The Best RX 6700 XT Graphics Card In 2022
We Find The Best RX 6700 XT GPU For Your Needs
Picking the Best RX 6700 XT graphics card, like when shopping for any mid-high range GPU, can be a daunting task – given it’s the most important and expensive part of any gaming PC, but this page will make that process that much easier for you.
The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT was designed to take on the Nvidia RTX 3070, and although it didn’t quite manage to beat it in terms of 1440p gaming, for 1080p performance the two cards are fairly evenly matched and the RX 6700 XT is around $20 cheaper MSRP, not to mention easier to find on the retail market. All in all, the RX 6700 XT is a very solid choice for anyone looking to do some gaming on a 1440p monitor as well as getting some serious FPS on a 1080p display.
The following article will take a look at some of the best RX 6700 XT graphics cards available on today’s market. For this shortlist we have looked across all third-party AIB versions of the card available, as well as of course the original reference version. We’ll be analyzing the pros and cons of each card, prioritizing performance, cooling, and overall value for money as we go.
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT Stock Levels
The market price of AMD GPUs has undoubtedly increased due to the global graphics card shortage, but noticeably less than Nvidia graphics cards, which are the more prized by crypto miners. This is definitely a noteworthy advantage of choosing to go AMD over Nvidia.
Stock wise it has been hard to find either AMD or Nvidia graphics cards, and the RX 6700 XT is no exception to this. There are promising signs however that stock availability may be increasing for the Radeon RX 6700 XT along with other GPUs, so between now and the end of 2021 we may see increased availability. Be sure to check out our Where To Buy AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT page for the best chance to get hold of one.
Now, without further ado, let’s take look at the best RX 6700 XT for you!
Our Top Picks
Best RX 6700 XT Graphics Cards
In-depth Review
MSI Radeon RX 6700 XT Gaming X
MSI Radeon RX 6700 XT Gaming X
MSI regularly takes one of the top spots in our best GPU guides and, with this MSI Radeon RX 6700 XT Gaming X graphics card, it’s easy to see why.
The graphics card has a solid boost clock of 2622 MHz, compared to the 2581 MHz of the reference version. If you know what you’re doing, you could probably push this further to around 2750 MHz if you are so inclined. Despite this, MSI has still managed to effectively pair it with a dual-fan, Twin Frozr 8 cooling solution, instead of the triple fan setup you’d see with the Gaming X Trio graphics cards MSI also produce. This is largely thanks to the lower TDP of the RX 6700 XT compared to its Nvidia competitors.
The twin fans mean the graphics card has a shorter length, making it an ideal pick for those for whom case space is limited, though the older style shroud is still a bit on the chunky side. Despite the smaller size and thermal design – cooling remains very efficient and also benefits from being relatively quiet.
In terms of visual appeal, we think the MSI design is one of the nicer out there, although RGB may be a bit limited for some tastes – appearing only on the logo and thin strips on the top of the card. Really the only major downside of this GPU is that it’s one of the pricier on the market – but for that price, you do get quality. If you don’t want to do any GPU overclocking yourself but want it done and ready to go out of the box then this is the best RX 6700 XT out there.
ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX 6700 XT OC
ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX 6700 XT OC
ASUS is back again with another high-performance ROG STRIX AIB for graphics card enthusiasts. This is not a cheap card, but it is the most powerful RX 6700 XT you are likely to find – with a factory OC boost clock of 2699 MHz right out the box, and the most headroom for further overclocking, which can put it well up there with the performance of the RTX 3070.
If you do want to push the overclocking further (which is really the only reason you’d buy this card) 2820 MHz and over is possible with this beast thanks to the 3 fan Axial-tech cooling setup, with increased blade count on each fan and improved airflow ergonomics. The MaxXontact technology also improves the efficiency of the heatsink. Despite this, quiet fan speed is still possible through enabling silent BIOS, at a small hit to peak performance.
Besides the price, the only real downside of all this performance is the size – the ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX 6700 XT OC is a large 2.9 slot graphics card and not suitable for smaller cases.
PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 6700 XT
PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 6700 XT
This 228mm length PowerColor Fighter RX 6700 XT is by far the smallest version of this GPU you will find, including the vanilla reference version of the card.
The more efficient twin fan system and heatsink mean this card still packs the same base and boost clock (2321 MHz and 2581 MHz respectively) as the Founders Edition, despite being smaller. The cooling won’t stand up to any overclocking mind you, so if that’s what you want to do then pick another option on this list; though at the stock speeds it will perform very well indeed, and get you more longevity from your card than the reference model.
This is the loudest card on this list and lacks any RGB to speak of, but it does offer the cheapest value of any AIB (i.e. non-reference) RX 6700 XT.
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT Reference Model
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT Reference Model
The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the Founders Edition/reference version of the graphics card. As tends to be the case with the original vanilla version of the graphics card, it has the joint slowest clock speed on this list, and the least advanced cooling – meaning it is unsuitable for anything more than slight overclocking.
Reference versions of graphics cards tend to have shorter effective lifespans, and their performance drops more noticeably over time, as the less powerful cooling means more strain is put on the GPU – wearing it down. We do not necessarily know if this will prove to be the case for the RX 6700 XT or any other recently released card until enough time has passed, we can only look to previous examples.
All that being said this card gives the best performance per price of any of the cards listed here and, whilst nothing special, it looks pretty nice in our opinion. It’s not the smallest RX 6700 XT, but it certainly is more compact than most AIBs. Overall this is a great choice if you’re looking to pick up an RX 6700 XT but have a limited budget.
Final Word
This has been our guide to the best RX 6700 XT graphics card, we hope it has proved useful in helping you come to a decision about which one is right for you.
All-in-all the AMD RX 6700 XT GPU is a solid mid-high range graphics card, suitable for 1080p or 1440p gaming. Each third party AIB version of the GPU on this page has its own strengths, weaknesses, and price point that will make them each suitable for different consumers with different needs.
Be sure to have a look at our Where To Buy The AMD Radeon RX 6700 series page if you’re struggling to find any in stock in your country. If you have any other questions regarding this graphics card or any others, be sure to drop us a comment below.