RX 6600 XT Vs RTX 3060 [Gaming Benchmarks 2023]

So many graphics cards today offer raytracing, it cannot be easy to choose. The RTX 2060 vs 3060 debate is pretty famous, for starters. But today, we’ll be looking at the RX 6600 XT vs RTX 3060.

Key Takeaways

• To begin with, it’s worth mentioning that the RX 6600 XT is powered by the RDNA 2.0 architecture, while the RTX 3060 is driven by the Ampere architecture.
• Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that during benchmark tests at 1080p resolution, the RX 6600 XT outperformed the RTX 3060 by an average FPS of 12.7%.
• Moreover, taking into account the specifications of both GPUs, it is worth noting that the RX 6600 XT has a lower TDP by 6% when compared to the RTX 3060.
• Therefore, we observed that the RX 6600 XT consistently ran at lower temperatures than the RTX 3060 during testing, which could be attributed to its lower TDP.

Also Read: RTX 3060 Vs 3060 Ti

Specifications Difference

Before comparing two pieces of hardware through tests, it’s important to check their on-paper specifications. Thus, let’s look at the raw specifications of the graphics cards we’re comparing and understand what’s going on with them.

With attention to the specifications, many eye-catching things are on the table. Firstly, the RX 6600 XT is more efficient than the RTX 3060 with a compact die and lower wattage requirements.

Secondly, looking at the CUDA cores or stream processors for AMD, the NVIDIA GPU excels in those remarks. However, both technologies are slightly different, so we can’t compare the numbers directly.

Thirdly, moving to the clock speeds for the RX 6600 XT vs 3060, the former is faster. Furthermore, with boost clocks at 2600 MHz, the RX 6600 XT is a fast GPU. Although it’s important to note that clock speeds don’t necessarily define performance.

Lastly, the pricing for both of these GPUs is eye-catching. While performance is similar, the RX 6600 XT is more affordable than the RTX 3060. If we look at MSRP, the RX 6600 XT is ~15.2% more expensive than the RTX 3060. But, at realistic prices, the 6600 XT is ~28% cheaper than the 3060.

Raytracing

Moreover, in terms of future technology, NVIDIA is ahead of AMD. Due to their headstart from the RTX 2000 series GPUs, NVIDIA has had more time to mature its technology. Especially in terms of raytracing and DLSS.

To explain, raytracing is a futuristic form of graphics computing technology that helps create fake shadows. However, we should know that RT technology has existed for a long time. For example, using raytracing, movies merge reality with Computer Graphics.

So, this raises the question; how does a computer game use such a technology? To summarize, as we explained above, raytracing is fake, realistic light created by a GPU. To put it differently, this light is created through hundreds and thousands of complex arithmetic operations. But both AMD and NVIDIA do the math a bit differently.

That is to say, NVIDIA uses a hardware chip known as RT cores which are present within their Tensor cores. Furthermore, its RT technology has matured as the RTX 3000 series GPUs are the 2nd generation to have raytracing. For that reason, not only does NVIDIA support raytracing for more games, but the performance hit has lowered too.

Of course, on the other hand, AMD has taken a different stance with its raytracing technology. So, in place of hardware chips, AMD performs raytracing algorithms through software. Due to this, its real-time raytracing performance is nowhere near NVIDIA’s capabilities. Although AMD’s raytracing will improve, we cannot say when and if they will overcome NVIDIA’s technologies.

DLSS Vs FSR

On account of raytracing, NVIDIA introduced another piece of software besides RT. After all, raytracing requires a lot of graphical computation, lowering FPS. To counter that, NVIDIA created a technology that we call DLSS today. In brief, DLSS stands for Deep Learning Super Sampling and helps increase games’ FPS.

Also, DLSS is a direct combo with RTX. When you enable RTX, you enable DLSS to compensate for the performance hit. However, with DLSS’s work, you are prone to lose visual performance to gain more FPS.

To explain, DLSS takes a native resolution frame, renders it at a lower resolution, and shows output at native resolution. So, what you’re seeing is technically a frame at a lower resolution. But because the frame is rendered with the help of an AI, it’s difficult to spot differences.

Also Read: AMD RX 6700 XT Vs Nvidia RTX 3060

On the other hand, AMD uses a different method to come to a similar solution. Provided that, we call their version of DLSS, FSR – Fidelity FX Super Resolution. In short, the work is the same, but the method is different.

