AMD Radeon RX 7600 evaluation: Lastly, , reasonably priced graphics card

Value When Reviewed

299 Euro

Now this is a graphics card launch we will lastly reward.

AMD’s new $269 Radeon RX 7600 (launching Might 25) delivers unbelievable 1080p gaming that may preserve even a excessive refresh fee monitor well-fed in a tiny, quiet, extremely power-efficient package deal. Higher but, whereas Nvidia continues to push both stagnant generational efficiency upgrades or exorbitant costs for its rival GeForce RTX 40-series graphics playing cards, AMD’s funds champion delivers an enormous step-up in body charges for $60 lower than its predecessor’s launch worth.

Funds gaming requires compromise, and the Radeon RX 7600 isn’t good at ray tracing, particularly since picture upsampling applied sciences like FSR 2.0 and Nvidia’s DLSS don’t look nice at 1080p decision. Don’t get it twisted although; aside from the ferociously highly effective (and dear) RTX 4090 and Radeon RX 7900 XTX flagships, this modest GPU is the primary of this technology price listening to—and the primary new sub-$300 graphics card to get enthusiastic about because the pandemic threw the world into chaos. Critically.

Let’s go.

What are the AMD Radeon RX 7600’s specs and options?

AMD constructed the Radeon RX 7600 utilizing the identical RDNA 3 graphics cores that debuted within the flagship 7900-series GPUs. This new structure affords devoted AI accelerators, AV1 encoding, DisplayPort 2.1 (RTX 40-series has 1.4a), second-generation ray tracing and Infinity Cache {hardware}, and extra.

One distinction between this and the RX 7900-series? Whereas the extra superior GPUs use a cutting-edge chiplet design that flanks the primary die with reminiscence controllers, this funds chip sticks to a conventional single 6-nanometer die (204mm2) that packs the whole lot in.

AMD

As you possibly can see, the Radeon RX 7600 packs in additional {hardware} for a lower cost than the older (still-good) Radeon RX 6600. Reminiscence and GPU clock speeds are up, stream processor and RT accelerator counts are up, and AI accelerators make their debut as a part of AMD’s AI push. Spoiler alert: The Radeon RX 7600 delivers a correct generational efficiency improve, not like Nvidia’s $400 GeForce RTX 4060 Ti.

Just like the 4060 Ti (and the Radeon RX 6600 earlier than it), the Radeon RX 7600 is outfitted with 8GB of GDDR6 reminiscence and a slender 128-bit bus. Which means this graphics card actually is constructed for 1080p gaming—an affordable expectation for an reasonably priced graphics card like this. You possibly can actually play at 1440p decision if you happen to dial again some settings, however it might hit its limits rapidly with the way in which trendy video games have been gobbling up VRAM. AMD’s on-die Infinity Cache helps preserve issues buzzing at 1080p as effectively. Bumping as much as 1440p will end in extra information being despatched over that pokey 128-bit bus. You gained’t need that. (We delve right into a wonky dialogue about reminiscence capability, bus widths, and on-die cache configurations within the specs part of our RTX 4060 Ti evaluation.)

The Radeon RX 7600 ought to play the overwhelming majority of video games at Extremely settings and excessive body charges simply wonderful at 1080p decision, however some particularly memory-hungry video games could require minor graphics tuning to suit contained in the 8GB reminiscence buffer. PCWorld contributor Keith Might has been testing the customized Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7600 and reviews that Hogwarts Legacy and The Final of Us—two of the worst VRAM offenders—soar at Excessive settings whereas nonetheless trying spectacular. Once more, it’s an affordable compromise at this worth level. (It isn’t at $400, Nvidia.) You possibly can see his evaluation within the video above.

Brad Chacos/IDG

When requested concerning the 8GB capability, AMD’s Aaron Steinman stated, “We still believe (and testing supports) that even the most demanding modern games deliver a very good experience for 1080p gaming. And memory is expensive.”

This GPU attracts down barely extra juice than its predecessor however delivers a lot increased efficiency and the perfect idle energy use we’ve ever seen—it’s splendidly environment friendly. Energy is equipped by way of a single 8-pin connector, without having to make use of an unsightly 12VHPWR adapter such as you do on the 4060 Ti. The reference card AMD despatched over isn’t solely an affordable two-slots thick, it’s additionally adorably tiny at simply 8 inches lengthy. Regardless of the pint-sized cooler, the reference card runs damned close to silent—one other testomony to the 7600 GPU’s effectivity.

The reference card packs a single HDMI port and three of these speedy DisplayPort 2.1 connections. (Be aware that that is non-compulsory, nevertheless; AMD’s companions can use DisplayPort 1.4 on customized 7600 playing cards as an alternative to economize.)

