New GPUs dissatisfied me, so I went again to this 4-year-old Radeon

It’s a very dangerous time to be a pc {hardware} fanatic. With RAM prices going through the roof (together with provide chain points), getting your fingers on fairly priced {hardware} is nearly unimaginable until you begin to look into the second-hand market.

There are loads of offers available right here, together with just a few unassuming entries. Poised towards the decrease, budget-end spectrum of gaming, I occurred to stumble throughout a Radeon GPU that has aged remarkably nicely and might play most video games simply high-quality at 1080p — all for beneath $200.

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is a criminally underappreciated GPU

1080p gaming that delivers nearly sufficient efficiency for its value

At the time of its launch, the RX 6600 was fairly an unremarkable GPU. Sure, it provided “ok” efficiency at 1080p, nevertheless it wasn’t a generational uplift, and it wasn’t something significantly thrilling feature-set-wise. The $329 MSRP didn’t assist both.

Fast-forward to 2026, and issues have modified considerably. GPUs will not be a straightforward discover, and no matter inventory there may be shortly dries up, usually adopted by huge value hikes that appear to have no finish.

And now, the RX 6600 is a surprisingly good GPU for 1080p gaming in 2026 — assuming that you could find one at an inexpensive value, that’s. Thankfully, these playing cards normally hover across the $200 mark, and should you’re fortunate, you may discover one at a a lot cheaper price, as I did.

As for efficiency, it isn’t too shabby both, and it’s best to have the ability to play most video games at medium-low 1080p. Of course, you’ll want a wholesome quantity of FSR to get even near playable body charges on fashionable titles, however hey, no less than it runs considerably decently on the 30-40 FPS mark.

All issues thought-about although, it is a fairly unbelievable GPU, and one that ought to age like high-quality wine when AMD releases FSR 4 for the RX 6000 collection, finally.

How nicely does the Radeon maintain up in 2026?

Just a few benchmarks and notes

Of course, I needed to take the GPU out for a spin. To this extent, I selected 4 video games to check on, starting from the most recent Unreal Engine 5 blockbuster to one thing a bit extra tepid, like Id Tech 6:

• DOOM (2016)
• The Witcher 3 Remastered
• The Blood of Dawnwalker
• Batman: Arkham Knight

Going again to the collection of video games, DOOM (2016) and Batman: Arkham Knight symbolize the saner finish of the spectrum, and are titles you’d anticipate to run on this class of card.

On the opposite hand, each The Blood of Dawnwalker and The Witcher 3 Remastered are current-gen releases (a re-release within the case of The Witcher 3) that ought to paint an image of the type of efficiency you’d anticipate in 2026’s hottest single-player titles.

As for the benchmarks, they have been as follows, with each common and 1% lows:

DOOM (2016) carried out surprisingly poorly. While the common FPS did keep above 70, with barely any noticeable dips, it carried out so much worse than I anticipated it to. DOOM will not be a very tough sport to run, and the body charges ought to have been greater.

Batman: Arkham Knight had a horrible fame for its terrible PC port, and that appears to have been resolved for probably the most half. The sport runs fantastically nicely on the RX 6600, going over 100 FPS with each mild and particle results enabled.

Moving on to The Witcher 3 Remastered, we’ve a really spectacular common nearing 80 FPS and a minimal that sits nicely above the 60 FPS mark. Considering that this can be a next-gen replace for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I’d say it performs admirably, particularly since there’s no frame generation in play.

Finally ending our checklist is a latest Unreal Engine 5 launch: The Blood of Dawnwalker, which runs surprisingly nicely on the growing older RX 6600. Of course, you’ll need to bump every part all the way down to Medium and Low and allow FSR; however the finish result’s a dependable 30+ FPS that, whereas not splendid, is way from the tip of the globe.

Viable options and some warnings

There actually aren’t quite a lot of choices

Credit: Dipan Saha/MakeUseOf

If you’re looking for something from Team Green, the closest match is the RTX 3060 — assuming you choose the 8GB variant. The 12GB model prices much more, and that places it in a unique ballpark solely. If you’re eager on DLSS, the RTX 2060 Super isn’t an entirely horrible selection both.

As for AMD playing cards, there isn’t a lot to select from both. The subsequent pure improve path is an RX 6600 XT, which presents a modest 10% uplift in efficiency. It nonetheless has 8GB of video reminiscence, although, however prices across the identical.

Another various is the AMD RX 7600, an 8GB RDNA 3 card poised as a successor to the RX 6600. It’s a good bit extra highly effective, though it’s a lot pricier. If you could find one, the RX 6700 XT is a pleasant step up and has 12GB of VRAM.

You may need to make haste

Given how unpredictable GPU pricing has been for the previous yr or so, I’d suggest making haste should you plan on grabbing such a card. I managed to snag my Sapphire Pulse model of the RX 6600 for about $170, and at that value I actually can’t complain.

It’s a strong 1080p gaming card, and I’ve been utilizing it with my eGPU enclosure for some time now. With a most TDP of solely 120W, it additionally stays good and quiet in that enclosure, in contrast to the AMD RX 9070, which each underperformed (as a consequence of bandwidth limitations) and turned the enclosure into an area heater.

Prices are certain to worsen earlier than they get higher, and it is likely to be worthwhile to seize the cardboard whereas it’s (nonetheless) fairly priced. Given that that is an 8GB card, although, you won’t have to rush.