MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X 8 GB GDDR6 Graphics Card Review

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:

Graphics Card	AMD Radeon RX 6600	AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT	AMD Radeon RX 6700	AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT	AMD Radeon RX 6800	AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT	AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT	AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT Liquid Cooled
GPU	Navi 23 (XL?)	Navi 23 (XT?)	Navi 22 (XL?)	Navi 22 (XT?)	Navi 21 XL	Navi 21 XT	Navi 21 XTX	Navi 21 XTXH
Process Node	7nm	7nm	7nm	7nm	7nm	7nm	7nm	7nm
Die Size	237mm2	237mm2	336mm2	336mm2	520mm2	520mm2	520mm2	520mm2
Transistors	11.06 Billion	11.06 Billion	17.2 Billion	17.2 Billion	26.8 Billion	26.8 Billion	26.8 Billion	26.8 Billion
Compute Units	28	32	36	40	60	72	80	80
Stream Processors	1792	2048	2304	2560	3840	4608	5120	5120
TMUs/ROPs	TBA	128/64	TBA	160/64	240 / 96	288 / 128	320 / 128	320 / 128
Game Clock	TBA	2359 MHz	TBA	2424 MHz	1815 MHz	2015 MHz	2015 MHz	2250 MHz
Boost Clock	TBA	2589 MHz	TBA	2581 MHz	2105 MHz	2250 MHz	2250 MHz	2345 MHz
FP32 TFLOPs	TBA	10.6 TFLOPs	TBA	13.21 TFLOPs	16.17 TFLOPs	20.74 TFLOPs	23.04 TFLOPs	24.01 TFLOPs
Memory Size	8 GB GDDR6 + 32 MB Infinity Cache?	8 GB GDDR6 + 32 MB Infinity Cache	12 GB GDDR6 + 96 MB Infinity Cache?	12 GB GDDR6 + 96 MB Infinity Cache	16 GB GDDR6 +128 MB Infinity Cache	16 GB GDDR6 +128 MB Infinity Cache	16 GB GDDR6 +128 MB Infinity Cache	16 GB GDDR6 +128 MB Infinity Cache
Memory Bus	128-bit?	192-bit	192-bit	192-bit	256-bit	256-bit	256-bit	256-bit
Memory Clock	16 Gbps?	16 Gbps	16 Gbps?	16 Gbps	16 Gbps	16 Gbps	16 Gbps	18 Gbps
Bandwidth	256 GB/s?	256 GB/s	384 GB/s	384 GB/s	512 GB/s	512 GB/s	512 GB/s	576 GB/s
TDP	TBA	160W	TBA	230W	250W	300W	300W	330W
Price	TBA	$379 US	TBA	$479 US	$579 US	$649 US	$999 US	~$1199 US

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).

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.

AMD Radeon GPU Segment/Tier Prices

Graphics Segment	2014-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2020-2021
Ultra Enthusiast Tier	Radeon R9 295X2	Radeon Pro Duo	N/A	N/A	Radeon RX 6900 XT
Price	$1499 US	$1499 US	N/A	N/A	$999 US
Enthusiast Tier	Radeon R9 290X	Radeon R9 Fury X Radeon R9 Fury	Radeon RX Vega 64	Radeon VII	Radeon RX 6800 XT Radeon RX 6800
Price	$549 US	$649 US $549 US	$499 US	$699 US	$649 US $579 US
High-End Tier	Radeon R9 290	Radeon R9 390X	Radeon RX Vega 56	Radeon RX 5700 XT	Radeon RX 6700 XT
Price	$399 US	$399 US	$399 US	$399 US	$479 US
Mainstream Tier	Radeon R9 280X Radeon R9 280	Radeon R9 390 Radeon R9 380	Radeon RX 480	Radeon RX 5700 Radeon RX 5600 XT	Radeon RX 6600 XT
Price	$299 US $279 US	$329 US $229 US	$229 US	$349 US $299 US	$379 US
Mid-Tier Performance	Radeon R9 270X Radeon R9 270	Radeon R9 370X Radeon R9 370	Radeon RX 470	Radeon RX 5500 XT	Radeon RX 6500 XT?
Price	$199 US $179 US	$199 US $179 US	$179 US	$169 US	$279 US?
Entry-Tier	Radeon R7 260X Radeon R7 260	Radeon R7 360	Radeon RX 460	N/A	N/A
Price	$139 US $109 US	$109 US	$99 US	N/A	N/A