While DLSS renders an image at a lower resolution and uses a machine AI to show the frame at native resolution, FSR does it through an open-source upscaling algorithm. Moreover, due to this form of upscaling, AMD GPUs don’t need special hardware to use FSR.

Therefore, for NVIDIA GPUs, you need an RTX graphics card to utilize DLSS technology. In contrast, you can enable FSR by downloading AMD software for AMD GPUs. Additionally, you can enable FSR on NVIDIA GPUs as well. So, the GTX series that does not have access to DLSS can still utilize the technology through AMD’s methods. You can read our DLSS vs FSR guide to learn more about all of this in detail. 

RTX 3060 Vs RX 6600 XT: Gaming Benchmarks 

Now that we know the differences between the specifications of both GPUs and between RTX and DLSS let’s conduct benchmarks. While on-paper specifications state something, a true comparison can only occur through proper benchmarking. For that reason, we’re comparing the RX 6600 XT Vs 3060 in multiple games at 1080P resolution. Benchmarks For Gamers have run these tests.

Test Rig

• Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
• Motherboard: MSI MEG X570 Unify
• RAM: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 2 x 16GB, 3600 MHz with CL16-16-16-36
• CPU Cooler: Enermax Liqmax III 360mm
• Graphics Card: MSI RX 6600 XT Gaming X & Zotac RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC

Firstly, starting from the processor, we see that the Ryzen 9 5950X is being utilized. Without a doubt, the benchmarks won’t be facing any sort of CPU bottlenecks. Furthermore, to complement the processor, we have 32 GB of DDR4 RAM at 3600 MHz with CL16 timings. Considering the Ryzen build, more and faster RAM ensures better results and lower bottlenecks.

Moreover, looking at the motherboard, Benchmarks for Gamers uses an MSI MEG X570 motherboard. In case someone doesn’t know, out of all Ryzen motherboard chipsets, the X570 motherboards are the best. Read our B550 Vs X570 motherboard article to learn more about these chipsets. 

Lastly, talking about the CPU cooler, a 360mm AIO is cooling the processor. To explain, All-in-One coolers act as a water cooler for the processor and air cooler for the PC. Furthermore, an AIO will ensure that temperatures remain cool and neither the GPU nor CPU thermal throttles. To conclude, the build has carefully been selected, which will help minimize any external throttling factors.

Dirt 5

• Looking at frame times, we see that the RX 6600 XT’s frames are faster to load than the RTX 3060’s. In summary, the RTX 3060’s frames are 14.17% slower than the RX 6600 XT. Now, this doesn’t matter much in a racing game, but in shooter games, this lag can cost you a match.
• Moving to temperatures, we see that the RX 6600 XT is slightly cooler than the RTX 3060. Moreover, the RX 6600 XT utilizes lower power, making it more efficient than the RTX 3060. In a word, the 6600 XT’s TDP seems to be significantly better than its competitor’s.
• Lastly, talking about average FPS, the RX 6600 XT is much faster than the RTX 3060 in Dirt 5. Although the game is notorious for destroying AMD GPUs, this benchmark test seems to be saying the opposite. With a 19.1% performance increase over the RTX 3060, the RX 6600 XT is also ~28% cheaper. So, this round easily goes to the RX 6600 XT.

Marvel’s Avengers

• Looking at the frame times, there isn’t much difference between the RTX 3060 and RX 6600 XT. To clarify, the RTX 3060 has ~3.63% slower frames than the RX 6600 XT. Again, while frame times aren’t important for third-person adventure games, they’re extremely important for shooter games. So, although this won’t affect gamers in Marvel’s Avengers, the same in a shooter game can cost you matches.
• Subsequently, talking about temperatures, we see that the RX 6600 XT is cooler than the RTX 3060. furthermore, the RX 6600 XT uses significantly fewer watts, making it more efficient. Along with a higher frame rate, the RX 6600 XT has a lower TDP than its competitor.
• To conclude, let’s look at the average FPS for the RTX 3060 vs RX 6600 XT. Undoubtedly, the RX 6600 XT is ~7.05% faster than the RTX 3060. Along with having a lower price in general, the 6600 XT is easily winning over the RTX 3060 right now.

