Best RX 6600 XT Graphics Card

Getting your hands on a high-end GPU these past few years has been extraordinarily difficult due to the increase in the crypto-mining craze and the chip shortage.

Fortunately, getting your hands on an RX 6600 XT or GPU in the reasonable/mid-range segment is not that affected by these issues.

For this guide, we picked the RX 6600 XT and looked through the available variants of this card to figure out which one has the optimal power draw, performance, and temperature.

We’ve examined all options of these GPUs, and we believe that the information below will be beneficial and assist you in obtaining the appropriate graphics card.

Let’s plunge directly into it!

Whenever we’re working on these top variants of an AMD card, it seems that Sapphire always ends up as one of the finest options.

And again, this Sapphire Radeon RX 6600 XT Pulse OC is a promising buy for a fair price.

It’s not Sapphire’s premium cooling solution, but for a low-powered card such as this one, it is sufficient.

Let’s examine whether the pricing of this card is reasonable.

Pricing

The MSRP of this Sapphire card is $409. A minor increment over the official MSRP, so not a terrible move by Sapphire.

Design

This Sapphire Pulse design is primarily the same as most of the other RX 6000 series Pulse releases.

It is mostly a black plastic shroud around a two-fan cooling setup. Red highlights can be found across the entire shroud, but nothing over-the-top. It adds just a bit of flair to make this card distinctive.

There is no RGB lighting, but considering this configuration, it’s not too poor. It would go well with “tidy PC constructions.”

Of course, there’s a backplate since that’s the trend nowadays. Fortunately, unlike some MSI or Gigabyte cards, it is made of metal, improving the card’s aesthetic and feel. Metal can also help with thermal dissipation.

Performance And Overclocking Capabilities

Official specifications have the boost clock at 2593 MHz which is almost identical to the specifications of the reference card, so not many enhancements there. But let’s see how the clocks act in-game.

In Cyberpunk 2077, clock speeds leap up to 2697 MHz but then quickly fall back to around 2530 MHz which is the typical average. So, clocks deviate a lot from the official specs.

However, those clock speed jumps make overclocking enticing with this card. Based on what we managed to find, it seems that Sapphire’s card can be boosted up to 2700+ MHz with a significant overclock.

This overclock can lead to a 7% to 8% enhancement in games. Not bad at all.

Thermals And Acoustics

At stock settings, the GPU reaches an average of 70°C while noise levels are around 28 dBA. In our opinion, that should be cold enough considering the sufficient acoustics.

A good GPU, but we’ll need to delve into the other variants of the RX 6600 XT to compare these values.

Let’s proceed with XFX!

Pricing

The cost of XFX’s RX 6600 XT Merc 308 is $410, just $30 more than the recommended price of the basic GPU.

Design

Unlike the Sapphire card, XFX’s Merc 308 has a triple-fan cooling system, so naturally, it is a bit bigger (247 mm). It is also marginally taller, so the heatsink might be more robust.

Design-wise this Radeon card looks rather stylish. Its shroud is mostly black with white highlights around the fans and the edges of the card. It could fit perfectly in a white PC build to break the monotony of neutral colors.

The backplate is made out of metal which is something we constantly appreciate.

Performance And Overclocking Capabilities

The official boost clock for this card is 2607 MHz which is a minor increase over the stock specs of the RX 6600 XT. But specifications never show the full picture, so let’s see how it really performs.

Similar to the Sapphire card, XFX’s Merc 308 maxes out over 2600 MHz and then averages approximately 2550 MHz.

When pushing the boundaries of the RX 6600 XT Merc 308, GPU clocks can go up to 2700 MHz and memory clocks roughly 2170 MHz.

A robust overclock, but it underperforms when compared to the typical specs.

Thermals And Acoustics

The minor alterations in clock speeds are insignificant in gaming performance. The real deal-breaker is the thermal and acoustic performance of any card.

Naturally, thanks to those three fans on the front, XFX’s GPU runs smoothly with fans at 1300 RPM and noise levels at 24-25 dBA. That’s exceptionally quiet.

However, since stock RPM is set so low, the temperature average does rise up to 75 degrees Celsius. But that shouldn’t be a problem because you can easily adjust the fan curve in the Radeon Software.

We suggest leaving it as is because dropping a minor degrees in temperature won’t modify your gaming/working experience. While raising the noise levels can certainly be irritating.

Pricing

Unfortunately, there is no MSRP provided by MSI for the MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X.

Design

MSI’s Gaming X cards ended up as the best variant for the newest generation of GPUs. This is especially true for the Gaming X Trio configuration.

The RX 6600 XT doesn’t get that Trio design, though. Probably because it doesn’t really need it, this dual-fan cooling system is adequate to cool a 160W card.

In terms of visual design, this MSI is a bit more “gamer” than the Sapphire and XFX variants. It has a black shroud surrounding the fans, the sides, and the back with a couple of metallic accents, giving it a refined look.

There’s a bit of RGB on the side and adjacent to the fans, which is always gratifying to see.

The backplate is made out of metal. Overall, it’s an outstanding design.

