INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   High refresh rates (in rare cases exceeding even 300Hz) along with some very demanding PC titles have allowed for 1080p gaming to still be a thing even though 2022 is almost upon us. This is actually something many people i know have debated over, 4k UHD resolution and low fps (usually up to 60) vs 1080p FullHD resolution and high fps (over 300). Personally, i think that the "sweet spot" between image quality and performance is still 1440p QHD (1600p even better) but if you want something more on both fronts then yes, the 4k (2160p) and 1080p resolutions are clearly the way to go. Still manufacturers always need to cover all segments of the market, from enthusiasts and demanding gamers, to gamers and casual users, there always needs to be a card for all. The brand new Radeon RX 6600 XT model released officially by AMD today is one such model and with me i have the PULSE model by SAPPHIRE.

   SAPPHIRE Technology continues to be a world leading manufacturer and global supplier of innovative graphics and mainboard products, delivering its AMD Radeon based products to the PC markets addressing gaming, eSports and performance graphics enthusiasts as well as delivering an array of professional graphics products and embedded system solutions. Recently SAPPHIRE has penetrated new markets with a series of GPU Compute server systems targeting the blockchain and commercial cryptocurrency mining businesses.

   The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is a PCIe 4.0 x16 graphics card (with DirectX 12.0 Ultimate support) based on the 7nm "Navi 23" chip which features 32 RDNA2 compute units, 2048 stream processors, 64 raster units (or render output units), 32 ray accelerators and 128 texture mapping units. Unlike previous models this time over for the memory end of the card AMD decided on using a total 8GB of JEDEC standard 16Gbps GDDR6 memory (Samsung) on a 128-bit memory bus. A small chunk (32MB) of Infinity Cache memory is also present on the GPU side which should help with the overall performance of the card (even if by a little). The SAPPHIRE PULSE model that i have here with me today is a dual-slot (2.2) design card that sports two ball-bearing side fans, single aluminum heatsink (covers almost the entire surface of the card), 2 nickel plated copper heatpipes and aluminum back plate (extra protection and rigidity). Finally in terms of connectivity SAPPHIRE has equipped their AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT PULSE with three full sized DP v1.4 (with DSC) ports and a single HDMI v2.1 port. The PULSE AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT looks promising so let's check it out.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The front of the box inside which SAPPHIRE ships their PULSE Radeon RX 6600 XT is filled with drawings and the main product features.

 

 

You can also check the main features of the card from the left side of the box.

 

 

At the rear of the box, we find a few words about the card right next to its minimum system requirements.

 

 

As always, the card is wrapped inside a static-free bag and placed in black foam.

 

 

Just the quick installation guide and warranty information paper are placed in the box alongside the card itself.

 

 

THE PULSE RADEON RX 6600 XT 8GB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The PULSE Radeon RX 6600 XT is quite a compact model that measures no more than 235mm in length, 43mm in width and 105mm in height.

 

 

Here you can see how smaller the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 6600 XT is compared to the Colorful iGame GeForce RTX 3060 Advanced OC model.

 

 

For the PULSE Radeon RX 6600 XT SAPPHIRE used a dual-fan design with two ball-bearing fans with hybrid blades.

 

 

Under the plastic cover SAPPHIRE has placed a single heatsinks with 2 nickel plated heatpipes.

 

 

The company name is placed at the top (only the Nitro+ model however has RGB lighting).

 

 

This card just needs a single 8pin PCIe power connector.

 

 

The entire rear of the card is protected by an aluminum plate.

 

 

Moving at the front we see three full sized DP v1.4 ports and a single HDMI v2.1 port.

 

 

With no RGB Lights on it the SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT PULSE doesn’t really stand out while in operation.

 

 

TRIXX 8.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first tab of the TRIXX software shows information about the card, the drivers used and also allows you to backup the card’s BIOS.

 

 

Second tab allows the end user to monitor the clocks and temperatures of the card.

 

 

You can also boost the performance/fps of the card by slightly reducing image quality via the TRIXX boost tab.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Since we'll be using our latest test rig with our graphics cards tests, we also moved to another screen (Philips BDM4037UW) in order to also offer 4k Ultra HD tests. Of course, 2160p (3840x2160p) is not the only resolution we'll be testing cards with, we are also going to be testing them at 1080p Full HD (1920x1080p) and 1440p (2560x1440p). Also, because far too many gamers own Ultra-Wide screens at first i wanted to use our AOC AGON AG352UCG monitor in order to also have its resolution of 3440x1440p in our charts but since it's plugged into our other test rig several meters away from this one i really had to choose (and 4k seemed like the better choice). This time over we also updated the list of benchmarks/games to include the Time Spy benchmark by UL, Assassin's Creed Odyssey by Ubisoft, Devil May Cry 5 by Capcom, Dreadnought by Yager, GEARS 5 by The Coalition, Metro Exodus by 4A Games, Star Citizen by Cloud Imperium Games, The Outer Worlds by Obsidian Entertainment and Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Project*.

   As with the past options like power saving, sharpness and overlays are all disabled in the cards we’re testing (to achieve maximum performance) and all tests are repeated a total of 3 times in a fresh Windows 10 Pro installation with all updates installed until the day of our review (same as all the games used). Room temperature is as usual controlled and steady at 23 degrees Celsius for all tests and to record the temperatures of the cards we used AIDA64 and GPU-Z. Recording noise levels is done with an ExTech HD600 dBA meter from a distance of no more than half a meter away (exterior of case) while power consumption is measured again using GPU-Z.

