Graphic Cards Need (moral) help to decide which GPU is best for my specific need...

samavery42

samavery42

Beginner
So the scene is this. I build my pc in jan 2022 when inflation was sky high. So, I opted for an apu 5600g (23k) , 16g ram, 650w PSU and 24" 1080p:165hz monitor. I was decently suprised by the igpu capabilities of 5600g. I used to be able to play games at 1080p low, but sometimes, I downed it at 900p or 720p, still got around 40fps.

Now, I want to upgrade to 1080p ultra 60fps at modern AAA titles. And as per my research, I have narrowed to these options:-

1.rx 6600
2.rtx 3060
3.rtx 2060

But my budget is around 12k. Now I have these questions.

A. Should I give up on these requirements in this budget and go with current option like 1650 (12k) or Rx 580 (10k)?

B. Is there any sense in future proofing by buying one of these expensive GPU? I am a student, so it feels kinda dirty to spend more.
 
For budgets, have an amount in mind and look for options a little over and under. If your budget is 12k and you're getting a 15% bump in perf for 13k, sure, go for it. But keep it to 1 bump level only - for all electronic stuff you're going to find a lot of incremental gains, like 16k might get you 30% over 12k but it's a big stretch.

There's no such thing as future proofing, especially not with low end parts. A 4080 might last you a few game generations with settings at ultra/very high, but a 4060 would need settings lowered far earlier.
 
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@rockstah I could, but I don't know what should good price be & how to ensure it will be genuine... I saw some on fb marketplace, like 2060 for 13k & Rx 6600 for 14k, with a year warranty left. Can you suggest a good way to confirm its legit? Like will it fail after I run benchmarks? I have seen Linus video, that even mining gpus are ok. But that's US, in India, the servers are rigged :(

I saw 6500xt, and 6600 is around 75% faster at 1080p, and just 5k more...aaaagghh, I just wish, 6600 was around 15k
www.techpowerup.com

Sapphire Radeon RX 6500 XT Pulse Review

The Sapphire Radeon RX 6500 XT Pulse comes with super impressive noise levels. Even when fully loaded does it run whisper-quiet in an already quiet room. If you put it into a case, it'll be inaudible. Unfortunately, the card is held back by its small VRAM size of 4 GB and the narrow PCIe x4...
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Get used RX 6600 or 6600XT for around 12k. My friend bought a MSI RX 6600 with 1 year remaining warranty for 11.5k in Dec 2023. Any GPU below 6600 is just too weak.

He bought it from this guy, maybe ask him if he will get some stock soon:

There are many other such sellers in fb in multiple groups, do due diligence but that will be my choice. My friend is surely happy after his 1070 went kaput & he didn't had to spend a lot to get a good performance uplift. See what you can find.

Used 3060 is about ~15k but a poor value IMO considering used 3060Ti w/o warranty is as low as 16k at times, usually around 18k with some warranty.

Questions:
A - No need to give up, used 6600 is plenty for your rig. Those "new" options are bad.
B - If you can spend 20-25k, 6600 & 3060 respectively are good "new" GPU choices. Your call on the money part. But PC gaming is expensive & Nvidia & AMD are making sure to keep it that way. AMD will earn from consoles & Nvidia from AI boom.
 
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OMEGA44-XT said:
Get used RX 6600 or 6600XT for around 12k. My friend bought a MSI RX 6600 with 1 year remaining warranty for 11.5k in Dec 2023. Any GPU below 6600 is just too weak.

He bought it from this guy, maybe ask him if he will get some stock soon:

There are many other such sellers in fb in multiple groups, do due diligence but that will be my choice. My friend is surely happy after his 1070 went kaput & he didn't had to spend a lot to get a good performance uplift. See what you can find.

Used 3060 is about ~15k but a poor value IMO considering used 3060Ti w/o warranty is as low as 16k at times, usually around 18k with some warranty.

Questions:
A - No need to give up, used 6600 is plenty for your rig. Those "new" options are bad.
B - If you can spend 20-25k, 6600 & 3060 respectively are good "new" GPU choices. Your call on the money part. But PC gaming is expensive & Nvidia & AMD are making sure to keep it that way. AMD will earn from consoles & Nvidia from AI boom.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this advice. I am in a similar situation as OP. I have talked to the FB guy and he says he'll get Rx6600 stock in 4-5 days.
Will buy from him if I don't get a better deal somewhere else.
 
