INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    If you grew up in the 90’s and specifically when both ATI (now AMD) and NVIDIA were taking their first steps in the 3D card arena (among others) then it’s no secret that things were much simpler back then. Granted, we had just a few games we could actually use one of the “state of the art” 3D cards with but with just a few exceptions (3DFX compatible games) any card you got could play any game. Fast forward to today and that of course isn’t the case and so graphics card selection largely depends on what resolution you’re playing at and what fps demands you have. In January of this year AMD released their proposal for FullHD (1080p) gaming, the Radeon RX 7600 XT and today I’ll be testing the Pulse OC model by my friends over at 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.

    As the name suggests the Radeon RX 7600 XT by AMD is still based on the same RDNA3 graphics architecture as the Radeon RX 7600/7900 XT/7900 XTX models and yes the 7600 XT model is the “turbo” version of the 7600 model. It too is manufactured using DUV lithography (6nm process) and packs 32 RDNA 3 compute units, 2048 stream processors, 64 raster units (or render output units), 32 ray accelerators (or ray tracing cores), 128 texture mapping units, 2 shader engines, 32MB of Infinity Cache and a total of 64 AI accelerators. So, what did AMD change? Three things, VRAM amount which is now set at 16GB GDDR6 at 18Gbps on a 128-bit memory interface (compared to the 8GB of the 7600), GPU and Boost engine clocks which are now set at 2470MHz and 2760MHz respectively (as opposed to the 2250MHz and 2660MHz of the 7600) and a higher total board power of 190W (165W for the 7600). There are also some secondary differences like the dual 8-pin power input (to support the increase in power draw) and standard DisplayPort v2.1 (optional depending on model on the 7600 – SAPPHIRE already had v2.1 on their models). As for SAPPHIRE well they've once again used their very own cooler with the card (dual heatpipes, single heatsink design with two dual ball-bearing fans) and as expected they've also increased game clocks from the 2470MHz of the reference AMD model to 2539MHz and boost clocks from 2755MHz to 2810MHz (once again VRAM speed on the other remains the same at 18Gbps). Finally in terms of connectivity the Radeon RX 7600 XT Pulse OC by Sapphire features two DisplayPort v2.1 outputs and two HDMI v2.1a outputs.

 

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typically, at the front of the box we find the model name, company logo, main product features, VRAM capacity and an OC sticker.

 

 

The key features of the Radeon RX 7600 XT Pulse OC card are printed on the left side.

 

 

Turning the card around we find the main product features, this time with quick descriptions underneath.

 

 

Inside the box the card is wrapped inside a static-free bag and placed between a formed piece of cardboard.

 

 

Just the quick installation guide and warning paper on how to move your tower (stuck on the static-free bag) are shipped inside the box of the Radeon RX 7600 XT Pulse OC.

 

 

 

THE RADEON RX 7600 XT 16GB PULSE OC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Measuring 250mm in length, 129.25mm in height and 44.56mm in thickness (2.2 slot card) the SAPPHIRE Radeon RX 7600 XT Pulse OC is just a tad larger compared to the 7600 model (short video of the card installed is available in YouTube and TikTok).

 

 

Here you can see how the RX 7600 XT Pulse OC model compares to the RX 7700 XT Pure OC model again by SAPPHIRE (review soon) and the GeForce RX 4080 Phantom by Gainward.

 

 

Two dual ball-bearing fans are once again placed just over the card to keep temperatures inside in check.

 

 

This time over underneath the fans SAPPHIRE has placed a dual aluminum heatsink with four heatpipes passing through it.

 

 

Just like other Pulse OC models by SAPPHIRE the Radeon RX 7600 XT comes without RGB lighting.

 

 

The two 8-pin power connectors on top combined with the PCIe slot means that this card can easily surpass 200W under load.

 

 

Most of the rear is taken by a nice-looking metal plate.

 

 

The rear of the card is open to allow hot air to exit the interior.

 

 

As already mentioned earlier at the front we find two DP v2.1 ports and two HDMI v2.1a ports.

 

TRIXX V9.7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The popular TRIXX control software by SAPPHIRE has reached version 9.7 (you can use it without having to install it).

As with past version the first tab lists information about the card itself including some monitoring graphs on the right side.

 

 

Second tab is a very thorough hardware monitoring tool which pretty much covers every single bit of the card you’re using.

 

 

Finally, from the 3rd tab you can further boost the performance of your card if needed at the cost of some image quality (you can also use image sharpening).

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

 

    Since I changed my graphics card test rig i decided to tweak things a bit and so the entire testing methodology has changed. So, for the foreseeable future for tests, I’ll be using the EV3285 monitor by EIZO (later on i may also add tri-monitor results since i do have 2 cockpits here in the lab) for 2160p UHD (3840x2160p), 1440p (2560x1440p) and 1080p Full HD (1920x1080p) tests. Needless to say, since most of you voted for it, I’ll also be using the Intel Core I9-13900K (5.8GHz P/4.7GHz E/4.9GHz RING), EVGA Z790 DARK test rig which I’ve completed with the Kingston FURY RENEGADE 32GB DDR5 7200MHz CL38 dual-channel kit.