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:

Graphics Card	AMD Radeon RX 6600	AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT	AMD Radeon RX 6700	AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT	AMD Radeon RX 6800	AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT	AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT	AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT Liquid Cooled
GPU	Navi 23 (XL?)	Navi 23 (XT?)	Navi 22 (XL?)	Navi 22 (XT?)	Navi 21 XL	Navi 21 XT	Navi 21 XTX	Navi 21 XTXH
Process Node	7nm	7nm	7nm	7nm	7nm	7nm	7nm	7nm
Die Size	237mm2	237mm2	336mm2	336mm2	520mm2	520mm2	520mm2	520mm2
Transistors	11.06 Billion	11.06 Billion	17.2 Billion	17.2 Billion	26.8 Billion	26.8 Billion	26.8 Billion	26.8 Billion
Compute Units	28	32	36	40	60	72	80	80
Stream Processors	1792	2048	2304	2560	3840	4608	5120	5120
TMUs/ROPs	TBA	128/64	TBA	160/64	240 / 96	288 / 128	320 / 128	320 / 128
Game Clock	TBA	2359 MHz	TBA	2424 MHz	1815 MHz	2015 MHz	2015 MHz	2250 MHz
Boost Clock	TBA	2589 MHz	TBA	2581 MHz	2105 MHz	2250 MHz	2250 MHz	2345 MHz
FP32 TFLOPs	TBA	10.6 TFLOPs	TBA	13.21 TFLOPs	16.17 TFLOPs	20.74 TFLOPs	23.04 TFLOPs	24.01 TFLOPs
Memory Size	8 GB GDDR6 + 32 MB Infinity Cache?	8 GB GDDR6 + 32 MB Infinity Cache	12 GB GDDR6 + 96 MB Infinity Cache?	12 GB GDDR6 + 96 MB Infinity Cache	16 GB GDDR6 +128 MB Infinity Cache	16 GB GDDR6 +128 MB Infinity Cache	16 GB GDDR6 +128 MB Infinity Cache	16 GB GDDR6 +128 MB Infinity Cache
Memory Bus	128-bit?	192-bit	192-bit	192-bit	256-bit	256-bit	256-bit	256-bit
Memory Clock	16 Gbps?	16 Gbps	16 Gbps?	16 Gbps	16 Gbps	16 Gbps	16 Gbps	18 Gbps
Bandwidth	256 GB/s?	256 GB/s	384 GB/s	384 GB/s	512 GB/s	512 GB/s	512 GB/s	576 GB/s
TDP	TBA	160W	TBA	230W	250W	300W	300W	330W
Price	TBA	$379 US	TBA	$479 US	$579 US	$649 US	$999 US	~$1199 US

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

The MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X is the flagship variant in the RX 6600 family. It is a very powerful graphics card, rocking the 2nd generation Twin-Frozr cooling for MSI's Gaming graphics cards. In overall size and weight, this thing is just tons of massive performance packed in a dual-slot form factor.

In addition to the custom design, the Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X comes with a non-reference PCB, featuring an 8 phase design that features higher quality components than the reference variant which is already a really good design by itself. In terms of clock speeds, the graphics card features the same base frequency of 2428 MHz but the boost clock is rated at 2607 MHz which is an 18 MHz clock bump over the reference model. The card features a TDP of 160W which is the same as the reference model though MSI has increased the voltages on this card for its overclock which would increase the power consumption slightly.

