AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT vs AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the clear winner in this comparison, taking 10 of 11 head-to-head benchmarks. Its wins span across modern DirectX 12 and Vulkan workloads, compute-heavy tasks, and even legacy DirectX 10 and 11 titles. The RX 5600 XT manages a single victory in DirectX 9, where it edges ahead by 4%. This split suggests the RX 6600 XT is better suited for current-generation games and GPU compute applications, while the older architecture retains a slight edge in one legacy API scenario.

For gaming, the RX 6600 XT leads decisively in the PassMark G3D suite with a 22.3% advantage. That margin is substantial and reflects real-world frame rate potential across most modern titles. The RX 5600 XT's lone win in PassMark DirectX 9 indicates that users still running older games may not see the same generational uplift, but that is a narrow use case. For general compute, the RX 6600 XT leads by 19.4% in PassMark GPU Compute and by 17.5% in Geekbench OpenCL, making it the stronger choice for content creation and non-gaming workloads.

The RX 6600 XT also dominates in API-specific tests that matter most for current software. Its Geekbench Vulkan score is 28.8% higher, and its PassMark DirectX 11 score is 69.8% higher, the largest single margin in the comparison. Those are the APIs used by the majority of modern PC games, so the data points to a clear performance tier separation. The RX 5600 XT is not without merit, but its advantages are confined to scenarios where the newer card's older feature set does not penalizes it.

Architecture Differences

The two cards share the same 7 nm TSMC process node and both use AMD's Navi family of chips, but they represent different architectural generations. The RX 6600 XT is built on RDNA 2.0 with the Navi 23 chip, while the RX 5600 XT uses RDNA 1.0 with the larger Navi 10 die. This generational leap brings several key changes. The RX 6600 XT adds 32 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature completely absent from the RX 5600 XT. It also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate with feature level 12_2, whereas the RX 5600 XT tops out at DirectX 12 with feature level 12_1. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Transistor counts are similar, with the RX 6600 XT at 11,060 million versus 10,300 million for the RX 5600 XT, but the die sizes tell an interesting story. The RX 6600 XT packs those transistors into a smaller 237 mm² die, while the RX 5600 XT uses a larger 251 mm² die. This results in a higher transistor density for the newer card at 46.7M per mm² versus 41.0M per mm². The RX 6600 XT also runs at far higher clock speeds, with a base clock of 1968 MHz and boost clock of 2589 MHz, compared to 1130 MHz base and 1560 MHz boost for the RX 5600 XT. That clock advantage is a major driver of the newer card's performance lead.

Memory configurations differ significantly. The RX 6600 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RX 5600 XT has 6 GB on a wider 192-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The older card actually has higher raw memory bandwidth, but the RX 6600 XT compensates with faster effective memory speed at 16 Gbps versus 12 Gbps, plus its higher core clocks. The RX 5600 XT uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the RX 6600 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x8, which could matter on older platforms but is unlikely to bottleneck either card in most scenarios.

The RX 6600 XT also has a different display output set, featuring HDMI 2.1, while the RX 5600 XT uses HDMI 2.0b. Both cards offer three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The physical dimensions differ as well: the RX 6600 XT is a compact 190 mm long, 110 mm tall, and 40 mm wide, while the RX 5600 XT is a longer 267 mm card. Power requirements are close, with the RX 6600 XT rated at 160 W TDP and the RX 5600 XT at 150 W, both using a single 8-pin connector and a 450 W suggested PSU.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RX 6600 XT wins every modern benchmark by a meaningful margin. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 1804 against 1669, an 8.1% lead. Geekbench Metal shows a 10.4% advantage with 88720 versus 80376. Geekbench OpenCL widens to 17.5% with 80503 against 68537. The largest Geekbench gap is in Vulkan, where the RX 6600 XT scores 72417 versus 56218, a 28.8% difference that highlights the new architecture's efficiency in modern graphics APIs.

PassMark results follow a similar pattern. DirectX 10 shows a 49.3% lead for the RX 6600 XT with scores of 109 versus 73. DirectX 11 produces the biggest margin of the entire comparison at 69.8%, with 163 against 96. DirectX 12 results are closer but still favor the RX 6600 XT at 61 versus 52, a 17.3% edge. The RX 5600 XT's only win comes in DirectX 9, where it scores 202 against 194, a 4% advantage. That is a modest result and the only test where the older card's higher shading unit count and wider memory bus appear to help.

