Some Radeon RX 5600 XT Models Can be Much Faster Than Others
AMD's RX 5600 XT GPU, equipped with new software that significantly increases their performance, are now on sale.
The RX 5600 XT graphics card is the answer to the GTX 1660 Ti from Nvidia. It's a shafted version of the RX 5700, with a slight reduction in clock frequency, VRAM and data bus. The plan has been successful. The AMD card has outperformed its competitors in terms of performance and is available at a similar price. However, recently, custom 5600 XT models with a new software version have appeared on the market, which are even faster.
- Some newer RX 5600 XT models can be much faster than other models of the same GPU;
- The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT with new software can match the RTX 2060 from Nvidia;
- Buyers of Radeon RX 5600 XT must now pay more attention to the model and software version of the card they are buying.
The example of the Sapphire Pulse RX 5600 XT, given in an article in PCWorld, shows what performance gains have been made in the same graphics card but with new software. The VBIOS update increases memory and GPU clocking, as we have already written in an earlier news. Of course, only on models that offer this possibility due to their efficient cooling and power supply. AMD's tactics may come as a surprise, although it is understandable when you look at Nvidia's actions.
The introduction of the RX 5600 XT as a competition for the GTX 1660 Ti has been successful. Nvidia, instead of defending the sales of the GTX 1660 Ti by controlling the price, lowered the prices of RTX 2060 practically to the level of the new AMD cards. Since then, customers could find a stronger graphics card with hardware ray tracing on a similar price shelf as the RX 5600 XT . However, with the VBIOS update, the RX 5600 XT is now able to compete with its new price rival in terms of fps as well. At the same time, AMD has given the future AMD card buyers some new responsibilities.
Before buying, they must now make sure that their new purchase is an updated version. The best thing to do is to pay attention to the technical data provided on the store's website, as models with new software have higher GPU clock values (most commonly 1750 Mhz) and a memory bandwidth of 14 Gb/s (12 Gb/s before the update). Although it should be noted that not all manufacturers modify memory performance. We might see an updated model with only 12 Gb/s.
However, if it turns out that we bought a card with older software, we may have a chance to update it. Many manufacturers provide tools and instructions on their websites on how to do this. This is the case with Sapphire, for example. Buyers of MSi cards from the Gaming X series can use Dragon Center to perform the upgrade. ASrock also provides the appropriate software. It is worth noting that updating VBIOS requires some knowledge.
Admittedly, AMD has made things a bit confusing if we are buying RX 5600 XT cards. Although nowadays most of the offers in shops should be up to date, we can still find a unit from before the upgrade. The updated card equal in performance to RTX 2060, but the issue of lack of hardware ray tracing remains. Time will tell how many buyers will be willing to ingore that and choose the card from AMD.
