AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a clear picture of overall supremacy for the AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT, which wins 8 of the 10 head-to-head comparisons. The most dramatic margin comes in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where the AMD part scores 2048 against the GTX 1660's 1065, a 92.3% advantage. This is the single largest delta between the two cards, indicating a decisive lead in modern, hardware-accelerated DirectX 12 workloads.

The AMD card also dominates in compute-oriented tasks. In Geekbench OpenCL, it posts 74,869 points versus 47,850 for the NVIDIA card, a 56.5% lead. Similarly, the Passmark GPU Compute test shows a 43.9% gap, with scores of 7,140 and 4,963 respectively. These results suggest the AMD architecture is substantially more efficient at raw parallel processing, which is a key factor for non-gaming workloads.

In the Passmark DirectX 11 test, the AMD card's lead expands to 73.4%, scoring 137 versus the GTX 1660's 79. This is a significant victory for backward compatibility and older game titles. The DirectX 10 test also favors AMD, with a 24.6% delta (76 vs. 61). The overall Passmark G3D score, which aggregates many tests, shows a 19.4% advantage for the RX 7600M XT (13,907 vs. 11,646), and the G2D score is 15.2% higher (894 vs. 776).

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 secures two wins, but they are narrow. Its victory in Geekbench Vulkan is substantial in percentage terms, but the raw numbers tell a different story. The GTX 1660 scores 50,137, while the AMD card scores 27,793, resulting in a -44.6% delta for AMD. This indicates NVIDIA's driver stack or architecture is significantly better optimized for the Vulkan API in this specific benchmark. The other NVIDIA win is marginal: in Passmark DirectX 9, the GTX 1660 scores 177 against 175, a mere 1.1% difference.

The Passmark DirectX 12 test shows a narrower AMD win of 18.4% (58 vs. 49), which is smaller than the 3DMark DX12 delta. This suggests that while AMD excels in specific modern APIs, the gap can vary depending on the benchmark's specific workload and driver optimization level.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, using the Navi 33 chip, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 uses the Turing architecture with the TU116 chip. The manufacturing process differs significantly: AMD uses a 6 nm process at TSMC, whereas NVIDIA uses a 12 nm process, also at TSMC. This process advantage is reflected in the transistor density: AMD packs 65.2M transistors per mm² across 13,300 million transistors on a 204 mm² die. NVIDIA's chip has 6,600 million transistors on a larger 284 mm² die, yielding a density of only 23.2M per mm². The AMD card is therefore smaller and more densely packed.

The RX 7600M XT features 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 render output units (ROPs). It also includes 32 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the GTX 1660, which has no RT cores. The NVIDIA card has fewer processing units: 1,408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. This hardware disparity explains the substantial difference in raw throughput figures. The AMD card delivers 20.23 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 40.45 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1 ratio), while the GTX 1660 offers 5.027 TFLOPS FP32 and 10.05 TFLOPS FP16. The pixel rate is 158.0 GPixel/s for AMD versus 85.68 GPixel/s for NVIDIA, and the texture rate is 316.0 GTexel/s versus 157.1 GTexel/s.

Memory configuration also diverges. The AMD card uses 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory on a wider 192-bit bus, but its bandwidth is lower at 192.1 GB/s. The AMD card's memory runs at an effective speed of 18 Gbps, while the NVIDIA card runs at 8 Gbps effective. The RX 7600M XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the GTX 1660 supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD card uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the GTX 1660 uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Physically, the cards are very different. The AMD RX 7600M XT is listed as "IGP" slot width with no power connectors, while the GTX 1660 is dual-slot with a single 8-pin power connector. The NVIDIA card has fixed dimensions: 229 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 35 mm in width. The AMD card's dimensions are listed as portable device dependent. Both cards have a TDP of 120 W, but the GTX 1660 has a suggested power supply of 300 W. The NVIDIA card's display outputs are 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the AMD card's outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in DirectX 12 gaming benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT wins in both DX12 tests. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 2,048 versus 1,065 for the GTX 1660, a 92.3% delta. In Passmark DirectX 12, it scores 58 versus 49, an 18.4% delta.

Q: Does the NVIDIA card win any benchmarks?

A: Yes, the GTX 1660 wins two tests: Geekbench Vulkan (50,137 vs. 27,793, a -44.6% delta for AMD) and Passmark DirectX 9 (177 vs. 175, a -1.1% delta for AMD).

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The AMD card has 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth from 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. The NVIDIA card has 192.1 GB/s from 6 GB GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus.