Brad Chacos/IDG

When you’re into streaming, you’ll respect the inclusion of cutting-edge AV1 encoders, particularly now that YouTube and OBS assist AV1 uploads. We examined AMD’s new RDNA 3 AV1 encoder on the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and it’s unbelievable. The Report & Stream choices in AMD’s Adrenalin software program is a complete lot higher than it was, too, as we coated in the identical analysis by “Stream Professor” EposVox:

“AMD ships their own recording and streaming software with their GPUs, akin to Nvidia Shadowplay. Except, it’s far far better than Shadowplay in almost every way. More settings, more capabilities, more features. Nvidia really needs to update Shadowplay ASAP.”

Don’t sleep on it. Don’t sleep on any of AMD’s Adrenalin Software program, when you’re at it. Nvidia will get (and deserves) a whole lot of credit score for glorious software program options like DLSS 3, Reflex, and Nvidia Broadcast, however Workforce Pink has some darned helpful software program of its personal.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Good Entry Reminiscence boosts efficiency on trendy programs extra reliably than any PC combo of Intel and Nvidia chips. A brand new Good Entry Video function improves DaVinci Resolve encoding efficiency by as much as 32 p.c in Ryzen + Radeon programs. FSR 2.0 provides Nvidia’s DLSS a troublesome struggle, whereas Radeon Tremendous Decision brings the easier FSR 1.0 expertise proper inside AMD’s driver to allow you to improve efficiency by way of upscaling in any recreation. Radeon Increase and Anti-Lag preserve temperatures and latency low. You too can use Adrenalin to overclock and even undervolt your graphics card.

The one factor lacking is a DLSS 3 Body Era competitor, however AMD is engaged on it with FSR 3.0, scheduled to launch someday this yr.

Sufficient speak. On to the benchmarks!

Our take a look at system

We take a look at graphics playing cards on an AMD Ryzen 5900X PC used solely for benchmarking GPUs. We take a look at with PCIe Resizable BAR (also called Good Entry Reminiscence on Ryzen programs) lively, as most trendy gaming PCs launched within the final 4 years assist the performance-boosting function, both natively or by way of a motherboard firmware replace. Nvidia additionally recommends turning on the non-compulsory “Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling” possibility in Home windows to let the RTX 40-series stretch its legs to the fullest, so we’ve made that tweak as effectively. Many of the {hardware} was offered by the producers, however we bought the storage ourselves.

We take a look at a wide range of video games spanning numerous engines, genres, vendor sponsorships (Nvidia, AMD, and Intel), and graphics APIs (DirectX 9, 11, DX12, and Vulkan), to attempt to signify a full vary of efficiency potential. Every recreation is examined utilizing its in-game benchmark, sanity checked by Nvidia’s FrameView instrument, on the highest potential graphics presets except in any other case famous, with VSync, body fee caps, real-time ray tracing or DLSS results, and FreeSync/G-Sync disabled, together with some other vendor-specific applied sciences like FidelityFX instruments or Nvidia Reflex. We’ve additionally enabled temporal anti-aliasing (TAA) to push these playing cards to their limits.

We run every benchmark at the very least 3 times and record the common consequence for every take a look at. Exterior of esports, we’ve restricted our benchmarks to 1440p and 1080p resolutions. With this reminiscence configuration, the Radeon RX 7600 is a 1080p graphics card, however it’s price displaying what you get at 1440p as effectively, each for sensible causes and to see how the GPU’s efficiency scales as you ramp up decision. We take a look at options like ray tracing and DLSS in a separate part, as upscaling options like DLSS and AMD’s rival FSR tweak the look of video games to assist them run quicker. 

Often we current our information in a sequence of per-game bar charts, however given some extreme time restraints, we’re operating our information in uncooked charts at the moment and supplementing it with further efficiency commentary as an alternative. (Hit me up on Twitter to let me know if you happen to like it or hate it!) These time restrictions additionally prevented us from operating new benchmark information for the $330 16GB Intel Arc A770, alas, which is one other sturdy contender on this worth section.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 1080p gaming efficiency

It is a graphics card constructed for 1080p gaming, so let’s begin there!

Brad Chacos/IDG

As you possibly can see, the Radeon RX 7600 delivers spectacular 1080p gaming even at Extremely settings, delivering 80 frames per second or extra in all video games besides the exceptionally lovely Pink Lifeless Redemption 2 cranked to absolutely the max—and even then, it nonetheless hits the golden 60fps mark. When you exclude Counter-Strike: International Offensive’s ludicrously excessive body charges, the Radeon RX 7600 averages 107fps throughout our suite, a correctly generational 35 p.c improve over its predecessor.