    Most games have also been changed so instead of manually testing every single one (and always allowing a small percentage of error) i chose all the latest ones to feature a built-in benchmark. In certain cases, built-in benchmarks may perform better than in-game but my purpose is comparison and not what one can expect in terms of in-game performance. So, this list includes Chernobylite, Cyberpunk 2077, F1 2022, Far Cry 6, Forza Horizon 5, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Horizon Zero Dawn CE, Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Returnal. Also, since some of you have asked for Synthetic benchmarks in the past, I’ll also be using Speed Way and Port Royal from 3D Mark.

    As with the past options like power saving, sharpness, overlays and even zero fan mode are all disabled in the cards we’re testing (to achieve the purest and 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 just 15cm away while power consumption is measured again using GPU-Z.

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS – SPEED WAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3DMark Speed Way’s engine is assembled to demonstrate what the latest DirectX API (12 Ultimate) brings to ray traced gaming, using DirectX Raytracing tier 1.1 for real-time global illumination and real-time raytraced reflections, coupled with new performance optimizations like Mesh Shaders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS – PORT ROYAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3DMark Port Royal is the world’s first real-time ray tracing benchmark for gamers. It shows you how well your PC handles ray tracing effects in real-time.

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS – CHERNOBYLITE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chernobylite is a 1st person RPG set in the hyper-realistic, 3D-scanned wasteland of Chernobyl's Exclusion Zone. It's based on Unreal Engine 4 and will be used at Ultra graphics (RT Ultra/Off).

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS – CYBERPUNK 2077

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cyberpunk 2077 is the latest game by CD Project and is based on their REDEngine 4. Graphics are set at Ultra/Psycho (RT Psycho/Off).

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS – F1 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

F1 2022 is built on Codemasters' in-house engine, EGO, which has been upgraded to include DX12 and Ray-Tracing. Graphics are set to Ultra High (RT is enabled in all tests).

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS – FAR CRY 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Far Cry 6 is based on the Dunia engine. Graphics are set to Ultra with DXR enabled.

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS – FORZA HORIZON 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forza Horizon 5 uses ForzaTech, a proprietary engine built by Turn 10. Graphics are set to Extreme (RT is always enabled at high).

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guardians Of The Galaxy is based on the Dawn Engine by EIDOS. Graphics are set to maximum (RT Ultra/Off).

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - HORIZON ZERO DAWN CE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Horizon Zero Dawn CE (Complete Edition) is based on Guerrilla Games' Decima engine. Graphics are set to Ultimate Quality.

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - METRO EXODUS ENHANCED EDITION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition is based on the 4A Engine and contains huge graphical upgrades compared to the normal version, including Ray Traced Emissive Lighting. Graphics are set at Extreme quality.

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS – RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Red Dead Redemption 2 Rockstar has used their RAGE engine (Rockstar Advanced Game Engine). Graphics preset level slider is set to favour quality.

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS – RETURNAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Returnal is also based on Unreal Engine 4. Graphics are set to EPIC (RT EPIC/Off).

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - OVERCLOCKING

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pulse AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT OC was easy to overclock to 3116MHz base clock, 3166MHz boost clock and 2500MHz on the VRAM (highest OC i could achieve so it may not be very safe for some).

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - POWER CONSUMPTION / TEMPERATURES / NOISE LEVELS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Almost 4 months have gone by since AMD unveiled their Radeon RX 7600 XT graphics card and well, now is probably the best time to review this card (mature drivers by now). So how does it do, especially compared to the non-XT version? Well, it’s clear from the charts that what makes the most difference in many of the games is the amount of VRAM something which was to be expected since 8GB was a rather small amount to begin with. Yes, the extra boost on clocks also does help but not enough for the Radeon RX 7600 XT to compete with the likes of the GeForce RTX 4070. Now I don’t have an RTX 4060 in my charts yet and this was the model the RX 7600 XT was meant to compete with, but I imagine they’d be trading blows if I did. Consuming up to 207W on load is probably the sole downside of the RX 7600 XT, especially since that number is higher than even the RTX 4070. Yes, I don’t expect it to be a game breaker for consumers, even less for people who prefer Radeon cards, but it is what it is. Finally, in regards to cooling and noise levels SAPPHIRE has done a rather good job in both, especially when compared to the 7600 model.

    With a retail price tag set at USD339.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 360.53Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the Pulse AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT OC by SAPPHIRE is priced well overall. Price aside two things are clear, first that doubling the VRAM was a good decision by AMD and second that the Radeon RX 7600 XT is a card only meant for FullHD 1080p gaming and so if that’s what you’re looking for I strongly recommend checking it out, you will not be disappointed.

PROS

- Very Good 1080p Performance
- Dual Slot Design (Size)
- OC Potential
- Features
- TRIXX Software

CONS

- Power Consumption
- PCIe x8 Interface