Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 XT Eagle 8G graphics card review

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Is Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 XT Eagle 8G graphics card good for 4K gaming? Get the ultimate gaming experience with powerful new compute units, amazing AMD Infinity Cache, and up to 8GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory. And, when paired with an AMD Ryzen Series desktop processor, AMD Smart Access Memory technology offers new levels of gaming performance. Explore details in Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 XT Eagle 8G graphics card review.

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Pros & Cons

PROS

  • Similar performance to other 6600 XT cards
  • Comes with dual HDMI 2.1 ports
  • Runs cool
  • Some 4K wins

CONS

  • Underwhelming design
  • Only a modest overclock applied out of box
  • Higher fan speeds, noise, and temperatures
  • No significant performance gains with manual overclocking
  • Hard to find in stock, like everything else

Specs – Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 XT Eagle 8G graphics card

Graphics CardGigabyte RX 6600 XT EagleASRock RX 6600 XT PhantomSapphire RX 6600 XT Pulse
ArchitectureNavi 23Navi 23Navi 23
Process TechnologyTSMC N7TSMC N7TSMC N7
Transistors (Billion)11.111.111.1
Die size (mm^2)237237237
CUs323232
GPU Cores204820482048
Ray Accelerators323232
Infinity Cache (MB)323232
Game Clock (MHz)235924282382
VRAM Speed (Gbps)161616
VRAM (GB)888
VRAM Bus Width128128128
ROPs646464
TMUs128128128
TFLOPS FP32 (Boost)9.669.959.76
Bandwidth (GBps)256256256
PCIe Slot Interfacex8 Gen4x8 Gen4x8 Gen4
TBP (watts)160180160
Launch DateAug-21Aug-21Aug-21
Launch Price$379$499$379

Price

While there are a few retail models that start at AMD’s base $380 asking price, most are listed at $450–$550. Checking sold listings at eBay, the average price for the RX 6600 XT right now sits at $637, and that includes plenty of minimum spec models like the Gigabyte Eagle. More desirable GPUs like the RX 6700 XT and RTX 3060 Ti average $835 and $935, respectively. 

Compare Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 XT Eagle 8G graphics card vs ZOTAC Gaming GeForce GTX 1660

GIGABYTE Radeon RX 6600 XT Eagle 8G Graphics Card, WINDFORCE 3X Cooling SystemZOTAC Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6GB GDDR6 192-bit Gaming Graphics Card
Graphics Card InterfacePCI-Express x16PCI-Express x16
Graphics CoprocessorRX 6600 XTNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660
Graphics Ram Size8 GB6 GB
Graphics RamGDDR6GDDR6
Hardware InterfacePCI Express x16PCI Express x8
Included ComponentsGRAPHIC CARD, USERS MANUALZOTAC GAMING GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER Twin Fan graphics card, User Manual
Item Dimensions11.1 x 4.45 x 1.61 inches6.81 x 13.9 x 4.39 inches
Memory Bus Width128 bits192 bits
Memory Clock Speed16000 MHz1785 MHz

Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 XT Eagle 8G graphics card review

Build

The Gigabyte RX 6600 Eagle features a large WindForce 3X cooling solution with an aluminium fin-stack heatsink that’s fed heat by three copper heat-pipes that make direct contact with the GPU at the base. This heatsink is ventilated by three 100 mm fans. 

Design

The Eagle measures 289 x 112 x 38mm and tips the scales at 674g (those are both our measurements), which is longer but shorter and slightly thinner than the Sapphire Pulse. The ASRock Phantom by comparison weighs 898g and measures 306 x 131 x 47mm, easily the largest of the three RX 6600 XT cards. If you have a sufficiently-long mini-ITX case, the Gigabyte Eagle might be a good fit.

Ports

it includes two HDMI 2.1 ports. While nearly all gaming monitors still tend to prefer DisplayPort 1.4 — it can do 4K at 144 Hz with DSC, and FreeSync / adaptive sync is more commonly supported over DP — HDMI 2.1 technically offers superior specs. You can read more about DisplayPort vs. HDMI, but either one should be sufficient for typical gaming use, particularly on a 1080p display,

Temperature

Considering the incredibly low 65°C, I feel Gigabyte could have allowed slightly higher temperatures, like 70°C, which won’t affect longevity or anything else, but achieve better noise levels. It’s good to see that idle fan stop has become a mandatory capability nowadays even in this segment—the RX 6600 will shut off its fans in idle, desktop work, and internet browsing.