Nvidia’s new $400 RTX 4060 Ti is quicker than the RX 7600 by one other 20 p.c on common if you happen to’re seeking to push a high-refresh fee 1080p monitor even additional, however prices $130 greater than AMD’s providing. The Radeon RX 7600 affords loads of efficiency for an entire lot much less cash—and it holds the lead in Cyberpunk 2077 efficiency right here!

Be aware, nevertheless, that because of its 8GB reminiscence capability, chances are you’ll want to scale back graphics from Extremely to Excessive in significantly VRAM-intensive trendy video games, reminiscent of Hogwarts Legacy and The Final of Us. Video games nonetheless look nice on Excessive and that compromise is way more welcome in a $269 graphics card than a $400 one.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 1440p gaming efficiency

Subsequent up: Greater decision.

Brad Chacos/IDG

The Radeon RX 7600 can undoubtedly be used to play video games at 1440p, as our testing reveals—it averages 75fps+ throughout our suite, solely dipping beneath 60fps in Cyberpunk 2077 and Watch Canine Legion. However the 8GB of VRAM and tiny 128-bit bus means you’ll already have to drop graphics settings in a whole lot of trendy video games (together with Watch Canine), and reminiscence calls for are solely getting increased.

Be aware how the Radeon RX 6700 XT (which has 12GB and a 256-bit bus for $350 on the road) overtakes the brand new 7600 in Cyberpunk 2077 by about 10 p.c after falling behind it at 1080p. Averaged general, the 6700 XT was 12 p.c quicker than the 7600 at 1080p however leaps as much as a 20 p.c lead at 1440p.

The RTX 4060 Ti, the one different trendy sub-$500 GPU obtainable to this point, is as soon as once more a lot quicker than the 7600 for way more cash, however because it has a equally skimpy reminiscence configuration, it shouldn’t be thought of for 1440p gaming both.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 ray tracing and FSR efficiency

You don’t need to use the Radeon RX 7600 for ray tracing, or activate FSR to extend efficiency.

Certain, this GPU packs in AMD’s second-gen RT accelerator {hardware}, which shined within the monstrous Radeon RX 7900 XTX, however as you possibly can see within the benchmarks beneath, it just about sucks down right here on extra reasonably priced {hardware}, particularly with out an help from FSR picture upscaling. That stated, ray tracing is extra of a “nice to have” than a “must have” in funds GPUs.

And also you shouldn’t use FSR (or DLSS) on a 1080p graphics card, for my part. As I detailed in-depth in my RTX 4060 Ti evaluation, picture upscaling works wonders at increased 1440p and 4K resolutions, however upscaling video games to 1080p from an inside 720p (or worse, within the case of the Balanced preset examined beneath) decision ends in jagged, blurry visuals. It’s ugly and never price the additional frames.

Brad Chacos/IDG

We included FSR/DLSS information above so that you can reference, however advocate leaving each ray tracing and upscaling off on this card. You possibly can allow it at decrease settings in additional flippantly ray traced video games like F1 22 and Hitman if you happen to’d like, however we don’t assume the hit to efficiency is definitely worth the visuals ray tracing offers at Medium settings. Additionally word that solely RTX 40-series playing cards assist DLSS 3, and Watch Canine Legion lacks FSR assist, therefore the assorted “Not applicable” fields above. 

Given AMD’s poor ray tracing displaying and our recommendation to skip upscaling at this decision, the $400 GeForce RTX 4060 Ti may truly be price contemplating if you happen to want these cutting-edge lighting results—although we’d advocate ready to see how the $300 RTX 4060 handles when it launches in July as an alternative.

How are the Radeon RX 7600’s energy and thermals?

Similar to the RTX 4060 Ti, they’re glorious, although not as glorious as Nvidia’s effectivity.

We take a look at energy draw by looping the F1 22 benchmark at 4K for about 20 minutes after we’ve benchmarked the whole lot else (to heat up the GPU) and noting the very best studying on our Watts Up Professional meter, which measures the ability consumption of our complete take a look at system. The preliminary a part of the race, the place all competing automobiles are onscreen concurrently, tends to be probably the most demanding portion. 

This isn’t a worst-case take a look at; this can be a GPU-bound recreation operating at a GPU-bound decision to gauge efficiency when the graphics card is sweating laborious. When you’re enjoying a recreation that additionally hammers the CPU, you could possibly see increased general system energy attracts. Think about your self warned.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Sure, the Radeon RX 7600 consumes about 15 p.c extra energy than its predecessor at peak below load, however it delivers a whopping 35 p.c common efficiency improve in return—an excellent consequence. Against this, the RTX 4060 Ti is just quicker than the RTX 3060 Ti by single digit proportion factors. And whereas we thought the ultra-low idle energy measurements of the RTX 4060 Ti have been bonkers, AMD does barely higher right here. You like to see it from each camps!