Following are some of the features of the MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X before we go into detail:

Boost Clock / Memory Speed

Up to 2607 MHz / 16 Gbps
8GB GDDR6
DisplayPort x 3 (v1.4)
HDMI x 1 (Supports 4K@120Hz/8K@60Hz and VRR as specified in HDMI 2.1)

TWIN FROZR 8 Thermal Design

TORX Fan 4.0: A masterpiece of teamwork, fan blades work in pairs to create unprecedented levels of focused air pressure.
Core Pipe: Precision-crafted heat pipes ensure max contact to the GPU and spread heat along the full length of the heatsink.
Airflow Control: Don't sweat it, Airflow Control guides the air to exactly where it needs to be for maximum cooling.

RGB Mystic Light

Mystic Light gives you complete control of the RGB lighting for MSI devices and compatible RGB products.

MSI Center

The exclusive MSI Center software lets you monitor, tweak, and optimize MSI products in real-time.

MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X Graphics Card Gallery:

The MSI Gaming X Graphics Cards With Twin-Frozr 8S Cooling

With the differences out of the way, now let's talk about the similarities and the main highlights of the Gaming X design. The Gaming X is a toned-down variant of the much higher-end card, the MSI Gaming X Trio. The Gaming X series features the MSI Twin Frozr series which has been widely used in current and last-generation graphics cards from MSI.

The latest iteration of MSI’s iconic GAMING series once again brings performance, low-noise efficiency, and aesthetics that hardcore gamers have come to recognize and trust. Now you too can enjoy all your favorite games with a powerful graphics card that stays cool and silent. Just the way you like it.

MSI has incorporated and refined a couple of things in the new Twin-Frozr design for Gaming X graphics cards. First is the TORX fan 4.0 which uses a ring design that connects two fan-blades with each other to increase airflow towards the internal heatsink assembly. These fans are made up of a double ball bearing design which ensures silent functionality in heavy loads.

The fans are fully compliant with the Zero Frozr Technology and are actually comprised of three areas. All of these would stay at 0 RPM (idle state) if the temperatures don't exceed 60C. When it does exceed 60C, all fans would start spinning. You can change that through the MSI configuration panel if you want more cooling performance over noise load but it's a nifty feature that I do like.

In addition to the cooling fans, the heatsink has been designed to be denser by using the brand new wave curved 2.0 fin design. The new heatsink makes use of deflectors to allow more air to pass through the fins smoothly, without causing any turbulence that would result in unwanted noise. MSI estimates a 2 degrees (C) drop in temperatures with the updated design versus the previous generation cooling system.

Talking about the heatsink, the massive block is comprised of seven copper squared-shaped heat pipes with a more concentrated design to transfer heat from the copper base to the heatsink more effectively. The base itself is a solid nickel-plated base plate, transferring heat to the heat pipes in a very effective manner. To top it all off, MSI uses their exclusive Thermal Compound X which is said to offer higher thermal interface and heat transfer compared to traditional TIM applications.

Rocking a classy brushed look, the backplate on the GAMING X series provides a nice visual finish to the card. It also strengthens the card and thanks to some cleverly placed thermal pads even help to keep temperatures low.

The MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X graphics card comes inside a standard cardboard box. The front of both packages has a large "AMD Radeon" brand logo along with the "MSI" logo on the top left corner and the "Gaming X" series branding on the lower-left corner. A large picture of the graphics card itself is depicted on the front which gives a nice preview of the Gaming X design.

The packaging has put a large emphasis on the AMD RDNA 2 architecture as the first feature enlisted by AIBs. There's also a mention of 1080p gaming, 8 GB GDDR6 memory, and PCIe 4.0 functionality for the card.