Temperature & Noise Comparison
IdleGaming
GPUNoiseGPUHotspotNoiseRPM
ASRock RX 6600 XT Phantom Gaming38°CFan Stop61°C80°C29.1 dBA1438 RPM
ASUS RX 6600 XT STRIX OC44°CFan Stop59°C81°C41.2 dBA2000 RPM
ASUS RX 6600 XT STRIX OC (Quiet BIOS)43°CFan Stop65°C87°C34.4 dBA1565 RPM
Gigabyte RX 6600 Eagle47°CFan Stop65°C78°C33.1 dBA1965 RPM
MSI RX 6600 XT Gaming X42°CFan Stop66°C93°C30.0 dBA1566 RPM
PowerColor RX 6600 Fighter53°CFan Stop70°C82°C29.7 dBA1461 RPM
Sapphire RX 6600 XT Pulse42°CFan Stop70°C97°C27.9 dBA1739 RPM
XFX RX 6600 XT Merc 30841°CFan Stop75°C98°C24.5 dBA1293 RPM

Fan speed

The smaller fans on the Gigabyte Eagle, combined with a relatively lightweight heatsink, ultimately required substantially higher RPMs to keep the card from overheating. Where the ASRock and Sapphire cards both land around 1300 RPMs in Metro and FurMark (give or take), the Gigabyte card runs the fans at over 2100 RPM. 

Fan noise for the Gigabyte Eagle was 44.4 dBA while gaming, about 7dB louder than the ASRock Phantom and Sapphire Pulse. Again, that’s not incredibly loud — RTX 3070 Ti and above tend to land at 50 dB or more.

Power Consumption

Single-monitor idle power consumption is amazing, just 2 W is really impressive and the best result we’ve ever seen. Typical for AMD is that they’re running the memory at full speed when two monitors are connected—in that situation, we see 20 W, much higher, but not that bad compared to many other cards on the market.

Gaming power draw of just 131 W is extremely impressive, especially considering the performance offered. The Gigabyte RX 6600 is one of the most energy-efficient graphics card we ever tested.

Overclocking

The appeal of overclocking has waned alongside reduced headroom on modern parts, so it is surprising to find that entry-level Navi 23 GPUs show better willingness than most. The caveat on Radeon RX 6600 is that memory is limited to an effective 15.2Gbps.

Alternate of Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 XT Eagle 8G graphics card

AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT

SPECIFICATIONS

Stream processors: 2,048Core clock: 1,968Memory: 8GB GDDR6Memory clock: 16GbpsPower connectors: 1 x 8-pinOutputs: 1.4 with DSC DisplayPort, HDMI 2.1 VRR and FRL

REASONS TO BUY

+Strong 1080p performance+Great thermal efficiency+Low power consumption

REASONS TO AVOID

-Should be cheaper-Only slightly better than the RTX 3060

For rock solid 1080p gaming, you can’t go wrong with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT. Not only is the card a great performer, but it doesn’t use a lot of power so you can install it in a system with a smaller PSU. Because of its great thermal efficiency, you also don’t need a super expensive water cooling system built into your PC. Unfortunately, it is a bit pricier than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, its direct competition, and doesn’t come with ray tracing.

AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT

SPECIFICATIONS

Stream Processors: 2,560Core Clock: 2.32 GHz (2.58 GHz boost)Memory: 12GB GDDR6Memory Clock: 16 GbpsPower Connectors: 8 pin + 6 pinOutputs: HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC

REASONS TO BUY

+Excellent 1440p performance+Ray tracing+Lightweight card with no sag

REASONS TO AVOID

-Ray tracing performance is weak-No FidelityFX Super Resolution

Those comfortable messing with your BIOS and looking for a 1440p graphics card that’s slightly more accessible, price-wise, will appreciate AMD’s latest high-end offering. This Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti rival delivers a solid 1440p performance with ray tracing to boot. It comes at the right time as well, with 1440p gaming monitors’ growing popularity. Its price is a bit closer to the more powerful RTX 3070, but if you’re an AMD fan, it’s still an excellent contender.

AMD Radeon RX 6800

SPECIFICATIONS

Stream Processors: 3,840Core Clock: 1.82 GHz (2.10 GHz boost)Memory: 16GB GDDR6Memory Clock: 16GbpsPower Connectors: 2 x 8 pinOutputs: DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC, HDMI 2.1 VRR and FRL

REASONS TO BUY

+Excellent performance+Finally, AMD ray tracing

REASONS TO AVOID

-Divisive design

If you think AMD is still stuck in the budget and mid-range markets, think again. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 marks AMD’s return to the high-end graphics card market, and it’s a premium ace without the incredibly premium price. This GPU delivers a solid 4K gaming performance and impressive ray tracing at 1440p, while being a better value than its direct rival, the RTX 3070, thanks to its VRAM. Plus, AMD’s Smart Access Memory technology will make it even faster. 

Editor’s recommendations

Abu Saleh Rizvee
Abu Saleh Rizvee

I love to write content and contribute for my society. I invest my days in creating content for products those I love and brands who need online presence

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