound and temperature levels are a problem for you (as they are for me), the RX 6600, specifically the PowerColor variation we have to check, definitely will not steer you wrong.
Final Thoughts And Also Verdict.
I claimed at the start that AMD s RX 6600 is a confusing card, as well as the criteria examinations don t make the quick any type of clearer. Yes, theoretically and in screening, it does what it s implied to do: high performance 1080p pc gaming. Yet with last generation s RX 5700 XT beating it continually, it makes me wonder also much more who this card is for– particularly with the 6600 XT additionally targeting high performance 1080p.
One might make the argument that the 6600 is meant to be a direct replacement to the 5600 XT– essentially a somewhat far better 5600 XT that can likewise do ray tracing. And if that s what you re looking for, then the RX 6600 certainly fits the expense.
Nonetheless, from a value point ofview, I m puzzled a lot more. When the RX 5600 XT launched a couple of years back, it had an MSRP of $279 – $50 cheaper than the replacement 6600 available here. Component of the expense rise can merely be because of tariffs on electronics originating from Asia, as well as the silicon shortage driving up costs. However, the performance below does not always convert to that $50 upgrade, particularly if you can feasibly find a used 5600 XT for even less.
It s hard, as well, making valuations like this provided today s market. Cards are not costing MSRP for the majority of consumers thanks to scalpers and miners increasing expenses. Additionally, $329 puts the RX 6600 straight in competition with the RTX 3060, a card which usually carried out much better than the AMD offering. This is worsened better when you think about the 6600 XT, also targeting 1080p, is $50 even more and also does deal performance gains at the target resolution and also can deal with ray tracing better throughout the board also.
$ 329 is a whole lot of cash for a card targeting 1080p, particularly when game consoles such as the Xbox Series consoles as well as the PlayStation 5 target greater fidelity gaming for simply a little extra. For several consumers, holding out to score an electronic version of the PS5 for $70 more– a console that targets 4K60 video gaming– is going to really feel more worth it in 2021.
It all makes me return to the essential question of that precisely this card is for. If you re still utilizing an aging RX 5600 XT, this is an upgrade. If you re still shaking the 5700 XT, you might desire to resist a little while longer. The new rates is likely the new typical– the market is enabling greater valued cards to sell out, as well as tariffs as well as lacks are driving up expenses,. But that does not quit the 6600 from really feeling like it is priced greater than its weight class.
At the end of the day, the PowerColor RX 6600 is an excellent 1080p card. It carries out specifically how AMD states: high performance 1080p pc gaming. However, when contrasted to AMD s very own household of cards and also similarly valued offerings by Nvidia, it makes me ask yourself whether the 6600 is an excellent worth . I m not fairly certain I might recommend the RX 6600 to a person, specifically if the RTX 3060 is available at the exact same MSRP when you prepare to pull the trigger. When thinking about the wider market, I m grateful AMD has a less costly 1080p card when contrasted to the additionally overpriced 6600 XT, however it s tough to suggest when all points are thought about.
Does the RX 6600 provide high performance 1080p gaming? Yes, it does.With much more titles featuring FidelityFX Super Resolution, you can also make the case that the 6600 is positioned to help some beginning video gaming at 1440p. That is an advantage. Nonetheless, I can not aid yet feel that the 6600 doesn t do sufficient to separate itself from the RTX 3060 as a choice if both are offered. That s the twist. Right currently, in today s GPU market, the very best card is the one you can really get your hands on.