Since Nvidia and AMD introduced their next-gen GPUs, finances PC builders have been ready with bated breath to see what the businesses might ship within the midrange candy spot of $300 to $400. Sadly, the reply hasn’t been fairly.
Nvidia’s RTX 4060 Ti launched to near-universal dissatisfaction, whereas AMD’s RX 7600, though a good GPU, carried quite a lot of caveats. Even Nvidia’s value-focused RTX 4060 didn’t impress, largely on account of the truth that it’s overwhelmed by last-gen choices across the identical value.
And round all of those GPU launches, there was one card on the heart: AMD’s RX 6700 XT. Launched greater than two years in the past, it was a powerful GPU that was principally missed on account of the truth that it arrived within the midst of a GPU scarcity. That’s to not point out the actual fact it was overpriced to start with, as AMD (and Nvidia) capitalized on the insatiable demand for GPUs throughout that point.
That mud has settled now, nonetheless, and costs have gone down. With no ton of choices within the midrange from Nvidia and AMD, the RX 6700 XT has slowly change into the crowning jewel of the $300 to $400 value level, and there are just a few key the explanation why.
First, its uncooked efficiency. The RX 6700 XT was alleged to commerce blows with Nvidia’s RTX 3070. It doesn’t. Nvidia’s GPU is quicker. That math modifications with how the pricing is for the RX 6700 XT now, although. You’ll find the cardboard for as little as $320, together with its juiced-up sibling the RX 6750 XT for round $360.
At that value, the RX 6700 XT appears to be like way more enticing. As you may see above, it’s across the identical stage as last-gen’s RTX 3060 Ti, beating out the RTX 4060 for across the identical value. It’s not fairly as quick because the RTX 4060 Ti, however it’s additionally so much cheaper.
Now, I don’t need to depart Nvidia out within the chilly right here. The RTX 3060 Ti has seen some value drops as of late, as nicely, and you will discover it for round $330. Most fashions run nearer to $350, however it’s nonetheless an ideal choice at that value. It even has an edge over the RX 6700 XT in some areas. It’s sooner with video games that assist ray tracing and it unlocks Nvidia’s wonderful Deep Studying Tremendous Sampling (DLSS).
The RX 6700 XT nonetheless has some distinctive benefits, although. Total, the RTX 3060 Ti and RX 6700 XT are evenly matched, however that features video games with ray tracing. Take ray tracing out of the combo, and AMD’s GPU takes the lead. Take Resident Evil 4 as 1440p for instance. The RX 6700 XT is 11% sooner than the RTX 3060 Ti, practically matching the RTX 4060 Ti.
And in Forza Horizon 5, the RX 6700 XT will not be solely 20% sooner than the RTX 3060 Ti, it even manages to beat the RTX 4060 Ti. This bounce isn’t common throughout video games. In Cyberpunk 2077, for instance, the RX 6700 XT and RTX 3060 Ti are evenly matched, whereas in Returnal and Murderer’s Creed Valhalla, the RX 6700 XT is just a few frames forward.
The RX 6700 XT excels with its uncooked, rasterized efficiency now that costs have dropped. If you need ray tracing, nonetheless, the RTX 3060 Ti nonetheless has an edge, even when which means giving up some efficiency in different video games. In Cyberpunk 2077, as an illustration, the RX 6700 XT can’t keep 30 frames per second (fps) whereas the RTX 3060 Ti pushes close to 40 fps, and that’s earlier than turning DLSS on.
There’s one other professional within the RX 6700 XT’s camp, although: 12GB of VRAM. We’ve seen an increasing number of over the previous yr how video games are stressing the quantity of VRAM on GPUs, and the RX 6700 XT comes out on prime in that battle. Resident Evil 4 is a chief instance. An enormous cause why the RX 6700 XT is ready to stretch its legs in that title is that it requires quite a lot of VRAM, permitting it to say a transparent lead over the RTX 3060 Ti.
Equally, in The Final of Us Half One, the additional VRAM helps the RX 6700 XT declare a 12% lead over the RTX 3060 Ti (together with a large 22% bounce over the RTX 4060 Ti on account of that GPU’s constrained reminiscence interface).
There are quite a lot of video games the place VRAM isn’t a priority, and in these titles, the RX 6700 XT matches or barely exceeds the RTX 3060 Ti with out ray tracing. Nonetheless, we’ve seen sufficient video games that stress VRAM this yr alone to name it a official concern. There are half a dozen titles launched this yr which have run into VRAM issues, and there’ll possible be extra sooner or later. The RX 6700 XT is healthier geared up to deal with these video games than any of the current-gen choices from AMD and Nvidia.
I don’t need to depart this saying the RX 6700 XT is the perfect graphics card for everybody. When you’re trying on the cutting-edge like Cyberpunk 2077‘s path tracing mode, Nvidia nonetheless has a large lead. Sadly, on this era, that often means sacrificing efficiency in different video games, which is why the RX 6700 XT has change into the de facto suggestion for budget-minded avid gamers, although it’s two years previous.
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