With the arrival of the Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics cards from AMD , the giant in red aims to dethrone NVIDIA and its RTX 3060 as the queens of the mid-range for PC gaming. We are facing a graphics card designed to play to the maximum at 1080p resolution , but within the same range we can find very different models both in technical characteristics and in terms of their cooling system, so in this article we have compiled the best models for you Radeon RX 6600 XT from each manufacturer.
AMD presented its RX 6600 XT as the direct competition of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3060, especially seeking to become the most used graphics card by Steam users and, for this, it offers it at a quite competitive price. According to AMD, this graphic provides a 15% performance to its NVIDIA counterpart, but that is speaking of the base model and not of the top-of-the-range models of the different assemblers that we are going to see next.
What features does the Radeon RX 6600 XT have?
| Name | AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT |
|---|---|
| GPU | Navi 23 |
| Architecture | RDNA 2 |
| Game Clock | 2359 MHz |
| Compute Units | 32 |
| FP32 capacity | 9.63 TFLOPS |
| FP16 capacity | 19.33 TFLOPS |
| Int8 capacity | 38.65 TFLOPS |
| Texture units | 128 |
| Texturing rate | 302 G pixels / s |
| ROPS | 32 |
| Fill Rate | 75.49 GPpixels / s |
| Ray tracing | Yes |
| Mesh Shaders | Yes |
| Variable Rate Shading | Yes |
| PCIe connector | 8 pin |
| TDP | 160 W |
| VRAM type | GDDR6 16 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 256 GB / s |
| VRAM capacity | 8 GB |
The Radeon RX 6600 XT is a graphics card located in the “performance segment” of AMD, and was first released on July 30, 2021. Built on a 7nm manufacturing process and based on the Navi 23 graphics processor. In its variant Navi 23 XT is compatible with DirectX 12 Ultimate , which ensures that it will work perfectly with all the most modern games that base their operation on this graphical API. Additionally, this support ensures the ability to use hardware ray tracing , variable speed shading, and the latest technologies in games.
The Navi 23 graphics processor is a medium-sized chip with an area of 237 mm² and 11.06 billion transistors; It features 2,048 shader units, 128 texture mapping units and 64 ROPs, as well as 32 cores for ray tracing acceleration. AMD has paired this GPU with 8GB of GDDR6 memory , connected via a 128-bit memory interface.
The GPU runs at a base frequency of 1,968 MHz which can be boosted up to 2,589 MHz, while the memory runs at 2 GHz (16 Gbps effective). Being a dual slot graphics, the Radeon RX 6600 XT draws power from an 8-pin PCIe power connector only, with a maximum nominal power consumption of 160 watts .
Finally, to highlight its video outputs that include (always speaking of the AMD reference model) an HDMI and three DisplayPort. This graphic is connected to the rest of the system through a PCI-Express 4.0 x8 interface, and its launch price is 379 US dollars, which translated into euros has turned out to be around 399 euros .
What are the best AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT on the market?
So far we have talked about the reference model and with the base specifications that AMD itself has established, but obviously we find models customized by the assemblers with notably higher specifications and performance, as well as with a more advanced cooling system that not only makes the GPU runs cooler but also makes less noise, so there are times when it is worth investing a little more money in a superior custom model.
Next we are going to tell you the models that, in our opinion, are the best of all.
ASUS ROG STRIX RX 6600 XT
The best Radeon RX 6600 XT model from Asus is the ROG STRIX, belonging of course to its segment of products oriented to gaming. This model has a double-socket heatsink and double axial fans patented by the brand to guarantee optimal cooling, and incorporates a large backplate for the same purpose.
The GPU has dual BIOS, a so-called performance mode that makes the GPU run at full speed (obviously factory overclocked) and silent mode, which slows down but instead turns off the fans for 0 dB operation. At the time of writing, this chart is not yet listed on the manufacturer’s website and the exact speed parameters are unknown, but we will update as they become available.
PowerColor Radeon RX 6600 XT Red Devil
This is the first RDNA 2 architecture graphics card that PowerColor is encouraged to include within its prestigious Red Devil family of graphics cards; Although the manufacturer has not revealed its dimensions, at first glance it seems the smallest graphic of this series and by far, but despite this it continues to have a considerable size and more when it comes to the GPU that it is.
This model incorporates a double fan heatsink and with a large backplate that covers the entire rear of the PCB, and also, as usual in the manufacturer’s Red Devil GPUs, it will be the only graphics of all the RX 6600 XT custom that will need additional power. It requires an 8-pin PCIe connector plus an additional 6-pin connector, so its consumption could rise to 225W of TDP.
XFX Radeon RX 6600 XT Speedster 308 Black
XFX has released a contender for the “most confusing name” of all. This model is part of the Speedster Mercury series, but it also received the nickname “308 Black”. It features a triple fan cooling solution that maintains a sleek black and silver color scheme. The graphic has a backplate that covers the entire rear of the PCB, and it can be seen with the naked eye that the heatsink protrudes quite a bit from it.
In this case, the graphics will only need a single 8-pin PCIe connector to function, but operating speeds are unknown until its launch, although it seems likely that it is factory overclocked.
GIGABYTE RX 6600 XT EAGLE
Gigabyte has announced three models of this range of graphics cards, the Gaming OC, the Gaming OC PRO and the EAGLE, the latter being the most prominent because it has been announced with a graphene-based nano lubricant to achieve higher operating speeds. high thanks to better temperature management.
This graphic comes equipped with a triple fan heatsink that protrudes from the PCB, and as a curiosity the three WindForce fans rotate alternately and have triangular blades which, according to the manufacturer, significantly reduces their temperature. At the moment its operating speeds are unknown but according to the images provided by Gigabyte, it only requires an 8-pin PCIe connector to function.
MSI RX 6600 XT Gaming X
For this family of graphics cards, the manufacturer MSI does not seem to have done too much effort and has simply integrated its Twin Frozr 8 heatsink, with a dual fan system that we have previously seen that is not too efficient or silent. MSI has announced that it will have a factory overclock but like all the others it has not given specific operating speed values … yes, it is the only one that has specified that the graphic measures 277 mm long.
ASRock RX 6600 XT Phantom Gaming
ASRock was one of the first to unveil their custom Radeon RX 6600 XT model with this triple fan Phantom Gaming which, like the other models of this size, the heatsink protrudes well beyond the length of the graphics PCB. In any case, ASRock has said that there will be no Tai Chi model of this family so this Phantom Gaming will be its top of the range model. Its exact specifications are unknown at this time.
Sapphire RX 6600 XT Nitro + and Pulse
As usual, Sapphire launches two different models for this family of AMD graphics, the Nitro + model being superior. Both have a dual fan heatsink and the most curious thing is the introduction of a physical switch with three different BIOSes, one with the base values, another for silent mode and another for extreme overclocking.
For now, their operating speeds are unknown, but it is known that both models need only an 8-pin PCIe connector to function and that their heatsink occupies 2.2 PCI slots.