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As already mentioned, a 6600 will serve your needs just fine. Avoid getting any Pascal or NAVI 10 cards at this point, due to their limited feature set which will start killing gaming performance.

Do not worry about getting used from FB marketplace, as long as you stick to the popular sellers. I bought my 3080 FE (with 2 years warranty) from there, and has been rock solid.

Also, do not feel bad about spending on a GPU. Being a student isn't easy. Let loose a bit and enjoy yourself.
 
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rockstah said:
If only new, consider increasing your budget and getting this https://www.vedantcomputers.com/pc-...ger-d-oc-6gb-gddr6-rx5600xt-cld-6go?limit=100

You'll have to check with Asrock before buying about the exact warranty period as I can't find anywhere about it. I saw a guy mention it as 1year in reddit.
Click to expand...
I bought this recently. md computers confirmed on mail that it has 3y warranty from invoice date. Import date was late 2023.
This is the cheapest new gpu where price/perf doesn't completely suck.

That said 6gb will be limiting, 6600/xt used with couple of years of warranty should be better esp if playing newer games.
 
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samavery42 said:
@rockstah I could, but I don't know what should good price be & how to ensure it will be genuine... I saw some on fb marketplace, like 2060 for 13k & Rx 6600 for 14k, with a year warranty left. Can you suggest a good way to confirm its legit? Like will it fail after I run benchmarks? I have seen Linus video, that even mining gpus are ok. But that's US, in India, the servers are rigged :(

I saw 6500xt, and 6600 is around 75% faster at 1080p, and just 5k more...aaaagghh, I just wish, 6600 was around 15k
www.techpowerup.com

Sapphire Radeon RX 6500 XT Pulse Review

The Sapphire Radeon RX 6500 XT Pulse comes with super impressive noise levels. Even when fully loaded does it run whisper-quiet in an already quiet room. If you put it into a case, it'll be inaudible. Unfortunately, the card is held back by its small VRAM size of 4 GB and the narrow PCIe x4...
www.techpowerup.com www.techpowerup.com
Click to expand...
The one I shared is an older card 5600xt, it's 20% slower than rx6600 but over 50% faster than the new options i.e 1650 super/rx 580 available in your budget. Personally I'd get a used rx 6600 from FB with brand warranty, if it has 1-2y warranty you should be fine. Some are providing RMAed cards like the one @Afxal is waiting on.

Tracer_Bullet said:
I bought this recently. md computers confirmed on mail that it has 3y warranty from invoice date. Import date was late 2023.
This is the cheapest new gpu where price/perf doesn't completely suck.

That said 6gb will be limiting, 6600/xt used with couple of years of warranty should be better esp if playing newer games.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't trust them, do check with Asrock over email. If it's 3y then it's a great deal at that price.
 
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rockstah said:
The one I shared is an older card 5600xt, it's 20% slower than rx6600 but over 50% faster than the new options i.e 1650 super/rx 580 available in your budget. Personally I'd get a used rx 6600 from FB with brand warranty, if it has 1-2y warranty you should be fine. Some are providing RMAed cards like the one @Afxal is waiting on.


I wouldn't trust them, do check with Asrock over email. If it's 3y then it's a great deal at that price.
Click to expand...
Any reason why ? I have it on email and they promised to help if there is an issue too. Wouldn't that be enough for say consumer helpline/court complaints if they dishonor it ?
They are listed as official seller for asrock gpus on asrock website.
Anyway i bought it now, just wanted a gpu for desktop usage which could also run older games. Got very fast delivery and good packaging.
 
Tracer_Bullet said:
Any reason why ? I have it on email and they promised to help if there is an issue too. Wouldn't that be enough for say consumer helpline/court complaints if they dishonor it ?
They are listed as official seller for asrock gpus on asrock website.
Anyway i bought it now, just wanted a gpu for desktop usage which could also run older games. Got very fast delivery and good packaging.
Click to expand...
I saw a reddit thread where some mentioned it's 1 year and and one guy said it was 2yr. It would be helpful to know the actual coverage from the manufacturer, that's why I suggested emailing them.