Q: Does the AMD card support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RX 7600M XT has 32 dedicated ray tracing cores. The GTX 1660 has no ray tracing cores at all.

Q: What are the FP32 compute performance figures?

A: The AMD card delivers 20.23 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The NVIDIA card delivers 5.027 TFLOPS. This is a fourfold difference in theoretical compute throughput.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The AMD card has a density of 65.2M transistors per mm² across 13,300 million transistors on a 204 mm² die. The NVIDIA card has 23.2M per mm² across 6,600 million transistors on a 284 mm² die.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 3.0 | Turing |

| Chip | Navi 33 | TU116 |

| Process Node | 6 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 13,300 million | 6,600 million |

| Die Size | 204 mm² | 284 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 65.2M / mm² | 23.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1280 MHz | 1530 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2469 MHz | 1785 MHz |

| Game Clock | 2023 MHz | None |

| Memory Clock | 18 Gbps effective | 8 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 6 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 288.0 GB/s | 192.1 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2048 | 1408 |

| TMUs | 128 | 88 |

| ROPs | 64 | 48 |

| RT Cores | 32 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 158.0 GPixel/s | 85.68 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 316.0 GTexel/s | 157.1 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 20.23 TFLOPS | 5.027 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 40.45 TFLOPS | 10.05 TFLOPS |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a |

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

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2023-01-03 | 2019-03-13 |

| Predecessor | Polaris Mobile | GeForce 10 |

| Successor | None | GeForce 20 |

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT is the clear winner in nearly every category measured. Its dominance in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (92.3% delta) and Passmark DirectX 11 (73.4% delta) makes it the stronger choice for modern DirectX-based gaming, particularly titles that leverage hardware-accelerated ray tracing, as the AMD card has 32 RT cores. Its substantial leads in Geekbench OpenCL (56.5%) and Passmark GPU Compute (43.9%) position it as the better option for general-purpose compute, machine learning inference, and content creation tasks that rely on OpenCL. The higher memory bandwidth (288.0 GB/s vs. 192.1 GB/s) and larger 8 GB frame buffer also make it more suitable for higher-resolution textures and future game releases that require more than 6 GB of VRAM.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660's wins are narrower and more specific. Its victory in Geekbench Vulkan (50,137 vs. 27,793) indicates a strong driver-level optimization for that API, making it the better choice for Vulkan-based games or applications that prioritize that interface. The DirectX 9 win (177 vs. 175) is essentially a statistical tie, but it shows the GTX 1660 can still hold its own in legacy DirectX 9 titles. For users who primarily play older games or Vulkan-specific titles, the NVIDIA card offers a relevant, if limited, advantage. Its fixed dual-slot form factor with a standard 8-pin connector also makes it a drop-in replacement for desktop builds, while the AMD card's mobile/IGP design suggests it is intended for portable devices.

The Verdict

The data unequivocally favors the AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT for the vast majority of use cases. It wins 8 out of 10 benchmarks, and its victories are often by wide margins, particularly in modern APIs and compute workloads. The 92.3% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is a decisive indicator of future-proofing for DirectX 12 Ultimate games. The 43.9% lead in Passmark GPU Compute and 56.5% in Geekbench OpenCL make it the superior choice for anyone running compute-heavy applications. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is a significant advantage over the GTX 1660's 6 GB GDDR5 with 192.1 GB/s, especially for modern game textures.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 is only the better pick in a narrow set of circumstances. If a user's primary workload is Vulkan-based, the GTX 1660's 50,137 Geekbench Vulkan score versus the AMD's 27,793 is a substantial, real-world win that cannot be ignored. For users with a strict preference for DirectX 9 legacy titles, the GTX 1660 also edges ahead, though the 1.1% delta is negligible. The GTX 1660 also has a defined desktop form factor with a dual-slot design and 8-pin power connector, making it a more conventional choice for standard desktop builds, whereas the RX 7600M XT's "IGP" slot width and portable-device-dependent outputs suggest it is primarily designed for laptops or mobile systems.

The overall average benchmark score reflects this split: the AMD card averages 12,710 across all tests, while the GTX 1660 averages 11,680. The AMD card also holds a higher percentile rank at 52 versus 51 for NVIDIA. Given the wide margin in modern benchmark wins, the RX 7600M XT is the recommended choice for gamers and professionals seeking maximum performance in contemporary DirectX and compute environments. The GTX 1660 should only be considered by those with specific Vulkan-centric requirements or legacy DirectX 9 workloads, where its performance profile is genuinely competitive.