'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Radeon RX 6600 is AMD’s budget 1080p gaming option today. This card is a tier below the 6600 XT. It was introduced at $329, the same price tag as the Geforce RTX 3060.
However, the current pricing scenario shows that AMD graphics cards have come down to MSRP much faster than Nvidia GPUs. Thus, potential customers can easily find a 6600 for $330 or less these days. But, its competitor, the RTX 3060, starts at $429.
The Radeon RX 6600 has a unique pricing advantage. However, the card has a performance difference compared to the RTX 3060.
How good is the AMD RX 6600 for gaming?
AMD's Big Navi lineup of GPUs has some disadvantages as compared to Ampere. The Ray Tracing implementation is not as polished as in Ampere. With RDNA 2, Team Red's RT entered its first generation. However, Nvidia's tech had two more years to mature.
Thus, AMD RX 6600 is not as capable in Ray Tracing workloads. Alongside, the GPU represents a worse value compared to RTX 3060. For the same price, Nvidia GPU is more capable.
Thus, the RX 6600 would be an inferior card if the GPUs were sold at their MSRP. However, the current 100$ price difference changes the competition.
Currently, the RTX 3050 starts from around $325. The RX 6600 significantly outperforms the 3050. This makes the former a better value-for-money product.
The RX 6600 has a few more problems that would count if the pricing was normal. The card is PCIe Gen 4 x8. Although not a problem, gamers using the PCIe Gen 3 interface will lose a significant chunk of its performance.
AMD cards are not that well optimized for productivity workloads, unlike Nvidia cards. Therefore, the card is not ideal for creative professionals.
Performance metrics
Forza Horizon 5 is one of the most well-optimized titles released lately. With DXR turned off, gamers get a smooth experience with the 6600. However, turning Ray Tracing on reduces performance metrics by half.
Forza Horizon 5 supports Ray Tracing only in the Forzavista mode. The gameplay is not affected by the numbers in the above graph.
Far Cry 6 shows a modest drop in performance with Ray Tracing turned on. Gamers can easily get a 60+ FPS experience in Ubisoft's latest FPS shooter title.
Control, like Far Cry 6, shows modest performance drops with Ray Tracing turned on. Although the 1% and 0.1% Low numbers with Ray Tracing set to high are a bit too low, the game is extremely playable with very few stutters and frame drops.
Cyberpunk 2077, although one of the least optimized titles on this list, shows one of the most stable numbers.
The 1% and 0.1% low numbers in this game are pretty close. Also, the performance drop with RT turned on is below the 30% threshold.
Fortnite is not as demanding as the other games on the list. However, the title can get a bit stuttery due to Epic Games' optimization.
Ray Tracing in Fortnite is extremely demanding. We see a record performance drop of 70% in this title.
Final Thoughts
As is evident in the performance graphs, the RX 6600 is a capable card for gaming at 1080p. Gamers can have a decent experience while gaming with this card.
Ray Tracing works pretty well with the 6600. However, gamers will have to avoid using the feature unless the game is quite well optimized.
