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The Radeon RX 6650 XT was introduced as part of the mid-cycle refresh to the RDNA 2-based Radeon RX 6000 series lineup in 2021. The graphics card is a premium 1080p gaming option and competes directly with the Nvidia Geforce RTX 3060 Ti.
The 6650 XT is a lucrative option for many gamers, provided it is cheaper than the Nvidia counterpart. It also provides better performance per dollar compared to the Intel Arc A770 8 GB GPU.
Thus, many gamers are considering the 6650 XT over other competitors on the market. However, they should make an informed decision before finalizing it as their next gaming graphics card.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinions of the writer
The Radeon RX 6650 XT looks like a solid option, but it has a few caveats
The RX 6650 XT is a bumped-up version of the original Radeon RX 6600 XT. These two graphics cards pack the same specs. However, the refresh card is based on binned 6600 XT GPUs. Thus, the 6650 XT can naturally clock higher than the original card.
On paper, the 6650 XT packs the 237 mm² Navi 23 GPU. It comes with 2,048 streaming processors, 128 Texture Mapping Units (TMUs), 64 Render Output Units (ROPs), and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory based on a narrow 128-bit bus width.
However, the operating clock speeds have been significantly boosted. The card has a base clock of 2,055 MHz, a game clock of 2,410 MHz, and a boost clock of 2,635 MHz. The memory clock runs at 2,190 MHz.
Thus, it is safe to assume that the 6650 XT relies on its high clock speeds to deliver performance. According to TechPowerUp's GPU computing power aggregates, this graphics card is only around 2% faster than the original RX 6600 XT. It is around 10% slower than the Nvidia equivalent, the RTX 3060 Ti.
In terms of gaming performance, the RX 6650 XT does not disappoint. It can hit above 60 FPS in most modern AAA titles while running them in the highest settings at 1080p resolution. It can easily get up to over 90% of the performance of the RTX 3060 Ti.
The 6650 XT costs $284.99 on average, based on the three cheapest listings on Newegg. In contrast, the cheapest RTX 3060 Ti on the website costs $409.99. Thus, the 6650 XT makes much more sense.
Trade-offs with AMD GPUs
It is worth noting that AMD RX 6000 series cards have a few caveats compared to the RTX 30 series GPUs. With these video cards, AMD's hardware-accelerated ray-tracing technology entered its first generation. Thus, the ray tracing performance of the RX 6650 XT cannot keep up with the RTX 3060 Ti.
In every ray-tracing-heavy game like Cyberpunk 2077 and Watch Dogs: Legion, the RX 6650 XT significantly lags behind the 3060 Ti.
In addition, AMD's temporal upscaling technology, FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), fails to keep up with Nvidia's DLSS. FSR has gotten a lot better over the past few months, but DLSS can produce significantly sharper images.
AMD GPUs lose to Nvidia RTX offerings in terms of productivity performance. Thus, creators and 3D artists should avoid these graphics cards.
While AMD graphics cards are better in terms of the value-for-money aspect, they have a few caveats. Team Red, however, is working on solving them with the upcoming RX 7000 series GPUs. Meanwhile, you can get the AMD RX 6650XT here.
