Best RX 6600 XT Graphics Card

Getting your hands on a high-end GPU these past few years has been exceptionally 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 modest/mid-range segment is not that affected by these issues.

For this guide, we picked the RX 6600 XT and looked through the accessible 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 aid you in obtaining the correct graphics card.

Let’s plunge straight into it!

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

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

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

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

Pricing

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

Design

This Sapphire Pulse design is mostly 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 taste to make this card unique.

There is no RGB lighting, but considering this design, it’s not too bad. It would go well with “neat 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 appearance and feel. Metal can also help with thermal dissipation.

Performance And Overclocking Capabilities

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

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

However, those clock speed jumps make overclocking promising 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 solid overclock.

This overclock can lead to a 7% to 8% improvement 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 cool enough considering the decent 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 go with XFX!

Pricing

The cost of XFX’s RX 6600 XT Merc 308 is $410, just $30 more than the endorsed 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 longer (247 mm). It is also slightly taller, so the heatsink might be beefier.

Design-wise this Radeon card looks pretty 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 pale colors.

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

Performance And Overclocking Capabilities

The official boost clock for this card is 2607 MHz which is an insignificant 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 around 2550 MHz.

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

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

Thermals And Acoustics

The small changes in clock speeds are insignificant in gaming performance. The real deal-breaker is the thermal and acoustics performance of any card.

Naturally, thanks to those three fans on the front, XFX’s GPU runs flawlessly 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 few degrees in temperature won’t alter your gaming/working experience. While raising the noise levels can definitely be bothersome.

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 finest variant for the latest generation of GPUs. This is especially true for the Gaming X Trio design.

The RX 6600 XT doesn’t get that Trio design, though. Probably because it doesn’t really require it, this twin-fan cooling system is sufficient 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 silver accents, giving it a sharp look.

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

The backplate is made out of metal. Overall, it’s a fantastic design.

Performance And Overclocking Capabilities

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

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

Weirdly 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 easily went over 2700 MHz.

Thermals And Acoustics

Now it’s time for this card’s best selling point, noise and temperature levels.

During gaming, the Gaming X’s fans spin up to ~1560 RPM while the temperature stays at around 66°C. The lowest 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 quiet.

Pricing

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

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

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 premium feel with black and silver dominating the shroud on the front, back and side.

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

You can see some RGB on the sides and a metal backplate on the back.

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 fascinating 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 kind of OC can bring up to 10% more FPS in games.

Thermals And Acoustics

It dazzles in overclocking, but it quickly 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 remarkably aggressive curve, which pushes the fans to 2000 RPM, producing 41 dBA.

That’s too loud for anyone’s taste. 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 tad high (34.4 dBA) while the temperature gets up to 65°C.

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

Pricing

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

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

A bit complicated, 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 crimson accents across all sides of the GPU. On the front, you’ll find three fans, making this the lengthiest card of the bunch.

The backplate is made from metal.

Performance And Overclocking Capabilities

While the stock clock speed is 2607 MHz, the average is closer to 2660 MHz making this the fastest 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 faster than the MSI, XFX, and Sapphire cards and slightly slower than STRIX OC.

But hold on, there’s more!

The memory can be overclocked to 2320 MHz which is substantially faster than ASUS’ max 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 fastest RX 6600 XTs, it still performs extremely well in thermals. That’s all probably thanks to the three fans and 305 mm in length.

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

So, low RPM, low 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 tough 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 best 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 comprehensive guide will help you pick the appropriate RX 6600 XT for your system.