Can you share about the GPU thermals if possible, any throttling?
 
@OMEGA44-XT Thanks a ton for this advice. 12k is something I can go for. This'll be enough for some years. And just to reconfirm. The guy is Robert Zo right? from Zoukart group? Should I just DM him? Or post on the group? Are there other fb sellers you recommend?
 
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samavery42 said:
@OMEGA44-XT Thanks a ton for this advice. 12k is something I can go for. This'll be enough for some years. And just to reconfirm. The guy is Robert Zo right? from Zoukart group? Should I just DM him? Or post on the group? Are there other fb sellers you recommend?
Click to expand...
The guy is Pallab Banik. I talked with him regarding Rx6600, and he told me he has given few of these for RMA and once they come back in 4-5 days, he'll sell.
If you also want to buy we can ask him to negotiate further as we buy together. No pressure, you can contact him separately if you find it better. Good luck.
 
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@Afxal oh yeah. I also followed this guy on fb, lol. He listing show that he sold 6600 prior for 12k. He has good deals. But what do you recommend? Should I talk with him individually? or buying together will get us a better price? And what's your experience with RMA?
 
samavery42 said:
@Afxal oh yeah. I also followed this guy on fb, lol. He listing show that he sold 6600 prior for 12k. He has good deals. But what do you recommend? Should I talk with him individually? or buying together will get us a better price? And what's your experience with RMA?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I am in his WhatsApp group. Previously he sold rx6600 for 12k shipped. Wait for a few days before asking him as he doesn't have the stock now and won't tell you the pricing.
Once he confirms the stock; I'll ask him about the combo deal for 2 x Rx6600 and ram sticks which I need. If he doesn't provide a better rate, then you simply message him for a card separately.

In this way, we can try both ways and there is no loss for either of us.
 
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Afxal said:
Yeah, I am in his WhatsApp group. Previously he sold rx6600 for 12k shipped. Wait for a few days before asking him as he doesn't have the stock now and won't tell you the pricing.
Once he confirms the stock; I'll ask him about the combo deal for 2 x Rx6600 and ram sticks which I need. If he doesn't provide a better rate, then you simply message him for a card separately.

In this way, we can try both ways and there is no loss for either of us.
Click to expand...
When my friend purchased 6600, it was 11k + shipping charge, so 11.5k for my friend. But even 12k shipped for a 1 year warranty MSI/Asus/Gigabyte card is good IMO. I think he had 6600XT at 13k + shipping.
 
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samavery42 said:
@Afxal oh yeah. I also followed this guy on fb, lol. He listing show that he sold 6600 prior for 12k. He has good deals. But what do you recommend? Should I talk with him individually? or buying together will get us a better price? And what's your experience with RMA?
Click to expand...
Speak to him Individually.

I had WhatsApp'd him separately. Shipped the GPU the very next day upon receiving payment, and it was very well packed. Deal was hassle-free. On request, he will also send you bench runs of the card showing temps. stability etc. if you're buying.
 
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rockstah said:
Can you share about the GPU thermals if possible, any throttling?
Click to expand...
No thermal throttling, its limited by bios clock speed limits.
I had to update to latest bios which should be more stable and also has higher power/clock limits.

With updated bios at stock, cooling is adequate. I have a case with poor airflow that becomes a hotbox if there is too much heat coming out.
At stock with 160w PL, i get gpu temp of mid to high 70s and memory in high 80s.
But stock uses way too much voltage. With undervolting i can get slightly faster performance at 130w and temps drop to high 60s and mid 70s resp.

For my own use case, i think even this is wasteful. I optimized it for 110w ( -30%PL) and i get 3-4% slower than stock and much better thermals/fan noise.
This is only 8% slower vs max everything + undervolting at 160w.

Max PL is 160w+20% but not useful as we cant increase clock speeds beyond 1820 which uses 160w with undervolting.
There are mod bios available too which can be used to increase PL and clock speeds ( beyond 2000 ), probably can get an additional 10% performance this way
but this gpu may not be built for that as its hot enough already at 160w.
 
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