* Since February 2021

 

 

TEST RESULTS – CYBERPUNK 2077

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cyberpunk 2077 is the latest game by CD Project and is based on their REDEngine 4. Benchmarks were run on game version 1.12 with all settings set at High and with the help of Rivatuner Statistics Server.

 

TEST RESULTS - 3DMARK TIMESPY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time Spy was added in 3DMark back in 2016 with only 1 simple goal, to test the graphics of systems with Windows 10 and DirectX 12. Time Spy was used at default settings.

 

TEST RESULTS - ASSASSINS CREED ODYSSEY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assassin's Creed Odyssey is an action role-playing video game set in the year 431 BC and the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta and is based on the AnvilNext engine. For our tests we use the built-in benchmark of the game with FPS limit off, V-Sync off and the graphics set at high quality (because Assassins Creed Odyssey auto-detects your graphics card and sets settings accordingly the same graphics quality needs to be set manually every time).

 

TEST RESULTS - BORDERLANDS 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Borderlands 3 is an action role-playing first-person shooter video game released back in late 2019 and is powered by Unreal Engine 4. Borderlands 3 has a very basic built-in benchmark which we set at DirectX 12 with unlimited frame rate and overall quality set to High.

 

TEST RESULTS - DEVIL MAY CRY 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Devil May Cry 5 is an action-adventure hack and slash video game released in March 2019 and is based on the RE Engine like other titles by Capcom. Devil May Cry 5 doesn't feature his very own built-in benchmark so for that purpose we're using the latest version of Rivatuner Statistics Server with V-Sync Off, variable frame rate and all graphics settings set at High.

 

TEST RESULTS - DREADNOUGHT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dreadnought is a space combat simulation game released for the PC in late 2018 and is the 3rd game in our tests based on the Unreal Engine 4. Dreadnought used to come with its own built-in benchmark but since that was removed, we decided to use Rivatuner Statistics Server with V-Sync off and graphics set to High (this game is capped after all so I removed that and did all tests again – unfortunately I no longer have all the cards here).

 

TEST RESULTS - GEARS 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gears 5 is a third-person shooter video game released back in mid-2019 and is powered by Unreal Engine 4 just like Borderlands 3. Gears 5 features a very convenient (not to mention fast) built-in benchmark which we use with V-Sync off, unlimited frame rate (none for minimum) and Ultra graphics quality.

 

TEST RESULTS - METRO EXODUS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Metro Exodus is a first-person shooter video game released in 2019 and is based on the 4A Engine. The latest game in the Metro series also features its very own benchmark utility which we set at DirectX 12 and Ultra graphics quality (we're also running RTX tests with that setting set at Ultra).

 

TEST RESULTS - STAR CITIZEN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Star Citizen is an upcoming multiplayer space trading and combat game the main development of which started back in 2012 and is currently based on the Lumberyard game engine. Not only does Star Citizen come without any built-in benchmark (or utility) but it’s still in Alpha status meaning that this is not the most stable game title to use for our benchmarks (numerous graphics optimisations are expected between now and launch day). Still, we wanted to have it in our charts for anyone interested and so we did by using Rivatuner Statistics Server with V-Sync turned off and the graphics set at High.

 

TEST RESULTS - THE OUTER WORLDS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Outer Worlds is an action role-playing game released back in late 2019 and is also based on the Unreal Engine 4. The Outer Worlds is yet another title we had to use Rivatuner Statistics Server with V-Sync off, unlimited frame rate and graphics set at Very High.

 

TEST RESULTS - OVERCLOCKING

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this review I managed to push the PULSE Radeon RX 6600 XT a total of 176MHz on the core and 230MHz on the memories (all the other cards in these charts are also overclocked).

 

TEST RESULTS - POWER CONSUMPTION / TEMPERATURES / NOISE LEVELS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   AMD released the Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB with a single goal, to go up against the GeForce RTX 3060 12GB model and it’s clear from our charts that it’s able of doing exactly that. Yes, due to its higher RAM amount the RTX 3060 does lead in 4k but in 1440p and 1080p the RX 6600 XT either comes up on top or goes toe to toe with the RTX 3060. Of course, this also has to do a lot with the title so even though Borderlands 3 just loves the new Radeon cards the same can’t be said about The Outer Worlds for example. That being said what I was surprised quite a bit to see was the Raytracing performance of the RX 6600 XT which is actually very good since its performance hit is less than that of the RTX 3060. More good news is that power consumption is also very good and perhaps less than what I was expecting. On the other hand however I can’t say the same applies to temperatures and even noise levels when the card is stressed.

   The Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB family of graphics cards by AMD are available right now and as for the SAPPHIRE PULSE model well you can currently find it for USD379.99 inside the USA (Newegg.com) and for 481Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). As expected, its price tag on this side of the Atlantic is a bit higher than expected but if both SAPPHIRE and distributors can keep it there, I think the PULSE Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB will do well. At the end of the day the new PULSE Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB may not be the GeForce RTX 3060 12GB “killer” but it does trade blows with it (and generally outperforms it in 1080/1440p resolutions) and that along with its impressive ray tracing performance are enough to get the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Very Good Performance
- Ray Tracing Performance
- Factory Overclock
- Good Overclocking Headroom
- Power Consumption
- Supported Technologies
- TRIXX Software

CONS

- Temperatures (Stress)
- Noise Levels (Stress)