The back of the box is very typical, highlighting the main features and specifications of the cards. The three key aspects of MSI's top-tier custom cards are its blazing performance which is achieved by fully custom design, the new Twin-Frozr 8 cooling system, and a new wave-curved 2.0 heatsink which will offer better cooling performance compared to the traditional flat-surfaced fin heatsinks.

There's also a focus towards AMD.com on each AIB card through which users can download the latest drivers and the Radeon Software applications which are a must for gamers to access all feature sets of the new cards.

The sides of the box once again greet us with the large Radeon RX branding. There's also the mention of 8 GB GDDR6 (RX 6600 XT) memory available on the card. The higher memory bandwidth delivered through the new GDDR6 interface would help improve performance in gaming titles at higher resolution over GDDR6 and GDDR5X based graphics cards.

Outside of the box, the graphics card and the accessory package are held firmly by foam packaging. The graphics card comes with a few accessories and manuals which might not be of much use for hardcore enthusiasts but can be useful for the mainstream gaming audience.

The card is nicely wrapped within an anti-static cover which is useful to prevent any unwanted static discharges on various surfaces that might harm the graphics card. The card accessories include a Molex power connector which isn't of much use in high-end systems since the PSUs already have the required cables.

Useful manuals and installation guides are packed within an MSI-labeled letter case. There is an MSI Quick Users Guide, an installation guide, a sticker letter, the MSI DIY comic, and a single driver's disk. It's best to ignore the driver disk and install the latest software and graphics drivers directly from the AMD and MSI official web pages as the ones shipped in the disks could be older versions and not deliver optimal performance for your graphics cards.

After the package is taken care of, I can finally start talking about the card itself. The Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X is a very compact graphics card but doesn't let its size fool you, it packs a lot of punch which we will be getting to in a bit.

MSI’s Twin Frozr is a very iconic design that was introduced much earlier than the Tri-Frozr. The first Twin Frozr cards were actually introduced all the way back with the GeForce 200 series cards and have seen various design upgrades over the years. MSI has further refined the Gaming X Twin Frozr design. The card measures the same at 277 x 130 x 51 mm and weighs in at 886 grams.

The MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X isn't a bulky card at all and would fit in nicely in standard ATX and even Mini-ITX cases with ease. The cooling shroud extends all the way to the back of the PCB and it requires a casing with good airflow so do keep that in mind.

The back of the card features a solid backplate that looks stunning. The backplate offers a lot more functionality than just looks which I will get back to in a bit.

In terms of design, we are looking at an updated version of the Twin-Frozr heatsink which is now in its eighth variation The design has seen various changes and now comes in a fully loaded graphics card design.

The new heatsink looks like a toned-down version of the Gaming X Trio with the main changes being the shroud and heatsink design which retains an aggressive shroud design on the front but with two fans instead of three, absorbing the black and silver color platelets while featuring the RGB emitting acrylic cutouts at the front. The sides also come with a large RGB accent bar which lights up when the card is powered on.

Coming to the fans, the card actually features the brand new Torx 4.0 system. Both fans feature a ring-based design to allow for higher airflow to be channeled within the main heatsink. All fans deploy a double ball bearing design and can last a long time while operating silently.

MSI also features its Zero Frozr technology on the Twin Frozr 8 heatsink. This feature won’t spin the fans on the card unless they reach a certain threshold.

In the case of the Twin Frozr heatsink, that limit is set to 60C. If the card is operating under 60C, the fans won’t spin which means no extra noise would be generated.

I am back at talking about the full-coverage, full metal-based backplate which the card uses. The whole plate is made of solid metal with rounded edges that add to the durability of this card. The brushed matte-black finish on the backplate gives a unique aesthetic.

There are cutouts in screw placements to easily reach the points on the graphics card. We can also see the MSI Dragon logo on the back which looks stunning. MSI is also using heat pads beneath the backplate which offer more cooling to the electrical circuitry on the PCB.