Performance And Overclocking Capabilities

Official specifications show a boost clock of 2607 MHz, while in-game clock speeds tell a different story. After some time in Cyberpunk 2077, the average clock speeds sit at 2640 MHz.

That’s around 100+ MHz faster than the Sapphire and XFX RX 6600 XT variants.

Strangely enough, this GPU’s custom overclocking potential didn’t prove itself at all. Custom OC takes this card just above 2650 MHz, while the XFX and Sapphire effortlessly went over 2700 MHz.

Thermals And Acoustics

Now it’s time for this card’s top selling point, sound and temperature levels.

During gaming, the Gaming X’s fans spin up to ~1560 RPM while the temperature stays at around 66°C. The minimal average temperature we’ve seen. For now (more on that later). Noise levels will stay around 30 dBA.

So, a bit louder than the Sapphire, but still hushed.

Pricing

It’s no secret that ASUS’ Strix models are always one of the most costly variants of a GPU. It’s not different this time, as the MSRP of this ASUS card is $549.

It doesn’t matter how outstanding the factory overclock or cooling on this Strix OC is because we can’t justify this price increase.

Design

The Strix brand has been around for years now, and if you’ve liked previous models, you will like this one too. This ASUS RX 6600 XT STRIX OC delivers a high-end feel with black and silver dominating the shroud on the front, back and edge.

Unlike many Strix cards, this one is small with only two fans.

You can see some RGB on the sides and a glossy backplate on the rear.

Performance and Overclocking Capabilities

Again, no exceptional treatment for this RX 6600 XT as it comes with a 2607 MHz boost clock out of the box. The in-game average clock speed is 2615 MHz. In other words, it is as advertised.

Overclocking, however, is where things get intriguing for this ASUS GPU.

Pushing this card’s power limits allows the clock to be boosted up to 2797 MHz. That’s the greatest custom overclock we’ve seen on an RX 6600 XT. This type of OC can bring up to 10% more FPS in games.

Thermals And Acoustics

It dazzles in overclocking, but it swiftly disappoints in acoustics, unfortunately. At all stock settings, this card runs cool at 59 degrees Celsius. However, this cool-running is all thanks to the exceptionally aggressive curve, which pushes the fans to 2000 RPM, producing 41 dBA.

That’s too loud for anyone’s preference. To remedy this, you can switch over to ASUS’ silent BIOS, which soothes that fan curve a bit and drops down RPM to 1565. Unfortunately, noise levels are still a bit high (34.4 dBA) while the temperature gets up to 65°C.

It is certainly possible for users to play around with the fan profiles to get the optimal noise levels and temperature, but we are looking for the finest out-of-the-box experience.

Pricing

ASRock’s designs are robust overall, but they don’t usually end up on our AMD GPU variant lists since competition usually offers superior value for money.

That’s the case this time around since the MSRP is $500, but we just couldn’t ignore the potential of the ASRock Radeon RX 6600 XT Phantom Gaming D.

A bit complex, but for the current situation, that’s the best price you can get on an RX 6600 XT.

Design

Like most cards we mentioned above, ASRock’s card also has black dominating most of the shroud surrounding the PCB. There are also a couple of scarlet accents across all sides of the GPU. On the front, you’ll find three fans, making this the biggest card of the bunch.

The backplate is fabricated from metallic material.

Performance And Overclocking Capabilities

While the stock clock speed is 2607 MHz, the average is closer to 2660 MHz making this the swiftest stock RX 6600 XT. Can a custom overclock push the clocks over ASUS? Let’s see!

Overclockers have managed to boost the clocks up to an average of 2740 MHz. That’s quicker than the MSI, XFX, and Sapphire cards and slightly slower than STRIX OC.

But hold on, there’s additional!

The memory can be overclocked to 2320 MHz which is significantly faster than ASUS’ maximum memory clock of 2275 MHz.

Overall, the RX 6600 XT Phantom Gaming D is the fastest GPU when overclocked.

Thermals And Acoustics

Even though it is one of the quickest RX 6600 XTs, it still performs exceptionally well in thermals. That’s all probably thanks to the three fans and 305 mm in length.

During gaming, the temperatures remain around the 60 degrees Celsius mark and just 29 dBA at 1430 RPM. That’s just 2 degrees warmer than the STRIX, but keep in mind that ASUS required 2000 RPM to get those numbers.

So, low RPM, reduced noise levels, and low temperatures.

Which RX 6600 XT Graphics Card Should You Buy?

Out of these five RX 6600 XT GPUs, which one should end up inside your computer? A difficult choice, but we can give you a good idea of which ones offer the best value.

ASRock Radeon RX 6600 XT Phantom Gaming D deserves the spot for Top Overall. It’s also the finest overclocker and, at the time of writing, it’s priced the lowest out of the bunch.

Even though the ASRock currently has the cheapest price on Amazon, its MSRP is still $500.

So, in the case when GPU pricing is normalized, the Sapphire RX 6600 XT Pulse OC deserves the spot as Best Value.

The XFX and MSI RX 6600 XT are also excellent choices. The Strix is a sturdy GPU, but the out-of-the-box experience isn’t the best.

That’s about it! We hope this thorough guide will help you pick the suitable RX 6600 XT for your system.