GeForce RTX 3060 vs. Radeon RX 6600: Which GPU ought to you pick?

Larger than a year after this technology of graphics cards launched, the stage is eventually space for a correct 1080p showdown, with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 in one nook and the freshly launched AMD Radeon RX 6600 within the different. Will the RX 6600 follow within the footsteps of its larger sibling, the Radeon RX 6600 XT, and build apart up a valid fight versus its GeForce rival? Which is the top graphics card to your needs and funds? We’ll scrutinize at performance, availability, and value to set up if it has what it takes!

RTX 3060 vs RX 6600: Label

Each of these graphics cards sport an equivalent $329 ticket ticket, at least ostensibly, and at that ticket the RTX 3060 stands out as the certain winner—but you’re not most likely to get either GPU on the market at MSRP. Exact-world pricing is severely elevated for both graphics cards as the brutal chip shortage continues. The Radeon RX 6600 seems to have a more life like ticket ticket. Many custom variations are hovering within the $400 to $500 vary when that you might perchance well perchance get them on retailer shelves, with a chart-topping Asus mannequin going for $499. But the GeForce RTX 3060 fares even worse, generally going over $500. Within the 2nd-hand market, Nvidia’s GPU generally eclipses even $800. Focus on punching above your weight class!

Ancient levels of seek files from by both gamers and crypto-coin miners have led us down this exhausting direction. The RTX 3060 remains to be sophisticated to get in inventory, regardless of pricing. How does the provision of the AMD RX 6600 create? Surprisingly, inventory remained within the market even days after begin, however the large caveat here is that virtually all custom board makers slapped a elevated road ticket on their GPUs, giving many traders cause for discontinue. And now that the begin is within the rear scrutinize think, you’re at likelihood of pay from $480 to $550 on secondary markets cherish eBay or Craigslist.

RTX 3060 vs RX 6600: Efficiency

The RTX 3060 and RX 6600 XT build apart up a no longer easy fight, so how will the less essential RX 6600 create? Spoiler: No longer moderately as effectively, but that’s less egregious given the true-world pricing disparity of these graphics cards.

It’s value noting that the RX 6600 and RTX 3060 wield different amounts of VRAM: 8GB of VRAM for the AMD GPU, and 12GB of VRAM for the RTX 3060. Don’t disaster a lot about this discrepancy, on the opposite hand; these GPUs in total design 1080p gaming, where 8GB of reminiscence holds up authorized lovely. Each additionally has a series of capabilities intended to toughen their performance. On the Nvidia facet, the a lot-lauded DLSS (Deep Finding out Shining Sampling) is a large particular—which, in combination with ray tracing, offers stellar visible and body fee performance. AMD has a equivalent decision scaling feature called FidelityFX Shining Resolution, as well to a killer Shining Gain entry to Memory feature that improves performance when paired with a supported CPU. Our benchmarks below disable all these proprietary bells and whistles to level of curiosity on apples-to-apples uncooked performance.

Brad Chacos/IDG

In Glimpse Canines Legion, the RX 6600 surprisingly runs toe-to-toe with the RTX 3060 in both 1080p and 1440p. It appears roughly 10% slower than the RX 6600 XT, on the opposite hand. DLSS and ray tracing are both disabled for this test, which levels the playing subject for the AMD GPU to uncover its uncooked performance. In fashioned, this performance incompatibility can even be expected all over many games, with some Nvidia-leaning titles giving the RTX 3060 moderately more of a bump. The Radeon RX 6600 is slower overall than the RTX 3060, despite the incontrovertible truth that it stays a huge 1080p graphics card in a position to excessive body rates even with glimpse candy cranked to the max in most games. Successfully, excluding ray tracing.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Speaking of, let’s up the disaster and head over to ray tracing round. Right here, both DLSS and FSR are off in relate to make certain that that a aesthetic bout. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we can seek how the pure hardware ray tracing is mute better on the Nvidia RTX 3060. If DLSS and FSR were activated on a supported sport, the Nvidia ray tracing lead would develop by a elevated margin. If ray tracing is something you’d cherish to experience, the RTX 3060 is a severely better preference. In every other case, in performance the RX 6600 puts up a gallant fight in “venerable” rasterized gaming.

Energy and different issues to understand

The RTX 3060 comes with a TDP of 170W, but that is outclassed by 132W TDP of the RX 6600. This AMD GPU essentially sips energy and is impressive in its efficiency. Right here’s segment of the cause the RX 6600 XT has turned into effectively-most smartly-liked by crypto miners, a lot to the chagrin of gamers – it’s authorized so darn efficient! Lower energy additionally results in in total cooler and quieter performance, too.

The RX 6600 doesn’t have any factory limitations imposed on it as it concerns crypto mining, it’s authorized a decrease clocked but efficient GPU. The RTX 3060 technically is proscribed in its hash fee, but there had been workarounds to that respect that unleash its mining prowess, so your mileage might perchance just vary.

Winner winner, hen dinner goes to..

Right here’s a fancy match to referee because the true-world availability and pricing of these 1080p duelers is so unpredictable. This might mean your ticket-to-performance ratio will vary severely reckoning on what and when that you might perchance well perchance also accumulate one.

Having talked about that, the RX 6600 is device more uncomplicated to get at this level than either the 6600 XT or the RTX 3060. When you essentially need ray tracing and DLSS in your existence at 1080p, it is counseled to use out for an RTX 3060, and even the step-up RTX 3060 Ti. And when that you might perchance well perchance essentially pick these cards on a whim at MSRP prices, the RTX 3060 would with out insist be the superior strategies. But that you might perchance well perchance also’t, and that’s key. On the streets, the RTX 3060 mute carries device more of a top fee than even the sooner 6600 XT. You’ll doubtless be in a position to get the RX 6600 more with out insist at retail outlets, even supposing it is with inflated pricing.

When you wish flat-out 1080p performance at a ticket which might perchance just no longer require getting rid of a 2nd mortgage, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the winner of this battle. In non-ray tracing roles, it generally runs shut to the RTX 3060. The ideal caveat here would be in pricing; we’ve considered items hotfoot the mill from the $329 MSRP to a staggering $499 for the RX 6600, and that’s prior to the markup you’ll get in secondary retail outlets cherish eBay. You’ll desire to be on the decrease discontinue of that scale, since even $329 is very costly for a 1080p GPU in 2021, chip shortages or no.