With the outsides of the card done, I will now start taking a glance at what's beneath the hood of these monster graphics cards. The first thing to catch my eye is the humungous fin stack that's part of the beefy heatsink which the cards utilize.

The large fin stack runs all the way from the front and to the back of the PCB and is so thick that you can barely see through it. It also comes with the wave-curved 2.0 fin stack design which I want to shed some light on as it is a turn away from traditional fin design.

The heatsink has been designed to be denser by using a wave curved fin design. It allows more air to pass through the fins smoothly, without causing any turbulence that would result in unwanted noise. Airflow Control Technology guides the airflow directly onto the heat pipes, while simultaneously creating more surface area for the air to absorb more heat before leaving the heatsink.

MSI adds extra protection to its impressive PCB by including a rugged anti-bending plate. This also acts as a memory and MOSFET cooling plate while the PWM heatsink with micro fins keeps the VRM cool under stressful conditions.

I/O on the graphics card sticks with the reference scheme which includes three Display Port 1.4a & a single HDMI 2.1 port.

MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X Teardown:

MSI makes use of an 8 phase PWM design that includes its Military Class components such as Hi-C Caps, Super Ferrite Chokes, and Japanese Solid Caps. The main VRM controller is an International Rectifier IR35217 which powers the 8 GPU phases. For VRAM, the controller is an OnSemi NCP81022N controller while the MOSFETs are made up of IR's OnSemi NCP302155 DrMOS that are rated at 50A.

The card also uses the GDDR6 memory from Samsung that operates at 16 Gbps alongside a 192-bit wide memory interface.

The MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X features a single 8-pin power connector to boot. The card is rated at a TDP of 160W officially by MSI.

We used the following test system for comparison between the different graphics cards. The latest drivers that were available at the time of testing were used from AMD and NVIDIA on an updated version of Windows 10. All games that were tested were patched to the latest version for better performance optimization for NVIDIA and AMD GPUs.

Do note that the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT/RX 6700 XT/RX 6600 XT performance was evaluated on an Intel Z490 platform with the Core i7-10700K while the memory and rest of the specifications were kept similar to our Z390 testbed. This was done for the sole purpose of comparing SAM (Smart Access Memory) GPU performance which is only possible on Intel's 400 and AMD's 500/400 series platforms.

MSI Radeon RX 6700 XT Gaming X Test Setup:

CPU	Intel Core i7-10700K @ 5.10 GHz Intel Core i9-9900K @ 4.70 GHz
Motherboard	AORUS Z490 Master AORUS Z390 Master
Video Cards	MSI Radeon RX 6700 XT Gaming X MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Lightning Z MSI GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming X MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Lightning X
Memory	G.SKILL Trident Z RGB Series 32GB (4 X 8GB) CL16 3600 MHz
Storage	Samsung SSD 960 EVO M.2 (512 GB)
Power Supply	ASUS ROG THOR 1200W PSU
OS	Windows 10 64-bit
Drivers	AMD Radeon Adrenalin Edition 20.50 RC NVIDIA GeForce 461.72 WHQL

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB Graphics Card Test Setup

CPU	Intel Core i9-9900K @ 4.70 GHz
Motherboard	AORUS Z390 Master
Video Cards	MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Gaming X Trio GALAX GeForce RTX 3060 Gaming EX MSI GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Lightning Z MSI GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio ASUS GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ROG STRIX MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming X MSI Radeon RX 5600 XT Gaming Z MSI GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER Gaming Z MSI GeForce RTX 2060 Gaming Z
Memory	G.SKILL Trident Z RGB Series 32GB (4 X 8GB) CL16 3600 MHz
Storage	Samsung SSD 960 EVO M.2 (512 GB)
Power Supply	ASUS ROG THOR 1200W PSU
OS	Windows 10 64-bit
Drivers	AMD Radeon Adrenalin Edition 20.7.2 NVIDIA GeForce 456.38 WHQL

All games were tested on 1920x1080 (FHD), 2560×1440 (2K) and 3840×2160 (4K) resolutions.
Image Quality and graphics configurations have been provided in the screenshots below.
The “reference” cards are the stock configs while the “overclock” cards are factory overclocked configs provided to us by various AIB partners.

