AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT: A killer 1080p graphics card with pandemic pricing

AMD tuned the Radeon RX 6600 XT for ultrafast 1080p gaming, and it shines in that regard—but a sky-high price holds it back from full praise.

- BRAD CHACOS

AMD promised the Radeon RX 6600 XT would deliver “epic” 1080p gaming, and the company’s latest graphics card (go.pcworld.com/gclt) delivers that in spades. This RDNA 2-powered GPU doesn’t just blow past the Radeon RX 5600 XT it’s replacing (go.pcworld.com/56gc), but also skirts by the Radeon RX 5700 XT (go.pcworld. com/57gc)—a graphics card not one but two tiers higher than the 5600 XT was. This is impressive stuff. The Radeon RX 6600 XT will absolutely scream when paired with a high refresh-rate monitor (go.pcworld.com/hirf).

On the other hand, that lead diminishes more than you might expect when you bump up the resolution to 1440p. That’s due to some key tweaks introduced in the Radeon RX 6600 XT’s memory subsystem and its implementation of AMD’s radical new Infinity Cache. You also can’t ignore the sticker price: The Radeon RX 6600 XT carries a suggested price tag of $379, a full $100 more than the 5600 XT was and just $20 shy of the cost of the Radeon RX 5700 XT (and Nvidia’s fantastic GeForce RTX 3060 Ti [go.pcworld. com/36gc]). Yes, we’re in the midst of a crippling GPU shortage (go.pcworld.com/crsh). This graphics card will no doubt both cost more and sell out instantly when it hits the streets.

Add it all up and the Radeon RX 6600 XT is a good graphics card with some complicated caveats. Let’s dig in, with the help of the Asus ROG Strix Radeon RX 6600 XT, a premium custom model with an incredibly luxe $550 price tag that’s probably more reflective of what you’ll see in the real world.