Overall and Final Verdict
New GPU launches are always interesting and exciting and the RX 5600 XT is no different. AMD went with what is basically the RX 5700 with a smaller memory controller and less memory while also running the GPU clock speed much lower. The tradeoff with that is you do still get the higher number of processing cores which I thought might translate to a little bit of a hidden gem when it came to compute testing, but that wasn’t the case. What ended up happening is the lower clock speed kept the RX 5700 out in front in all of the testing, but the RX 5600 XT ended up blowing away the GTX 1660 Ti and hanging with the RTX 2060 FE. In fact, I could argue that even though he 2060 FE had a 1 FPS lead on the average the 5600 XT was a faster card with it being faster in more tests after the updated BIOS that was pushed. This translated to great 1080p performance which AMD hinted at and frankly, it is at least 1440p capable as well. You can plan on taking advantage of high refresh monitors if you are playing less demanding esport focused titles as well.
I was also excited about this one because this is the first ASRock card I’ve had the chance to check out. I ended up being surprised by the cooling performance of the card. This is partially because of just how thick the cooler is, as I mentioned before if XFX card is THICC, this card is just plain fat. So keep that in mind, this isn’t going to work in 2 slot cases. I was concerned that noise was going to be an issue when I did my 100% fan speeds tests and the dual fans ramped up to 4k RPM and were loud. But the load testing which shows actual fan noise levels when under load for extended periods were actually on the other end of the chart. The cooler design isn’t going to be for everyone, but it is at least unique and unlike what anyone else is doing. I could go without the red accents though and I would prefer to see the RGB lighting being used with accents not just to light up the branding. Having addressable LEDs there was a nice touch. When looking at the cooler design I was unhappy with big gaps left at the top and bottom of the card. With the original BIOS these issues didn’t end up being an issue but with the updated BIOS the stock fan profile and cooler did run warmer than I would have liked. There was still headway with a fan profile adjustment being all that is needed. But that will most likely mean a lot more noise.
With me updating this review now a few days part the launch I can actually get a much better look at how the RX 5600 XT and specifically the ASRock RX 5600 XT Phantom Gaming fit into the market. When I wrote the original review I was never given pricing for the ASRock card and just AMDs MSRP. Along with that we also have the new BIOS update to take into account as well. I will say that I do also have the EVGA 2060 KO in the office and in fact already tested but waiting on me to get the 5600 XT testing fixed so you can expect a second look at this situation soon taking into that card as well. But for now, let's look at things in comparison to the regular RTX 2060. We can toss the GTX 1660 Ti out the window, Nvidia’s price change and AMDs last-minute overclock made that card completely irrelevant currently until it sees its own pricing adjustments.
Anyhow, so the MSRP of the RX 5600 XT is $279 but I can confirm that the two fan ASRock Phantom Gaming that I tested today is selling for $299.99. In fact, it is listed with an MSRP of $319.99 and on sale so hopefully, that doesn’t mean it may go back up in price. Like before the 5600 XT launch, the RTX 2060 doesn’t seem to have any availability at $299 but you can get cards in the $320 and $330 range. Given that issue and with the RX 5600 XT actually being faster in a lot of the games I tested the RX 5600 XT is looking like a good deal right now. This could change later if Nvidia’s cards do start to reflect the lower price more, especially with EVGA saying the $299 2060 KO will be back in stock soon. One thing is for sure, this is the new sweet spot. Either direction you go, you get top-notch 1080p performance and even some 1440p capabilities at a price that actually makes sense.
Live Pricing: HERE
