MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X 8 GB GDDR6 Graphics Card Review – A Pricey RX 5600 XT Upgrade

AMD showcased some impressive performance uplifts with its first outing of the RDNA 2 graphics architecture in the form of Big Navi but those cards are aimed at the ultra-enthusiast segment. It's time now that AMD focuses its efforts on the sub-$400 US segment with its second RDNA 2 Navi-based GPU, the Navi 23.

The 2nd Generation RDNA 2 architecture delivers an impressive leap in performance per watt while offering a range of new features. Now, these features and the same performance uplift are coming to the mainstream segment in the form of the Radeon RX 6600 series graphics cards which we will be testing today.

The AMD RDNA 2 architecture for its Big Navi Radeon RX 6800/RX 6900 & mainstream Radeon RX 6700/RX 6600 series graphics cards have a lot to offer. In addition to architectural enhancements, you can expect hardware-accelerated ray tracing, smart access memory, Infinity Cache, and a lot more features on-deck which make the lineup one of the most competitive enthusiast families that AMD has ever positioned against NVIDIA.

Some of the main features for the AMD Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards include:

• AMD FidelityFX – Now supported by 50 titles and game engines, AMD FidelityFX is an open-source toolkit of visual enhancement effects for game developers available at AMD GPUOpen. Offering broad support on more than 100 AMD processors and GPUs, as well as on competitor GPUs, the new AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution upscaling technology delivers 2.4X higher performance on average in “Performance” mode at 4K across select titles compared to native resolution.
• AMD Smart Access Memory – Unlocks higher performance when pairing AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series graphics with AMD Ryzen 5000 or select Ryzen 3000 Series Desktop Processors and AMD 500-series motherboards. Providing AMD Ryzen processors with access to the entire AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT high-speed 8 GB GDDR6 graphics memory can deliver a performance uplift of up to 11 percent on average in select titles.
• AMD Infinity Cache – 32 MB of last-level data cache integrated on the GPU die reduces latency and power consumption to enable higher gaming performance than traditional architectural designs.
• DirectX 12 Ultimate Support – Enables games to deliver mind-blowing visuals with real-time DirectX Raytracing (DXR), Variable Rate Shading, and other advanced features, elevating games to a new level of realism.
• AMD Radeon Anti-Lag – Helps decrease input-to-display response times, making games more responsive and offering a competitive edge in gameplay.
• AMD Radeon Boost – AMD Radeon Boost with support for Variable Rate Shading can provide up to a 48-percent performance increase in Warframe during fast-motion gaming scenarios by dynamically reducing image resolution or by varying shading rates for different regions of a frame, increasing framerates and fluidity, and bolstering responsiveness with virtually no perceptual impact on image quality.

AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT "Navi 23 XT" GPU Powered 8 GB Graphics Card Specifications

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card will be powered by the Navi 23 XT GPU which features 11.06 Billion transistors packed within a 237mm2 die. The GPU is not however the smallest chip in the RDNA 2 family as that title should belong to Navi 24 which should launch sometime later.

The Navi 23 GPU features 32 Compute Units with a total of 2048 stream processors which will be clocked at up to 2589 MHz. The card also rocks 32 MB Infinity Cache and features an 8 GB GDDR6 memory capacity running across a 128-bit wide bus interface at pin speeds of 16 Gbps for a total bandwidth of 256 GB/s.

The RX 6600 XT graphics card is powered by a single 8-pin power connector though that will vary depending on the custom model. The TBP for the card is rated at 160W which is 10W higher than the Radeon RX 5600 XT and 65W lower than the Radeon RX 5700 XT. Here you get to see the huge efficiency uplift that RDNA 2 architecture is able to deliver. Both the higher clocks and architecture-specific enhancements deliver a nice jump in performance while keeping the power draw lower vs RDNA 1.

AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series "RDNA 2" Graphics Card Lineup:

AMD RX 6600 XT Graphics Card Pricing & Performance - Is It Worth it?

So coming to the value proposition of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card, we now know that the card is indeed priced at $379 US which is $20 US cheaper than the RX 5700 XT's MSRP & $100 US higher than the Radeon RX 5600 XT's MSRP. It is clear that AMD is charging a very high premium for its RDNA 2 cards. This is a bigger price bump than AMD's RX 6700 XT which saw a $79 US jump over its predecessor (the RX 5700 XT).

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AMD has shown the card to be faster than the GeForce RTX 3060 in several titles but we are talking about the non-Ti variant which is priced at $329 US (or $50 US cheaper than the RX 6600 XT), packs 12 GB GDDR6 VRAM, and has better ray-tracing capabilities along with an extended DLSS suite. The RTX 3060 could remain a strong offering in its price segment despite the launch of the RX 6600 XT & the RTX 3060 Ti should retain faster performance because the RX 6600 XT is 15% faster than the RTX 3060 on average whereas the RTX 3060 Ti is up to 25% faster on average. The performance is scaled as below:

• RX 6600 XT - 15% Faster Than RTX 3060 For 15% Higher Price
• RTX 3060 Ti - 25% Faster Than RTX 3060 For 20% Higher Price

It looks like in overall performance, the RTX 3060 Ti will be a better value as it would not only offer better raster performance but also better ray-tracing capabilities. AMD does keep the advantage in power efficiency as the RTX 3060 Ti is rated at 200W. Those currently running an RX 5600 XT or an older or lower performance graphics card should find the RX 6600 XT as a decent upgrade option but it's still a hard buy with two RTX 3060 series options in the market countering it.

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AMD Radeon GPU Segment/Tier Prices

So for this review, I will be taking a look at the MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X. The MSI Gaming X comes is said to feature an MSRP of around $559 US so that's a $180 US premium over the 379 US reference MSRP. At this price, you get a dual-fan cooling solution and a factory overclock out of the box.

AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series "RDNA 2" Graphics Card Lineup:

In case you want to read our full AMD RDNA 2 GPU architecture deep dive, head over to this link.