AMD Radeon RX 7600 Review: DOA Radeon, Again?

[neeyik]

I'm going to admit I don't know the answer to this. Is that something that could be fixed with driver updates or is that baked in and there is no fixing it without a hardware revision?

It could well be a combination of both factors, but given that other RDNA 3 GPUs seem to have this issue as well, the problem is one that AMD really needs to address somehow. Take the 7900 XT, as an example -- compared to the 6800 XT, it's 32 to 35% faster, on average, with some titles being around 60% faster. That sounds absolutely fine until you look at the theoretical performance metrics.

The 7900 XT has a 148% higher peak FP32 throughput, a 24% higher texel fill rate, a 60% higher pixel fill rate, and a 56% higher memory bandwidth. The CUs just don't seem to be properly utilized at the moment. Unfortunately, I don't have any Radeon GPUs to do ALU profiling to see what's actually going on.

Edit: Chips and Cheese have already examined this, though purely from a microbenchmarking aspect:

We only see convincing dual issue behavior with FP32 adds, where the compiler emitted v_dual_add_f32 instructions. The mixed INT32 and FP32 addition test saw some benefit because the FP32 adds were dual issued, but could not generate VOPD (vector operation, dual issue) instructions for INT32 due to a lack of VOPD instructions for INT32 operations. Fused multiply add, which is used to calculate a GPU’s headline TFLOPs number, saw very few dual issue instructions emitted.

So AMD's compiler isn't super sophisticated (which may well be the norm for GPUs) and probably isn't something that's going to change much. On the other hand, AMD can offer shader replacements, via driver updates, that can bypass the problem and generate dual issues for shaders that would normally bog down the CUs when instructions are single-issued.

 

[maroon1]

4060 Ti beats 7600 by 26% at 1080p and 25% at 1440p.... Which means that non-Ti 4060 has good chance of matching 7600............... but Nvidia will have huge in advantage in power efficiency (4060 Ti already consume less power than 7600 despite being faster)

 

[mcnabney]

Thank you for the review, and especially for the clear and concise title again.
And is sad that in fact, with AMD and Nvidia, we do not have a real competition at all in gaming videocards market. I heard that AMD CEO and Nvidia CEO are close relatives. Jensen Huang is Lisa Su's uncle? That would explain a lot, especially how a family competition looks like between close relatives. No good products for consumers, only overpriced ones which fill out their wallets.

For m3tavision
"If you are going to be buying a new 1080p GPU... which card would you People be buying...?"
Suddenly, Intel Arc seems a good alternative comparing with this 7600 and definitely with 4060

I Think they are first cousins, once removed. Her grandfather is his uncle. So one of her parents are his cousin.

 

[maroon1]

As long as there's enough VRAM, textures won't affect FPS performance.

Not true.. Texure do have some small impact on fps even if you have enough Vram. Test 10 games with ultra vs medium texures (on 6700XT) and see if you get identical fps.

There is reason why developer lower texure resolution on Plague tale on console when using performance mode

In future games, the 16GB version of the RTX 4060 Ti will be able to achieve a much higher level of graphical fidelity than the 8GB model, while maintaining the same FPS.

That huge exaggeration

Much higher ?? Last of Us ultra and high texures look almost same (with latest patch) and it fixed lows fps on 8GB (when using latest patch)....

Basically, you get slight difference in quality for same fps between 4060 Ti 8GB and 4060 Ti 16GB. It will not be huge difference as you make it

 

[emmzo]

Yes, I realize that you can get the 6750 XT from MSI pretty cheap right now, but if you look all the other 6750 XTs are priced a good bit more because stock is getting low. The 6700 XT will be gone soon, MSI must have made a ton of them haha. Also, if the starting price of the 7600 XT is $329, then it would likely be available under $300 by 4th quarter which could really boost Holiday sales and give you a real value option.

We will see how 7600xt fares against a 6700xt and if they insist on 8gb vram. My two cents, it will be 2-5% faster, which is bullsh1t. It's true the 6700xt stock will get thinner or completely deplete. I bought mine for 450 euros (because... Europe) half a year ago, but I still consider it a good investment for the 12gb seeing the trash both companies push nowadays for ridiculous prices.

