AMD Radeon RX 6000 graphics cards have come down to MSRP much faster than Nvidia cards have. Most of these cards are now available at (or even below) MSRP, with a few AIB models going for a few dollars over their designated prices. This puts every RX 6000 card at an advantage, including the budget 1080p gaming card, the RX 6600.
The RX 6600 was initially launched at a stupid price of $330. The pricing made everyone question the hardware requirements for 1080p. A budget 1080p gaming card should not cost that much in 2022. But, the continuous scalping of Nvidia video cards ensured AMD products remain value-for-money.
The Nvidia RTX 3050 was meant to be sold at $249. But, you won’t be able to find it for less than $330 anywhere. The RTX 3060, which is supposed to be the competitor to the RX 6600 was introduced at $329. That’s the same price for 5-10% more performance. But, this card is currently selling for $410. This means that the weaker RTX 3050 has to compete against the RX 6600, and AMD emerges as a clear winner.
AMD Radeon RX 6600: An Underwhelming Card
The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is an underwhelming card if prices were normal, and video cards were sold at prices they were officially intended to be. Probably the worst part about this GPU is that it is PCIe Gen 4 x8. This halves the bandwidth.
Add to that, it limits performance on PCIe Gen 3 boards. Since the RX 6600 is a budget card, mostly gamers with a budget rig are picking the card up. And, budget boards, apart from those based on LGA 1700, are PCIe Gen 3.
GPU Name | Navi 23 |
Shading Unit Count | 1,792 |
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) | 112 |
Render Output Units (ROPs) | 64 |
Ray Tracing (RT) Core Count | 28 |
Infinity Cache | 32 MB |
Video Memory Size | 8 GB |
Video Memory Type | GDDR6 |
Video Memory Bus Width | 128 bit |
Base Clock Speed | 1626 MHz |
Game Clock Speed | 2044 MHz |
Boost Clock Speed | 2491 MHz |
Memory Clock Speed | 1750 MHz |
MSRP | US$ 330 |
As is evident from the above spec list, the RX 6600 cut some core counts of its bigger brother, the RX 6600 XT. The Shading Units count has been reduced from 2,048 in the 6600 XT to 1,792. The number TMUs has dropped from 128 to 112. But, what remains constant is the number of ROPs. The same amount of VRAM with the same bus width has been carried over. The RX 6600 also has the same 32 MB of L3 cache, which AMD likes to call the Infinity Cache. The number of RT cores, however, has dropped from 32 to 28.
All of this means you cannot expect a whole lot in games. And, this card does live up to the expectations. It is only slightly more powerful than the RTX 2060 Super. The card, however, beats the costlier RTX 3050, which makes it value-for-money today. Also, it is difficult to find the RTX 2060 Super these days, now that Nvidia has stopped producing this card.
It is evident from the above video that the RX 6600 has an unique advantage in newer games. In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Resident Evil: Village, and Hitman 3, the RDNA 2-based card pulls ahead of the RTX 2060 Super. But, the latter takes a lead in games with heavy ray tracing implementation. The list includes Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Cyberpunk 2077.
Conclusion
The AMD RX 6600 is the current recommendation for 1080p gaming. The ongoing market scenario puts Nvidia cards in an unfavorable position while choosing parts on a budget. Since 1080p gaming these days is mostly targeted at the budget market, the RX 6600 wins the value crown. However, if performance is what you are after, the Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti should be your choice.