We take a look at thermals by leaving GPU-Z open through the F1 22 energy draw take a look at, noting the very best most temperature on the finish.

The tiny AMD reference RX 7600 hits a lot increased temperatures than the opposite GPUs we examined, however don’t be fooled: 75 levels Celsius continues to be loads cool for a graphics card, and in trade for the upper temps, AMD provides you damned close to completely silent noise ranges. The reference Radeon RX 7600 ran quieter than some other GPU we examined right here and was nearly inaudible over the remainder of our system followers. Quiet followers provide a significantly better day-to-day expertise than unnecessarily low warmth ranges, and the reference card’s diminutive design can match into much more PCs than the opposite, longer playing cards. I’ll take it!

Must you purchase the Radeon RX 7600?

When you’re searching for a graphics card with low energy and sufficient oomph to energy a excessive refresh fee 1080p monitor, the $269 Radeon RX 7600 is a spectacular possibility. It’s a wonderful reasonably priced graphics card. It could actually deal with 1440p gaming as effectively, however the 8GB VRAM capability and tiny reminiscence bus width means it would battle extra at that decision as video games turn out to be extra demanding.

Some video games are already too demanding, with titles like Hogwarts Legacy and The Final of Us already blowing previous the 8GB reminiscence capability even at 1080p. In our experiential testing, dropping settings to Excessive ends in a extremely playable expertise that appears and runs nice. That’s acceptable on an reasonably priced GPU just like the RX 7600, however unacceptable on a $400 graphics card like Nvidia’s new RTX 4060 Ti, which affords an identical reminiscence configuration.

At 1080p decision, the RTX 4060 Ti runs about 20 p.c quicker than the Radeon RX 7600 on common, however for 48 p.c extra money. Contemplating that the Radeon RX 7600 delivers already-exceptional 1080p gaming efficiency, it’s a no brainer.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Except you need to play ray traced video games. The Radeon RX 7600’s second-gen RT accelerators provide principally unplayable efficiency on this funds card. Contemplating that picture upsampling applied sciences like FSR and DLSS look horrible at 1080p decision, you possibly can’t use these to claw again efficiency after flipping on ray tracing—your recreation will look worse even with these fancy rays flying round, although ray tracing is extra of a “nice to have” than “must have” at this worth. If you’d like ray tracing and DLSS 3’s Body Era capabilities, you may take into account the 4060 Ti, however I’d counsel ready to see how the $299 RTX 4060 performs when it launches in July.

Alternatively, if you happen to don’t care about DLSS 3 and ray tracing, however need a beefier reminiscence setup for higher future-proofing and the power to dabble in additional 1440p video games, the last-gen Radeon RX 6700 XT affords 12GB and an enormous 256-bit for simply $350 on the road as of late. That’s $80 greater than the budget-friendly Radeon RX 7600, nevertheless (although it’s quicker as effectively). If you might want to save much more cash, the Radeon RX 6600 stays a wonderful possibility for 1080p/60Hz gaming at round $200. Each last-gen playing cards lack the newer GPU’s AV1 encoding, AI accelerators, and DisplayPort 2.1 capabilities, if that issues to you, however in any other case provide function parity.

Alternatively, if you would like AV1 encoding together with playable ray tracing and strong 1080p gaming efficiency—particularly in trendy DirectX 12 video games—Intel’s Arc A750 is one other compelling possibility, particularly now that Intel has slashed its worth to only $199. The Arc A750 is at present our high decide for 1080p gaming with ray tracing. It’s akin to the Radeon RX 6600 in gaming, however takes a agency lead in these aforementioned classes, typically toppling even the RTX 3060. Intel’s debut shopper GPUs launched with troublesome drivers however are in a a lot higher place now.

Backside line? After years of wandering in a GPU wasteland, and months of tolerating Nvidia’s stagnant-to-downright–exorbitant RTX 40-series releases, the Radeon RX 7600 is a breath of recent air. It affords a very generational efficiency uplift (35 p.c) for much less cash than its predecessor (18 p.c), together with trendy options like AV1 encoding and DisplayPort 2.1, all wrapped in a tiny, silent, reasonably priced package deal. It’s the one GPU we’ve been enthusiastic about this technology apart from flagships promoting for quadruple digits.

The Radeon RX 7600 is the graphics card that players on a funds have been begging for endlessly. Go purchase it…except you need ray tracing.