XFX Speedster Radeon RX 6600 XT
A graphics card is an extension card that produces a feed of output pictures to a display device. Normally, these are promoted as dedicated or discrete graphics cards, highlighting the difference between these and integrated graphics. The XFX is offering its latest graphics card, Speedster Merc 308 Radeon RX 6600 XT, to its customers, which represents the modern in a series of superb XFX custom designs.
About XFX
XFX Inc. is a US-based electronics company that specializes in the design and manufacturing of power supplies, video cards, and motherboards. Headquartered in Ontario, the company is a part of Hong Kong-based Pine Technology Holdings Limited. Initially, XFX produced only Nvidia graphics cards. Then in 2009, the company switched to making ATI (now AMD) graphics cards. Following are the details about its latest Speedster Radeon RX 6600 XT.
Specifications
| Graphics Card | AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT | AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT | AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT |
| Manufacturing process | 7nm | 7nm | 7nm |
| Architecture | RDNA | RDNA | RDNA |
| Die size (mm^2) | 251 | 237 | 251 |
| Transistor count | 10.3 billion | 11.1 billion | 10.3 billion |
| Ray accelerators | – | 32 | – |
| Compute units | 36 | 32 | 40 |
| Game GPU clock (up to) | 1375 MHz | 2359 MHz | 1755 MHz |
| Stream processors | 2304 | 2048 | 2560 |
| Peak single precision performance (up to) | 7.19 TFLOPS | 10.6 TFLOPS | 9.75 TFLOPS |
| Boost GPU clock (up to) | 1560 MHz | 2589 MHz | 1905 MHz |
| Peak half precision performance (up to) | 14.4 TFLOPS | 21.21 TFLOPS | 19.5 TFLOPS |
| Peak pixel fill rate (up to) | 99.8 GP/s | 165.7 GP/s | 121.9 GP/s |
| ROPs | 64 | 64 | 64 |
| AMD infinity cache | – | 32 MB | – |
| Board power | 150w | 160w | 225w |
| Memory interface | 192-bit | 128-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory | 6GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 288GB/s | 256 GB/s | 448 GB/s |
Performance
AMD has tuned the Speedster 6600 XT’s Infinity Cache to about 1080p gaming. If you knock the resolution to 1440p, the performance may fall off quite a bit. That is because utilizing Infinity Cache allows AMD to use a slighter memory bus width for enhanced power effectiveness, but the GPU requires direct signals over the bus to the GDDR6 onboard memory more often at greater resolutions. The 6600 XT can run a game at 1440p, but it is not simply adjusted for the task due to its tiny 128-bit bus and lesser Infinity Reserve. If you have got a 1440p display, go for a GeForce 3060 RTX Ti in its place.
XFX has crossed the Merc 308’s 23 Navi GPU in terms of performance. Whereas AMD’s reference specifications target a classic game clock speed of 2,359MHz, the Merc 308 provides a 2,428MHz game clock. The GDDR6 8GB memory glows along at a similar 16Gbps as the reference specification. That is an abundance of capacity and speed for the 1080p gaming performance at which the Radeon 600 RX XT outperforms.
Designing
The real attraction for the customers is XFX’s custom cooling architecture, which looks amazing and allows those super-fast clock speeds. The 308 Mercer ST is constructed around a modified PCB with a 2+6 phase complete-digital PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) power design. A copper plate (Nickel-plated) joins four 6mm temperature pipes to draw heat away from the card and GDDR6 memory components, dragging it into the card’s huge heat sink. Three 3.14 inches fans along with 9 blades each circulate cool air through the heat sink, assisted by a cut in the backplate made of aluminum that allows for improved airflow.
The XFX Merc 308 Speedster comes with one of the best cooling technologies that simply overcomes the overclocked Radeon 6600 RX XT GPU inside. This is a silent, cool graphics card. When compared with the Asus Strix ROG 6600 XT, it is louder and costs around $130 more than the XFX. Also, Strix 6600 is not noticeably faster than XFX Merc 308 if discussed in the benchmark section. Above all, the Merc 308 comprises the above-mentioned bling, for which XFX takes a bit higher price over the bling-less Swift model.
Features
Like other GPUs of RX 6000-series, XFX RX 6600 XT supports all of RDNA several features, comprising Smart Access Memory and Fidelity FX Super Resolution to increase performance, AV1 video decoding, real-time ray tracing capabilities, Radeon Anti-Lag across all major DX APIs, improved version of Radeon Boost that wraps in Variable Rate Shading, DirectX 12 Ultimate goodies, AMD Link streaming to other devices, free Sync display support, and much more. AMD’s strong Radeon settings applications contain both automatic and manual performance alteration controls so the customers can squeeze the card to their desires with those twin BIOS profiles.
Pricing
Luckily, XFX does not need your first-born kid to purchase the XFX Mercer 308. This custom-cooled, overclocked card costs between $400 to $425, depending on the shop. That is around $30-$40 more than the RX Radeon 6600 XT’s initial price, which is practical for a custom model like this. You have got choices, however. If you desire the same frame rates with fewer bling, then XFX’s $399 308 strips out RGB and the flair you get in the Merc, wedding overclocked output with a black shroud, clean. Lastly, the company’s Swift core 210 sticks to no reference specs and frills for AMD’s suggested $379 value.
Reasons to Buy
- Normally faster than RTX 3060 and RX 5700 XT
- Decent performance at 1080p
- Power-efficient design
- Supply is better than other RX 6000 GPUs
- XFX design is quiet, cool, and attractive
- AMD features like Radeon boost, FSR, Smart Access Memory can make it quicker
- Dual-BIOS switch
Final Verdict
Setting aside the availability and the price for a moment, the Radeon RX 6600 XT provides pretty much exactly what the users expect from the latest-gen mainstream GPU. Also, architecturally, it is impressive how much performance XFX graphics card possesses in it. If you cannot find a graphics card upgraded at a value you are willing to pay, then this one can prove a good pick for you.
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