Introduction
AMD has now launched its Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card, a mid-range Navi 23-based GPU that also packs 8GB of GDDR6 memory and 32MB of Infinity Cache: aimed at 1080p gaming.
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MSI sent over their new Radeon RX 6600 XT GAMING X graphics card, so you should know what to expect at this point: a custom Radeon RX 6600 XT infused with MSI’s herbs and spices with its TWIN FROZR 8 thermal design.
The look and style of the MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT GAMING X doesn’t look much different to the MSI Radeon RX 6700 XT GAMING X from the outside, except for it’s a big smaller and there are slight tweaks — the biggest of which is that the new RX 6600 XT GAMING X requires just a single 8-pin PCIe power connector.
AMD’s new Radeon RX 6600 XT is being aimed at a competitor to the GeForce RTX 3060, and beats it, while losing to the higher-end GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and GeForce RTX 3070. It’s uniquely positioned, and if sold at MSRP of around $379-$449 or so… they’d be great 1080p cards.
Take the price away, and consider it consumes under 150W of power and the MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT GAMING X runs at just 60C under load and you have an exciting little pocket rocket GPU.
MSI Gaming Radeon RX 6700 XT
| Today | Yesterday | 7 days ago | 30 days ago | ||
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* Prices last scanned on 8/14/2021 at 3:36 am CDT – prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission. |
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Everything You Need to Know About The RX 6600 XT
AMD’s new Radeon RX 6600 XT is everything we’ve come to know and love about the Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards: we have the kick-ass RDNA 2 architecture, 8GB of GDDR6 memory, Infinity Cache, HDMI 2.1 connectivity, FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), ray tracing, and everything in between.
The new Radeon RX 6600 XT has 8GB of GDDR6 memory clocked at 16Gbps on a 128-bit memory bus with 32MB of AMD Infinity Cache (down from the 128MB on the higher-end Radeon RX 6800 XT for example). Infinity Cache helps the Radeon RX 6600 XT swing above its weight, especially when compared with previous-gen GPUs in the same “price range” as the RX 6600 XT.
AMD is marketing its new RDNA 2-powered Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card up against NVIDIA’s previous-gen Pascal-based GeForce GTX 1060 and showing that it has far over 100%+ performance gains in the latest titles. This is a huge deal for gamers that have a GTX 1060 or RX 5×0 series graphics card, and want an RDNA 2-powered upgrade… the Radeon RX 6600 XT is a fantastic option for 1080p gamers.
Hell, the Radeon RX 6600 XT is even capable of beating NVIDIA’s new Ampere-powered GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, but not the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti — we’ll have more on that later, but AMD has positioned the new RX 6600 XT very well in the performance department.
Add into the fact you’ve got FSR support — at least in the small amount of games available now, is another nice touch for the Radeon RX 6600 XT.
MSI + AMD marketing
Detailed Look
Page 4 [Detailed Look]
Test System Specs
Latest upgrade:
Sabrent sent over their huge Rocket Q 8TB NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD, which will be my new Games install SSD inside of my main test bed.
I’ve got a new upgrade inside of my GPU test bed before my change to a next-gen test bed, where I will be preparing for NVIDIA’s next-gen Ampere graphics cards and AMD’s next-gen RDNA 2 graphics cards.
Sabrent helped out with some new storage for my GPU test beds, sending over a slew of crazy-fast Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSDs. I’ve got this installed into my GPU test bed as the new Games Storage drive, since games are so damn big now. Thanks to Sabrent, I’ve got 2TB of super-fast M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD storage now.
Anthony’s GPU Test System Specifications
I’ve recently upgraded my GPU test bed — at least for now, until AMD’s new Ryzen 9 5950X processor is unleashed then the final update for 2020 will happen and we’ll be all good for RDNA 2 and future Ampere GPU releases. You can read my article here: TweakTown GPU Test Bed Upgrade for 2021, But Then Zen 3 Was Announced.
Benchmarks – Synthetic
3DMark Fire Strike
3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system – most important, your CPU and GPU – is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.
3DMark TimeSpy
Heaven – 1080p
Heaven is an intensive GPU benchmark that really pushes your silicon to its limits. It’s another favorite of ours as it has some great scaling for multi-GPU testing, and it’s great for getting your GPU to 100% for power and noise testing.
Benchmarks – 1080p
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is the latest game to be inserted into our benchmark suite, with Ubisoft Montreal using its AnvilNext engine to power the game. It scales really well across the cards, and has some surprising performance benefits with AMD’s new Big Navi GPUs.
You can buy Assassins Creed: Valhalla at Amazon.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it’s nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.
Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games’ latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.
1080p Benchmark Performance Thoughts
Fantastic performance across the board from AMD with their new Radeon RX 6600 XT killing it in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla with 83FPS average at 1080p. This is beating the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti at this point, but it is a Radeon-friendly title.
Shadow of War is more punishing, knocking the RX 6600 XT Down to “just” 127FPS average — losing to the previous-gen RX 5700 XT and GTX 1080 Ti. Metro Exodus has the RX 6600 XT matching the RX 5700 XT with 53FPS average.
