Why a 2-year-old GPU is still the one you should buy

Ever since Nvidia and AMD announced their next-generation GPUs, budget PC builders have been waiting anxiously to see what companies in the mid-$300 to $400 range can offer. Unfortunately, the answer wasn’t pretty.

Nvidia’s RTX 4060 Ti launched to near-universal displeasure, while AMD’s RX 7600, despite a decent GPU, carries plenty of caveats. Even Nvidia’s value-focused RTX 4060 fails to impress, largely due to the fact that it’s been beaten out by last-generation options around the same price.

And around all of these GPU versions, there was one card in the center: AMD’s RX 6700 XT. Launched over two years ago, it was a great GPU that was mostly overlooked due to the fact that it arrived in the midst of a GPU shortage. Not to mention the fact that it was overpriced to begin with, as AMD (and Nvidia) benefited from the insatiable demand for GPUs during that time.

However, that dust has now settled, and prices have dropped. Without a lot of choice in the mid-range from Nvidia and AMD, the RX 6700 XT is slowly becoming the crown jewel of the $300 to $400 price point, and there are a few key reasons for that.

First, its raw performance. The RX 6700 XT was supposed to trade blows with Nvidia’s RTX 3070. It doesn’t. Nvidia’s GPU is faster. That math changes with how the RX 6700 XT is priced now. You can find the card for as low as $320, along with its contemporary sibling the RX 6750 XT for around $360.

At this price, the RX 6700 XT looks more attractive. As you can see above, it’s close to the same level as the last-generation RTX 3060 Ti, outperforming the RTX 4060 at about the same price. It’s not as fast as the RTX 4060 Ti, but it’s also a lot cheaper.

Now, I don’t want to leave Nvidia out in the cold here. The RTX 3060 Ti has seen some price drops recently as well, and you can find it for around $330. Most models are closer to $350, but it’s still a great option at this price. It even has an advantage over the RX 6700 XT in some areas. It’s faster with games that support ray tracing and unlocks Nvidia’s excellent Deep Learning Sampling (DLSS).

The RX 6700 XT still has some unique features. Overall, the RTX 3060 Ti and RX 6700 XT are evenly matched, but that includes games with ray tracing. Take ray tracing out of the mix, and the AMD GPU takes the lead. Takes Resident Evil 4 1440px as an example. The RX 6700 XT is 11% faster than the RTX 3060 Ti, which is about the same as the RTX 4060 Ti.

and in Forza Horizon 5, The RX 6700 XT is not only 20% faster than the RTX 3060 Ti, it is even able to beat the RTX 4060 Ti. This jump is not universal across games. in cyberpunk 2077, For example, the RX 6700 XT and RTX 3060 Ti are evenly matched, while in return And Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, The RX 6700 XT is only a few tires up front.

The RX 6700 XT excels with its raw, pixelated performance after prices have dropped. However, if you want ray tracing, the RTX 3060 Ti still has an edge, even if it means giving up some performance in other games. in cyberpunk 2077, For example, the RX 6700 XT can’t maintain 30 frames per second (fps) while the RTX 3060 Ti pushes close to 40 fps, and that’s before DLSS is turned on.

There’s another pro in the RX 6700 XT camp, though: 12GB of VRAM. We’ve seen more and more over the past year how games emphasize the amount of VRAM on GPUs, and the RX 6700 XT comes out on top in that battle. Resident Evil 4 is a prime example. One of the main reasons the RX 6700 XT can stretch its legs in this title is that it requires a lot of VRAM, which allows it to gain a clear lead over the RTX 3060 Ti.

Likewise, in the last of us part one, The extra VRAM helps the RX 6700 XT claim a 12% lead over the RTX 3060 Ti (along with a whopping 22% jump over the RTX 4060 Ti due to the restricted GPU memory interface).

There are plenty of games where VRAM isn’t a concern, and in those titles, the RX 6700 XT matches or slightly exceeds the RTX 3060 Ti without ray tracing. However, we’ve seen enough games emphasizing VRAM this year just to call it a legitimate concern. There are half a dozen games released this year that have had VRAM problems, and there will likely be more to come. The RX 6700 XT is better equipped to handle these games than any of the current-generation options from AMD and Nvidia.

I don’t want to leave this saying that the RX 6700 XT is the best graphics card of all. If you are looking at the latest eg Cyberpunk 2077 movie‘s Pathfinding mode, Nvidia still has a huge lead. Unfortunately, in this generation, that usually means sacrificing performance in other games, which is why the RX 6700 XT has become the de facto recommendation for budget gamers, despite the fact that it’s two years old.

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