 

[zecoeco]

People are overreacting weirdly and expecting too much. Wake up guys, this is not even at XT card. What did you expect? Its 2023, process node jumps are very small (7nm v 6nm) and architectural improvements will only do very little. Amid the wake of inflation and high costs, this is a well-priced GPU in my opinion. I don' t really expect a card that doesn't even have the XT factor to perform exceptionally well, look at history, most non-XT cards performed unimpressively. However, I really appreciate how AMD reacted to the community and the feedback of youtubers to reduce price even further, it tells you that they're listening, and having an eye on the competition.

 

[passwordistaco]

RTX 4090 is a hell of a halo GPU at a hell of a halo price. RTX 4080, 7900 XTX, and 7900 XT are good GPUs at ridiculous prices. The rest of this generation from both AMD and Nvidia is a dumpster fire.

 

[neeyik]

People are overreacting weirdly and expecting too much. Wake up guys, this is not even at XT card. What did you expect? Its 2023, process node jumps are very small (7nm v 6nm) and architectural improvements will only do very little.

TSMC’s N6 offers an 18% die density improvement over N7, but nothing extra in terms of performance and power. Navi 23 is 46 million transistors per mm2, Navi 33 is 65 which is a 41% increase in density — that’s far more than just a simple node change.

So AMD has clearly done some serious engineering work to pack in twice the number of ALUs, larger register files, and larger L0/L1 caches, all while making the die even smaller. But for what? The performance is okay but it’s literally just a small improvement over the 6650 XT; the 7600 is also a full die Navi 33, so there’s no scope to offer an XT version that has more CUs. Regardless of the price, it’s an underwhelming entry in the RDNA 3 lineup; the disappointment is deserved.

 

[EdmondRC]

People are overreacting weirdly and expecting too much. Wake up guys, this is not even at XT card. What did you expect? Its 2023, process node jumps are very small (7nm v 6nm) and architectural improvements will only do very little. Amid the wake of inflation and high costs, this is a well-priced GPU in my opinion. I don' t really expect a card that doesn't even have the XT factor to perform exceptionally well, look at history, most non-XT cards performed unimpressively. However, I really appreciate how AMD reacted to the community and the feedback of youtubers to reduce price even further, it tells you that they're listening, and having an eye on the competition.

I think a lot of people feel that prices are still way too inflated and reflect the GPU shortage. I see that with the 4060 Ti, but this card is much better in terms of where it lands in both price and performance. That being said, it doesn't bring anything you can't already get in the 6650 XT which is currently available at least $10 US cheaper. So no price-to-performance uplift that you would expect when a new GPU launches.

Part of the reason for this is that the RDNA2 cards are just so heavily discounted. The 6650 XT MSRP was $379, which was too much, but it's now selling for around $259, that's over a 30% price reduction. The $479 6700 XT, well you can now get a 6750 XT for $329, which is about a 30% from MSRP reduction as well. AMD probably thinks they are giving gamers quite the deal at $269 when the previous-gen card was $329. But, the market has valued that card at $200 and so it is 35% more than what the market values the 6600 with only a ~25% improvement.

I think this card will drop quickly to about $229 by Q4 and will probably be a good value for those just wanting an entry-level GPU.

 

[mbk34]

So basically, it offers the same functionality as the existing RX 6650 XT but it's more expensive to buy?

 

[EdmondRC]

The performance is okay but it’s literally just a small improvement over the 6650 XT; the 7600 is also a full die Navi 33, so there’s no scope to offer an XT version that has more CUs.

This is full die Navi 33? Wow, I did not realize it. That makes it even more disappointing. I guess RDNA3 is a flop unless there is some future revision coming. A 7600 XT then would just be binned chips clocked around 3ghz then I guess, if it even happens. Maybe AMD will bump more up to Navi 32? Or maybe RDNA 3 is just a major flop.

 

[lripplinger]

Seems I will keep waiting to replace my GTX 1060 6GB.

 

[Kam7r]

Absolutely ... pathetic

 

[daffy duck]

Moore's Law is Dead said a few weeks ago, Navi33 was going to disappoint and boy did it live up to expectations. Honestly what a pathetic waste of time and effort from AMD. They've basically move the dial sideways and up about 5 degrees from N23. I am really seeing Lisa Su as a weak link for AMD these days. They dropped the ball on RDNA3 overhyping and under delivering big time. Huge delays for this second rate garbage. Overpriced Zen 4 cpu's initially, lies about MB pricing, melting X3D cpu's, no FSR3, FSR1/2 that suck at anything less than 4K.