Fantastic performance at 1080p for a card that consumes less than 150W.
Benchmarks – 1440p
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is the latest game to be inserted into our benchmark suite, with Ubisoft Montreal using its AnvilNext engine to power the game. It scales really well across the cards, and has some surprising performance benefits with AMD’s new Big Navi GPUs.
You can buy Assassins Creed: Valhalla at Amazon.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it’s nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.
Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games’ latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.
1440p Benchmark Performance Thoughts
I wouldn’t recommend AMD’s new Radeon RX 6600 XT for 1440p gaming, but if the game is right — like for example, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla — then you’re pulling 60FPS average at 1440p. Not too damn bad at all, AMD.
Shadow of War still cranks along at 88FPS average, while Shadow of the Tomb Raider gives you 102FPS average at 1440p. Next-gen console crushing performance, even at 1440p.
Benchmarks – 4K
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is the latest game to be inserted into our benchmark suite, with Ubisoft Montreal using its AnvilNext engine to power the game. It scales really well across the cards, and has some surprising performance benefits with AMD’s new Big Navi GPUs.
You can buy Assassins Creed: Valhalla at Amazon.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it’s nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.
Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games’ latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.
4K Benchmark Performance Thoughts
Please don’t buy the Radeon RX 6600 XT thinking you’re going to be blazing through games at 120FPS at 4K… but hell, 33FPS average in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla at 4K? Nice.
Power Consumption & Temps
MSI’s custom Radeon RX 6600 XT GAMING X was running at around 2600-2654MHz GPU boost out of the box, which gives it that edge against the XFX Radeon RX 6600 XT Speedster MERC 308 Black which was hitting a ceiling of 2605MHz GPU boost.
What’s Hot, What’s Not
What’s Hot
- MSI’s custom GAMING X style: I’ve always been a fan of the MSI style with its TWIN FROZR 8 cooler looking great on the MSI RX 6600 XT GAMING X graphics card.
- TWIN FROZR 8 thermal solution: Not only does the style of the TWIN FROZR 8 cooler look great, but my god it is impressive in terms of keeping that Ampere GPU + 8GB of GDDR6 memory cool.
- Sub 60C gaming: 60C gaming… yeah, that is impressive.
- 8GB GDDR6 memory: Good to see 8GB of GDDR6 here, AMD could’ve gone a little cheaper and offered 6GB but we don’t have that. 8GB of GDDR6 memory is here on the Radeon RX 6600 XT which is more than enough for 1080p gaming.
- 1080p powerhouse GPU: Speaking of 1080p gaming, you’ve got enough performance to drive 60FPS in AAA titles and 120FPS+ in esports and other games like Overwatch, League of Legends, Rocket League, CS:GO, Valorant, and others.
- Mid-range Big Navi power: Big Navi is flexing muscle up and down the GPU chain, from the lofty heights of the Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics card — right down to the Radeon RX 6600 XT. AMD’s new RDNA 2 architecture shows that it can spread across many products — including consoles — right down to the Radeon RX 6600 XT and maintain fantastic performance.
What’s Not
GPU shortages, price gouging, MSRP lels, blah, blah, blah.
You know what you’re getting here with the MSI RX 6600 XT GAMING X, there’s not that much to hate here apart from the insane GPU pricing right now that is not limited to just MSI, Radeon, NVIDIA, or any other brand.
Final Thoughts
MSI’s new Radeon RX 6600 XT GAMING X graphics card is an impressive kit, and while you’ve got performance that you’d never tell the difference between another custom RX 6600 XT — what you do have here is the excellent TWIN FROZR 8 thermal solution.
If you compare the new Radeon RX 6600 XT up against the previous-gen Radeon RX 5600 XT, it’s simply smashing — up against the even older and marketed-like-hell Radeon RX Vega 64… then the RDNA 2 architecture really shines. 1080p gaming performance is great across the board, 60FPS+ in AAA titles and 120FPS+ in plenty of esports titles.
MSI keeps things nice and chill at around 60C on the GPU, and that’s through many hours of benchmark torture and rounds of Call of Duty: Warzone. MSI shines through with its Radeon RX 6600 XT GAMING X, offering the tweaked TWIN FROZR 8 thermal solution.
If you want to go to Team Green, then MSI offers its GeForce RTX 3060 GAMING with the same TWIN FROZR 8 cooler. If you want to try out Team Red, the new MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT GAMING X is here for those that want some of that 7nm RDNA 2 goodness in their gaming PC.
AMD might not have caught your eye with the first-gen RDNA-based Radeon RX 5000 series, but if you waited for the Radeon RX 6000 series and wanted to spend under $500 — well, under “$500” in this New World of graphics card prices then the new MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT GAMING X is a mighty fine offering.
Most of all, MSI has the performance crown right now — I just came in from reviewing the XFX Radeon RX 6600 XT Speedster MERC 308 Black and it beats it… just, by just a few FPS here and there. Bt that’s enough to make the MSI RX 6600 XT GAMING X stand out.