Also Check: RX 5700 XT Vs RTX 3060

Cyberpunk 2077

• Glancing at the frame times for both GPUs, we see that the 6600 XT is faster. The difference is slightly bigger in Cyberpunk 2077, with the RTX 3060 being ~9.58% slower. Furthermore, the frame lag might be more noticeable in Cyberpunk 2077 due to its shooter-type nature.
• Moreover, talking about temperatures, the RX 6600 XT is a significant 6C cooler than the RTX 3060. Additionally, the AMD graphics card is only utilizing 137 watts of power. To clarify, the lower wattage usage means that the 6600 XT has a lower TDP with higher graphics processing power.
• Lastly, looking at average FPS, we see that the RX 6600 XT is slightly faster than the RTX 3060. Although the RTX 3060 is ~28% more expensive than the 6600 XT, the latter is still ~6.15% faster. In conclusion, the RX 6600 XT is, so far, the graphics card you should be buying.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

• First, looking at the frame time differences, the RX 6600 XT still has faster frames than the RTX 3060. This difference only seems to grow wider by the game as the RTX 3060 is ~12.9% slower this time. It won’t affect the gameplay for Assassin’s Creed, but the results would have been different for a shooter game.
• Second, talking about temperatures, the RX 6600 XT is 4C cooler than the RTX 3060. Furthermore, the 6600 XT’s wattage usage is 118 watts against the RTX 3060’s massive 151 watts. The wattage implies the RX 6600 XT has a significantly lower TDP than the RTX 3060, making it more efficient.
• Above all, glancing at the FPS, the RX 6600 XT is remarkably faster than the RTX 3060 in Assassin’s Creed. With a difference of ~32.3% in performance, the RTX 3060 cannot catch up against the 6600 XT in rasterization performance. At least in terms of games, it seems.

Microsoft Flight Simulator

• The RX 6600 XT has a slight advantage over the RTX 3060 in terms of frame times. To put it differently, there’s barely a 2% frame time difference between both graphics cards. To this end, somehow, the RTX 3060 is trying to redeem itself, and it seems to be working.
• Moving on to temperatures, the RX 6600 XT is still on top, with a 6C difference against the RTX 3060. Moreover, the RX 6600 XT consumes lower watts, making it more efficient than the RTX 3060. Then again, NVIDIA’s graphics cards have never been opponents of AMD in terms of power draw.
• Lastly, viewing average FPS, the RX 6600 XT has a slight advantage over the RTX 3060. We’re talking about a ~3.27% difference in favor of the 6600 XT. However, looking at the performance per dollar ratio, the RX 6600 XT is significantly better than the RTX 3060.

Also Read: RTX 3060 Vs GTX 1660 Ti

Horizon Zero Dawn

• The RX 6600 XT has taken back its lead when talking about frame times. In like fashion, the RX 6600 XT has 10% faster frames than the RTX 3060. But because the game doesn’t have any shooter-type mechanics, nor is it competitive, the difference doesn’t matter much.
• Given that, talking about temperatures next, the RX 6600 XT is cooler than the RTX 3060 by 6C. Furthermore, glancing at the power draw, the RX 6600 XT only utilizes 127 watts compared to the 3060’s 171 watts. In light of these numbers, it’s clear that the RX 6600 XT has a more efficient TDP.
• To conclude, the RX 6600 XT has a slightly greater average FPS than the RTX 3060. Subsequently, the RTX 3060 is ~6.97% slower than the RX 6600 XT in Horizon Zero Dawn. As a result, we realize that the RX 6600 XT easily defeats the RTX 3060 in raw rasterization performance.

Outriders

• Looking at frame times, the RX 6600 XT has a significant lead over the RTX 3060. In particular, the RX 6600 XT has ~10.9% faster frames than the RTX 3060. For Outriders, an online multiplayer game, faster frames are important.
• Similarly, looking at the temperatures, the RTX 3060 is significantly hotter than the RX 6600 XT. In comparison, the RX 6600 XT is 5C cooler than its competitor and has a power draw of 143 watts. However, the RTX 3060 has a power draw of 168 watts, making the AMD GPU more efficient.
• In the end, talking about average FPS, we see that the difference between both GPUs is minimal. Although, even with a ~3.75% performance increase, the RX 6600 XT has better value for its price. Therefore, the RTX 3060 loses in another game with no hope of catching up to its AMD equivalent.

Red Dead Redemption 2

• Looking at frame times, the RX 6600 XT has completely left the RTX 3060 in the dust. With ~21.8% faster frames than its competitor, the RX 6600 XT has significantly faster frames.
• To that end, talking about temperatures, the RX 6600 XT is remarkably cooler than the RTX 3060. To the point where the AMD graphics card is 8C cooler than its NVIDIA counterpart. Additionally, looking at the power draw, the 6600 XT is using two-thirds of the power the RTX 3060 is using. So, that’s 128 watts for the RX 6600 XT against 170 watts for the RTX 3060.
• Lastly, looking at the average FPS, the RX 6600 XT has a ~15.1% greater FPS than the RTX 3060. To explain, this is remarkable because the pricing for the 6600 XT is ~28% lower than the RTX 3060. Therefore, if you’re buying a graphics card solely for gaming, the RX 6600 XT is a great option.