Doom Eternal

DOOM Eternal brings hell to earth with the Vulkan-powered idTech 7. We test this game using the Ultra Nightmare Preset and follow our in-game benchmarking to stay as consistent as possible.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Developed by Rockstar San Diego, Red Dead Redemption II is one of the most visually stunning open-world games I've played to date that is backed up by a rich story set around the protagonist, Arthur Morgan. The game is based on the RAGE engine which features an insane amount of graphics fidelity but also requires a lot of power to run maxed out. For the purpose of this test, we set the graphics settings to Ultra with AA turned disabled.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood

Wolfenstein is back in The New Colossus and features the most fast-paced, gory, and brutal FPS action ever! The game once again puts us back in the Nazi-controlled world as BJ Blazkowicz. Set during an alternate future where Nazis won the World War, the game shows that it can be fun and can be brutal to the player and to the enemy too. Powering the new title is once again, id Tech 6 which is much acclaimed after the success that DOOM has become. In a way, ID has regained their glorious FPS roots and are slaying with every new title.

Battlefield V

Battlefield V brings back the action of the World War 2 shooter genre. Using the latest Frostbite tech, the game does a good job of looking gorgeous in all ways possible. From the open-world environments to the intense and gun-blazing action, this multiplayer and single-player FPS title is one of the best-looking Battlefields to date.

Death Stranding

Sam Porter Bridges has delivered one of PS4's most anticipated games to the PC community and opened a whole new world of possibilities. This was the first game to feature the Decima Engine on PC and unarguably did it the best. Death Stranding may not feature ray tracing effects but it does showcase that DLSS can be used effectively even when RT isn't around. We tested this one just like we did in our launch coverage with DLSS enabled.

Forza Horizon 4

Forza Horizon 4 carries on the open-world racing tradition of the Horizon series. The latest DX12 powered entry is beautifully crafted and amazingly well executed and is a great showcase of DX12 games. We use the benchmark run while having all of the settings set to non-dynamic with an uncapped framerate to gather these results.

Hitman 2 (DX12 Highest Settings)

Hitman 2 is the highly acclaimed sequel to 2016 Hitman which was a redesign and reimaging of the game from the ground up. With a focus on stealth gameplay through various missions, the game once again lets you play as Agent 47 who embarks on a mission to hunt down the mysterious Shadow Client. The game runs on the IO Interactive Glacier 2 engine which has been updated to deliver amazing visuals and environments on each level while making use of DirectX 12 API.

Shadow of The Tomb Raider

Sequel to The Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of The Tomb Raider is visually enhanced with an updated Foundation Engine that delivers realistic facial animations and the most gorgeous environments ever seen in a Tomb Raider Game. The game is a technical marvel and really shows the power of its graphics engine in the latest title.

Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus continues the journey of Artyom through the nuclear wasteland of Russia and its surroundings. This time, you are set over the Metro, going through various regions and different environments. The game is one of the premier titles to feature NVIDIA’s RTX technology and does well in showcasing the ray-tracing effects in all corners.

Resident Evil Village

Resident Evil Village is the latest in the horror franchise that was wonderfully rekindled with RE7 and onto the RE2 Remake. But now the RE Engine is back and better than ever with Ray Traced Reflections and Lighting that makes the world just come to life, unironically. The game was tested in the center of the village itself with all graphical settings maxed out and with raytracing enabled.

No graphics card review is complete without evaluating its temperatures and thermal load. The MSI Gaming X graphics cards come with a dual-fan cooler with 0db fan technology, a massive heatsink that is composed of several aluminum fins and heat pipes, and an extended backplate that covers the entire PCB.

