AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop) vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q

AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is a mid-range desktop graphics card that is based on the RDNA 2 architecture and uses the Navi 23 chip. It offers 2,048 shaders and 8 GB GDDR6 VRAM with a 128 bit memory interface (16 Gbps, 256 GB/s max).

The RDNA2 architecture offers new features like SAM (Smart Access Memory) and Infinity Cache. PCIe 4.0, RIS (Radeon Image Sharpener) and Raytracing support are also included in the RX6600XT.

The gaming performance of the RX 6600 XT is comparable to a GeForce RTX 3060 (Desktop). The previous generation Radeon RX 5600 XT can be easily bested. Therefore, the RX 6600 XT is best suited for demanding games in 1080p and high details.

The power consumption is rated at 160 Watt (TGP) by AMD and therefore similar to a GeForce RTX 3060 (170 Watt).

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the fastest desktop consumer graphics card (beginning 2017). It is based on the same GP107 chip as the Titan X but with slightly higher clock speeds and a different memory configuration. It offers one memory controller less (and 11 instead of 12 GB), but the GDDR5X memory is faster clocked (11 GHz) leading to a comparable memory bandwidth. Due to the higher boost clock, the 1080Ti should be around 5 % faster compared to the Pascal Titan X and about 35 % faster compared to the GTX 1080. The TDP is equal to the Titan X with 250 Watt. A new cooler of the Founders Edition should be more efficient and quieter.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 with Max-Q design is a mainstream GPU based on the Pascal architecture and was announced in January 2018. Contrary to the faster models, the GTX 1050 uses the GP107 chip, which is manufactured in a 14 nm process at Samsung.

The clock is not the only difference compared to the regular GTX 1050 though. The drivers for the Max-Q version were optimized for efficiency (and not performance; only for Max-Q models), there are optimized voltage converters for 1V operation, high-end cooling methods, and a 40 dB limit for the fan noise (with clock adjustments to ensure this at all times).

Features

The GP107 chip is manufactured in a 14 nm FinFET process at Samsung and offers a number of new features, including support for DisplayPort 1.4 (ready), HDMI 2.0b, HDR, Simultaneous Multi-Projection (SMP) as well as improved H.265 video de- and encoding (PlayReady 3.0). A full list of improvements and the new Pascal desktop GPUs is available in our dedicated Pascal architecture article.

Performance

The performance of the GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q should be around 10-15 % below a regular GTX 1050 for laptops. This means the GPU is most suited for full HD gaming at high settings (not maximum).

Power Consumption

The power consumption of the GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q is rated at 34 to 40 Watt and therefore significantly lower than the normal laptop GTX 1050 (53 Watt). Therefore, the Max-Q variant is also suited for thin and light laptops.