Call Of Duty: Warzone

• The RX 6600 XT has extremely faster frames than the RTX 3060. In contrast, the RX 6600 XT has ~31.7% faster frames in Call of Duty: Warzone. Because Warzone is a shooter-type game, players with the RX 6600 XT will have a better time in-game.
• Secondly, talking about temperatures, we see that the RX 6600 XT is 6C cooler than its competitor. Furthermore, the RX 6600 XT’s power draw is significantly lower than the RTX 3060 graphics card. Consuming only 118 watts, the RX 6600 XT is more efficient than the RTX 3060, consuming 164 watts.
• Finally, talking about the average FPS, the RX 6600 XT is faster than the RTX 3060 in Warzone. With a ~20% FPS uplift, the AMD budget graphics card is stomping NVIDIA’s offering in the ground. At least, that seems to be the case with raw rasterization and performance per dollar value.

Also Read: RTX 3060 Vs RTX 3070

RX 6600 XT Vs 3060 Gaming Benchmarks Verdict

Now that we have looked at multiple games from different developers, all utilizing different components, we see clear results. Regarding raw rasterization, the RX 6600 XT is above the RTX 3060. However, if you add raytracing and DLSS in the fray, results begin to skew towards the NVIDIA GPU.

• Overall, for their pricing, both graphics cards give an amazing performance. For raw rasterization purposes, the RX 6600 XT is the one you should buy.
• But, looking towards the RTX 3060 is the smarter move for raytracing and other computational purposes. DLSS and FSR deliver similar performances, so there isn’t much to discuss in those aspects.

Similar Comparisons: 2070 Super Vs 3060

• If we look at the total FPS for both graphics cards, the 6600 XT has ~12.7% more FPS. While the percentage isn’t large, you should remember that the AMD GPU is ~28% cheaper than NVIDIA’s. So not only are you paying less, but you’re getting more performance as well!
• For this reason, the RX 6600 XT is a great graphics card. Because, usually, greater performance means higher costs.
• But of course, there are always exceptions. For example, the RX 6600 XT isn’t great for mining purposes. If you want to indulge in crypto-mining, you’re better off with the RTX 3060 graphics card.

Mining Performance

Since COVID-19 spread in 2020, the term “crypto-mining” has surfaced in the computer niche. In essence, crypto-mining is the art of legitimizing Bitcoin transactions. The process requires many difficult algorithms to be solved before miners can make a “Hash.” Also, through mining, new bitcoins are added to circulation.

Now then, how does a graphics card come into this crypto-mining fray? To summarize, graphics cards can perform extreme arithmetic calculations in Mega Hashes (MH/s). The higher the Mega Hash, the greater a graphics card’s ability is to mine cryptocurrency.

Also Check: NVIDIA RTX 3060 vs GTX 1080

Although, because of COVID-19, cryptocurrency became extremely popular, and “mining rigs” became a norm. Due to this, miners started to buy graphics cards in bulk to mine cryptocurrency. After the gaming community lodged multiple reports, NVIDIA and AMD updated their drivers, limiting Mega Hashes.

Coming back to the mining performance, the RTX 3060 has a higher Mega Hash count. The higher MH/s plays a significant role in GPU prices, which is why the RTX 3060 costs so much today. If we look at both GPUs’ profitability, the RTX 3060 can earn slightly more than the RX 6600 XT. NiceHash provides the following numbers.

While these profits aren’t a lot, if a crypto-miner cracks a Hash, they can earn up to 2.5 Bitcoins. This profit is simply on top of that lottery. So, if you’re looking to buy a graphics card for cryptocurrency mining, we recommend using the RTX 3060.

Also Check: RX 6600 XT Vs RTX 3050

Who Is This Article For?

Firstly, the RX 6600 XT vs RTX 3060 article is for consumers who are conflicted about buying a budget GPU. For that reason, the article showcases the differences between DLSS and FSR and raytracing capabilities. Secondly, we looked into the specifications for the RX 6600 XT and RTX 3060 graphics cards. Moreover, we tested both GPUs in multiple games and came up with a conclusion.