The RX 6600 XT also leads in the more general workloads. PassMark G2D shows a modest 4.8% gain with 912 versus 870. PassMark G3D, which aggregates gaming performance, shows 16461 versus 13457, a 22.3% lead. PassMark GPU Compute comes in at 7520 versus 6296, a 19.4% advantage. Across all 11 benchmarks, the RX 6600 XT's average benchmark score is 24442, placing it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 5600 XT averages 20713 and sits in the 66th percentile. The RX 6600 XT's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti at 0.8% behind and the RTX 2080 SUPER at 1.1% behind, while the RX 5600 XT's rivals include the Intel Arc A750 at 0.6% behind and the RTX 3070 Mobile at 0.9% behind.

FAQ

Q: Which card has better DirectX 11 performance?

A: The RX 6600 XT is far ahead, scoring 163 in PassMark DirectX 11 versus 96 for the RX 5600 XT, a 69.8% advantage.

Q: Does the RX 5600 XT win any benchmark?

A: Yes, it wins PassMark DirectX 9 with a score of 202 versus 194, a 4% lead. That is its only win in 11 head-to-head tests.

Q: Which card is better for ray tracing?

A: The RX 6600 XT is the only one with dedicated ray tracing hardware, featuring 32 ray tracing cores. The RX 5600 XT has no ray tracing cores.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The RX 6600 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the RX 5600 XT has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The RX 5600 XT has higher raw bandwidth at 288.0 GB/s on a 192-bit bus, versus 256.0 GB/s on a 128-bit bus for the RX 6600 XT.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No, both are end-of-life products. The RX 6600 XT was released in July 2021 with a launch MSRP of 379 USD, while the RX 5600 XT launched in January 2020 with a launch MSRP of 279 USD.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT | AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | RDNA 1.0 |

| Chip | Navi 23 | Navi 10 |

| Transistors | 11,060 million | 10,300 million |

| Die Size | 237 mm² | 251 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 46.7M / mm² | 41.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1968 MHz | 1130 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2589 MHz | 1560 MHz |

| Game Clock | 2359 MHz | 1375 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2000 MHz, 16 Gbps effective | 1500 MHz, 12 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 6 GB |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 256.0 GB/s | 288.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2048 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 128 | 144 |

| ROPs | 64 | 64 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 32 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 165.7 GPixel/s | 99.84 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 331.4 GTexel/s | 224.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 10.60 TFLOPS | 7.188 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 21.21 TFLOPS (2:1) | 14.38 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 160 W | 150 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Length | 190 mm (7.5 inches) | 267 mm (10.5 inches) |

| Release Date | 2021-07-29 | 2020-01-20 |

| Launch MSRP | 379 USD | 279 USD |

The Verdict

The RX 6600 XT is the superior card in nearly every measurable way. It wins 10 of 11 benchmarks, with margins ranging from 4.8% in PassMark G2D to 69.8% in PassMark DirectX 11. The average benchmark score difference is substantial: 24442 versus 20713, a gap that places the two cards in different performance tiers despite their similar 160 W and 150 W TDP ratings. The RX 6600 XT also brings modern features like ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support that the RX 5600 XT simply lacks.

The RX 5600 XT retains one niche advantage in DirectX 9 and offers higher raw memory bandwidth, but those strengths do not translate into wins in any modern workload. Its wider 192-bit memory bus and higher shading unit count cannot overcome the RX 6600 XT's massive clock speed advantage and architectural improvements. The RX 6600 XT's boost clock of 2589 MHz is over 1000 MHz higher than the RX 5600 XT's 1560 MHz, and that is the defining factor in this matchup.

For users building a system today, the RX 6600 XT is the clear choice. Its compact 190 mm length makes it easier to fit in small cases, its 8 GB memory capacity is more future-proof than 6 GB, and its performance lead is consistent across APIs. The RX 5600 XT may appeal to those specifically playing DirectX 9 titles or those prioritizing memory bandwidth, but the recorded data shows no scenario where the older card offers a compelling overall advantage. The RX 6600 XT's 70th percentile ranking versus 66th for the RX 5600 XT confirms that this is not a close contest.