Review of the Sapphire PULSE RX 6600 XT OC 8G

Sapphire PULSE RX 6600 XT OC 8G has started a new era of Radeon gaming graphics cards in the most popular segment of models that provide smooth animation with over 100fps in 1080p resolution, with very highly tuned graphics details ...

Finally, the day came when the AMD RDNA2 copy appeared on the scene of "mainstream" graphics cards. The announcement of some better times for gamers or the continuation of the problem from the recent past, we will see in a few months. Basically, as we say, Sapphire "pulled its leg" with its PULSE Radeon RX 6600 XT OC model - and premiered on the Benchmark website.

Sapphire PULSE models are perhaps the best examples in the segment of widely popular and relatively affordable gaming graphics cards, at least when it comes to the AMD Radeon offer. There are many reasons for such a claim. In general, the Sapphire PULSE series is very specific in its offer, they have a good cooling system that allows the card to work in accelerated mode, while on the other hand, the build quality is above average. They may not be so "made up", but that is the price of the "mainstream" offer. We summarize by stating that this is practically an example of a typical graphics card that we all want - good, excellent performance, and not too expensive. Characteristics

When it comes to design, the distinctive black appearance of the plastic shield with two large axial fans. The plastic black surface does not look very nice, but the impression is improved by the bright red illustration of the impulse signal and especially the large metal back - the refrigerator. Its role is to strengthen the construction of the card so as not to deform the printed circuit board under the weight of the aluminum cooler, then to provide additional surface for heat release, and finally prevent the penetration of dust on the printed circuit board and electronic components, which would cause additional heating of electronics. A seemingly insignificant addition, but in fact important because of several important things. Basically, a simple and proven gaming style that is already widely used by earlier PULSE models. 

One part of this metal accessory is average so that the cooler can be better ventilated under the influence of the fan. This leads you to the conclusion that the aluminum cooler itself, for better and more even heat transfer, is actually larger than the printed circuit board of the card. This is a trend with most newer models. The cooler with numerous fins and a pair of heat pipes rest directly on the surface of the GPU, while two large fans with a diameter of 8 cm with extremely sickle-shaped propeller blades help to release heat faster to create a zone of increased air pressure and more efficient cooling in the cooler fins. Fans use double ball bearings which, according to the manufacturer, in addition to providing almost twice as long service life as those with bix, are also incomparably quieter. Interestingly, the blades at the ends are joined by a single ring that allowed for a quieter operation which Sapphire claims is 10% less loud than the previous generation. In fact, this hybrid fan design is an attempt to combine the best features of axial and centrifugal fans, which is the latest trend in fan design for this type of application, all with the aim of better airflow and reduced operating noise.

The operation of these fans is controlled by special electronics whose task is to ensure constant operation without oscillations in the number of revolutions. Some industry standards in this class of fans allow a deviation of 10%, while Sapphire has managed to reduce it to only 3%. The result is a more constant temperature, more stable operation of the graphics processor in the turbo frequency zones, which translates into an additional margin of performance. And not only that, the temperatures are more uniform, and there is no additional noise in the form of resonances that the fans make at different speeds. Sapphire has always paid attention to the quality of the fan and the efficiency of the cooling system, which is also observed in this "mainstream" PULSE model. Noise in operation does not exceed 32dB, even in the mode of multi-hour gaming and the use of GPGPU accelerated applications.

A special specialty is the way Sapphire has protected this PULSE RX6600 XT from the poor power supply. A fuse is placed next to the 8-pin PCI Express connector, which immediately shuts off the graphics card, as soon as it senses voltage fluctuations and jumps above the allowable value, so as not to damage vital parts of the graphics card. Impressions in work

How the Sapphire PULSE RX 6600 XT works when it comes to temperature and noise. We talked so much about the cooler, and how efficient it is in real work and play, especially in these, almost tropical conditions of high daily and ambient temperatures. We can tell you that he is up to the task, considering that in the period of summer days with above-average high daily values, the work of computers is much more difficult. However, the Sapphire PULS RX 6600 TX stoically endured torture in the form of a demanding battery of gaming tests as well as applications with GPU acceleration. Conclusion

In the end, everything is clear, RDNA2 brings a visible improvement in performance in the most popular "mainstream" gaming class of graphics cards. On the other hand, there is also better image quality as this is the first Radeon model with this price and support for Ray Tracing. Although the competition offered similar opportunities earlier, AMD now has the opportunity to completely follow them. Even more so because the RX 6600 XT is for one small but obvious margin, faster than the GeForce RTX 3060 12G model.

The problem of price and the disturbed market remains. The fate and success of the Radeon RX 6600 XT model will largely depend on that. From the technical point of view, especially since it is a Sapphire PULSE model, it is flawless, almost without any complaints. It is quiet, not too hot and fast. The Radeon RX 6600 XT could easily become the most sought-after gaming graphics card for 1080p resolution monitors! Advantages:

• Progress in performance
• Low heating
• Low power consumption
• Ray Tracing support
• Good cooling system
• Fidelity FX Super Resolution

• Poorer GPGPU performance
• Ray Tracing performance
• Availability of games with FSR support

You can buy this product on Newegg for $ 700.