Note – We tested load with Kombuster which is known as a ‘power virus’ and can permanently damage the hardware. Use such software at your own risk!

I compiled the power consumption results by testing each card under idle and full stress when the card was running games. Each graphics card manufacturer sets a default TDP for the card which can vary from vendor to vendor depending on the extra clocks or board features they plugin on their custom cards. Default TDP for the MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X is set at 160W.

MSI's Radeon RX 6600 series custom graphics cards are finally here and I got the chance to test out the Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X. While MSI offered its Gaming X Trio cooler on the Big Navi GPUs, the smaller Navi 2X variants will be receiving the Twin Frozr Gaming X coolers. The cooler while compact, is a fully loaded design that retains the great cooling performance and has a custom-built PCB that offers a lot of overclocking potential.

The sample I received featured a factory overclock of 2607 MHz which is an 18 MHz overclock over the reference clocks but the average clock rates peaked around 2.8 GHz. You can further push the card through manual overclocking and gain an additional 2-3% performance boost along with SAM that adds an average 7.5% performance gain in several titles that I tested. However, the card runs at a really high clock speed out of the box leaving little headroom for overclocking.

As for the cooling solution, the new Gaming X design does a pretty good job keeping the card just under 45C even in stress tests. For gaming, the average temperatures were around 42C which is quite impressive, and at around 30dbA. The power consumption of the Radeon RX 6600 XT is also very low, coming in at sub-200W and close to the RTX 3060 while offering much better performance at 1080p.

The card isn't that bulky and should fit inside most cases with relative ease and the dual-fan solution comes with 0db fan technology which unless or until you're touching 60C won't spin at all. This allows lower noise levels when you're not doing any graphics-intensive tasks. MSI went all the way by including a full metal backplate on the card.

The RX 6600 XT generally tends to perform better and run cooler than the GeForce RTX 3060 and even manages to offer faster performance than the RTX 30600 Ti in a few titles with AMD's FSR tech-enabled. Of course, NVIDIA retains its lead in raytracing titles but with FSR, you can definitely close in on the competition. SAM is a feature worth looking at if you're using an AMD Ryzen 5000 or Ryzen 3000 CPU platform.

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is also primarily a 1080p graphics card and that's noticeable as its performance doesn't scale linearly when moving to higher resolutions. At 1440p, the performance gets weaker compared to the RTX 3060 and at 4K, the RTX 3060 can outrightly beat the card in several AAA titles. That's due to the limited 128-bit bus interface and a 32 MB Infinity Cache that runs at a lower clock speed than the Navi 22 and Navi 23 GPUs. The limited bandwidths will affect the card when running high-resolution and higher-textures that affect streaming bandwidth. As such, the card is only a viable gaming option at 1080p, if you are looking something up, then the RTX 3060 Ti is the better overall choice here.

Another limitation on the Radeon RX 6600 XT is that it has a PCIe x8 interface and while most modern gaming PCs support PCIe Gen 4 slots, running the card on a Gen 3 motherboard would lead to adverse performance due to limited PCIe bandwidth.

The pricing of the card is also way out of the park, with an MSRP of $379 US for the reference, $559 US for the Gaming X (MSI), & realistically, beyond that in the retail segment depending on the GPU stock in your region. Even compared to the RX 5600 XT which launched at $279 US, we are talking a $100 US higher price point for RDNA 2. This makes the card not that good of a deal when it comes to performance/$. If AMD had priced it close to $320 US, this would've been a great option over the RTX 3060 but unfortunately, the 3060 offers more value and has more capacity too. So overall, MSI has a great RX 6600 XT custom solution in the form of its Gaming X which has a really compact and SFF-friendly design and runs cooler than anything we have tested so far but the pricing is way too high!

The post MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X 8 GB GDDR6 Graphics Card Review – A Pricey RX 5600 XT Upgrade by Hassan Mujtaba appeared first on Wccftech.

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