What is really bad about this is this is fullN33 die, not the cut down version, so now no XT version. This needed to be 6700XT performance (with stronger RT), 160bit bus, 10GB and $299. This rubbish is what I would have expected from a 7500XT at $199.

 

[Watzupken]

In my opinion, the review is unnecessarily harsh for this card. I totally agree that if we compare with just AMD’s own RDNA2, this don’t seem good in value. However from a performance standpoint, I feel it is clearly an improvement over the RX 6600, which I supposed this was meant to replace. And to the point on price, if RDNA2 eventually sells out, will it change the “value” proposition here since the negativity here seems to point to the price. Don’t get me wrong, between a RX 6700/6750 XT and this, I would gladly spend a little more, and get a lot more performance and 50% VRAM bump. But these will eventually sell out because they are clearly better value.
Disappointingly, I feel AMD dropped the ball big time here. I don’t even know what they are doing for their GPU business. They launched flagship range, and where’s the mid range cards? And out of the blue, they launched their entry level card, which I feel is more RDNA 2.5 than 3. In addition, there are fundamental driver issues, I.e. high idle power consumption that has been on their “known issue” list since launch, and still no fix in sight. I mean if they want to win buyers, they should focus on getting the drivers right, and not just rely on price/ value as the only consideration. People’s main concerns are driver stability and maturity, and AMD should be listening to these feedbacks.

 

[mbk34]

Well, I've just gone and ordered a new GPU! I actually bought an RX 6650 XT as these new cards have brought the price down on the old cards. Hopefully it will be a nice upgrade on my old 1060 6GB and at a price that doesn't make me wonder about my sanity (£230).

 

[kiwigraeme]

Given the simplicity of this cards - hopefully those on a budget can pick up this or another for $200-$250 later in the year
AMD should aggressively target this market
Why because RT doesn't matter a this range - plus hold off Intel
Get the AMD brand in the GPU some common market dogma
"You want a great basic card - get an AMD".
If Nvidia does not price react get a 7600 for $100 cheaper than a 4060 - or 30% cheaper - what it has RTX - yeah like you really going to use if often on a 4060-in a few games you play that have it

This low to high midrange has a lot of sales including Consoles etc
This will give you a larger market share - put more Nvidia sunk costs on fewer sells ( eg marketing , drivers etc )
Really at the moment 4 options - get a 4090 no matter the price , get AMDs top card at great price - or buy the best bang for buck just to game cheaply
Everyone else wait next iterations and put pressure on AMD/Nvidia at least get a real improvement not as a reviewer said a skylake iteration ( ouch! ).

 

[Loadedaxe]

Sadly, this is going to become the norm.

Nvidia is starting to bank on Ai, they don't really care about gamer's moving into 2024, and AMD, well as usual they are lagging behind Nvidia.

AMD did have a chance to take over this segment, if they had priced this card at $229 it would have taken off really well.

For budget gamers at 1080p @ $275, which is what the cheapest price for one is that I can find as of this post, its not a good buy as you can get the RX6600 at $199 New as of this post, and on Ebay $150-$170 used

 

[takaozo]

Looks like AMD and Nvidia are sharing the same bed this days.

 

[Axeia]

If you are going to be buying a new 1080p GPU... which card would you People be buying...?


?

RTX 6700, 6700 XT or 6750 XT depending on the pricing in your area. And I'd get it from the used market myself instead of new (Facebook marketplace or eBay).

All the new launches are crap. Whilst that card will be a very solid performer. And 12gb of VRAM on a 192 bit busy will age nicely . Also keep game bundles in mind they might make buying new interesting if you like the included game

 

[Blqckout]

Moore's Law is Dead said a few weeks ago, Navi33 was going to disappoint and boy did it live up to expectations. Honestly what a pathetic waste of time and effort from AMD. They've basically move the dial sideways and up about 5 degrees from N23. I am really seeing Lisa Su as a weak link for AMD these days. They dropped the ball on RDNA3 overhyping and under delivering big time. Huge delays for this second rate garbage. Overpriced Zen 4 cpu's initially, lies about MB pricing, melting X3D cpu's, no FSR3, FSR1/2 that suck at anything less than 4K.

What is really bad about this is this is fullN33 die, not the cut down version, so now no XT version. This needed to be 6700XT performance (with stronger RT), 160bit bus, 10GB and $299. This rubbish is what I would have expected from a 7500XT at $199.

mb pricing and x3d cpus melting isnt an amd issue, its an asus issue
or a feature
both probably