Independent reviews of the Radeon RX 6700 have now appeared. With this graphics card, AMD aimed for Nvidia’s RTX 3070, which is interesting for gamers who want to play in WQHD resolution. MeinMMO presents what the tests say about the graphics card and for whom the AMD graphics card is worthwhile.
The most important points at a glance:
- The RX 6700 XT is available in stores from March 18 at 2 PM.
- The Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks ahead of the RTX 3060 Ti in tests but falls behind the RTX 3070. Nvidia currently (March 17, 2021) also offers the better ray tracing option.
- AMD charges 479 euros for its reference model of the graphics card, but actual prices are likely to be significantly higher.
The embargo on the RX 6700 XT has now been lifted, and independent tests are reporting on the graphics card. In our article, we want to show you how AMD’s new graphics card performs and for whom a purchase is worthwhile. We will present the results from the tests and evaluate the graphics card.
What is the RX 6700 XT?
Who is the graphics card aimed at? When AMD presented the official introduction of the RX 6700 XT, they had a clear goal in mind. They introduced a graphics card aimed to compete with the RTX 3070 from the competition.
With a price of 479 euros, AMD positions itself between the RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 3070.
What the RX 6700 XT offers: With its new graphics card, AMD aims to provide ray tracing for under 500 euros. At the same time, they want to deliver enough performance for WQHD resolutions.
However, it still holds true that Nvidia has the advantage with ray tracing. Nvidia offers DLSS and is ahead in this regard. AMD is currently also preparing its own DLSS competitor, FidelityFX Super Resolution, but there is no release date yet.
The key data at a glance:
| GeForce RTX 3070 | Radeon RX 6700 XT | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 | PCIe 4.0 |
| Base Clock | 1500 MHz | 2321 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1730 MHz | 2581 MHz |
| Memory Size | 8 GB GDDR6 | 12 GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Interface Width | 256-bit | 192-bit |
| TDP (Power Consumption) | 220 Watts | 230 Watts |
What do the testers say about the RX 6700 XT?
In the following section, we present excerpts from the independent tests. If you’d rather read our summary instead, you can jump directly to the strengths and weaknesses of the RX 6700 XT here.
| Tester | Tester’s Statement |
|---|---|
| GameStar.de | “Basically, this is a very fast graphics card that I would especially recommend for gaming in WQHD. The VRAM is also more than sufficient with 12.0 GB in my opinion, considering future-proofing.” |
| PCWelt.de | “The performance is quite adequate for smooth Full HD gaming, but at 1440p, the Navi-22 graphics chip quickly runs out of steam with ray tracing enabled. The ray tracing performance is just above that of the RTX 3060, but it cannot compete at all with the direct competitor in the form of the RTX 3060 Ti.” |
| Computerbase.de | “Thus, the Radeon RX 6700 XT is very suitable for playing modern AAA games at 2560 × 1440 (WQHD) at maximum details. 3840 × 2160 is also possible but with mostly reduced details, however, the performance reserves are relatively low for Ultra HD. (…) For gaming with real-time ray tracing, the Radeon RX 6700 XT is only an entry-level solution.” |
| Hardwareluxx.de | “Performance at the level of the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (and slightly above), along with a good, albeit not great cooler and excellent build quality – this could summarize the Radeon RX 6700 XT in the reference version succinctly.” |
What are the strengths? Depending on the benchmark, the RX 6700 XT is 5 – 10% faster than the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti but is also about 5 – 10% behind the RTX 3070. Overall, it positions itself roughly in the middle between the RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 3070.
Its strength lies primarily in the good performance, which is easily suitable for high frame rates in WQHD resolutions.
The 12 GB video memory is also the right solution for the RX 6700 XT, as it is sufficient for high resolutions and also future-proof.
What are the weaknesses? The RX 6700 XT offers only mediocre performance with ray tracing. In Full HD, you can still get decent frame rates, but in higher resolutions, the performance drops significantly. Here, Nvidia with DLSS remains unbeaten. However, AMD plans to catch up soon with FidelityFX Super Resolution. It remains to be seen how much extra performance this can deliver.
How good is the graphics card in Full HD, WQHD, and 4K?
How does the graphics card perform? In the GameStar benchmark, the RX 6700 XT achieves 151.2 FPS at Full HD resolution. In ComputerBase’s benchmark, the Radeon graphics card is 7 percent ahead of the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti.
In higher resolutions like WQHD, AMD’s GPU also shows itself to be very capable and offers a high frame rate of more than 90 frames per second. The RTX 3070 is already slightly ahead of the AMD card on average (via Computerbase.de).
In 4K, the Radeon RX 6800 clearly sets itself apart from the RX 6700 XT. However, this is not surprising, as it has lower clock speeds but offers significantly more performance and a higher bandwidth.
Has AMD achieved its goal? Basically, AMD has succeeded in delivering a powerful gaming graphics card for WQHD resolutions. However, the confident promise to surpass Nvidia’s RTX 3070 could not be completely fulfilled.
RX 6700 XT in the benchmark, source: Computerbase.de 
RX 6700 XT in the benchmark, source: GameStar.de
What about ray tracing on the RX 6700 XT?
With ray tracing, the Radeon RX 6700 XT falls behind the competition. AMD cannot keep up with NVIDIA despite ray tracing, especially in titles where the effects are utilized extensively, the FPS drop significantly. This is especially true at higher resolutions.
In general, it can be said that ray tracing is possible with the Radeon RX 6700 XT in Full HD and it can achieve good performance here. However, at higher resolutions, the performance quickly drops. As an entry into the ray tracing world, the RX 6700 XT is certainly possible, but those who want to get the full performance from ray tracing will still have to rely on Nvidia for now. Nvidia is currently unmatched with its DLSS technology.
Source: Hardwareluxx.de 
Source: GameStar.de
For whom is the RX 6700 XT worthwhile?
The graphics card is particularly interesting for gamers who prefer to play in WQHD with at least 90 FPS. Full HD resolutions above 140 FPS are also possible, as a purely Full HD graphics card, we would currently rather recommend the RTX 3060 if you can get it for a reasonable price.
A more important question when buying is the topic of ray tracing. If ray tracing and high performance are important to you, then there is currently no way around Nvidia’s RTX 3000 graphics cards. They currently offer faster ray tracing and DLSS.
If ray tracing is not very important to you, then the RX 6700 XT is a very good alternative to the RTX 3070 and RTX 3060 Ti. On the one hand, it offers more performance than the RTX 3060 Ti and is on par with the RTX 3070. On the other hand, the Radeon graphics card has more video memory than the competition.
However, the basic rule is: watch the price. If you can get the RX 6700 XT at a reasonable price that does not exceed that of the RTX 3070, then you should grab it – if you are okay with compromises in ray tracing.
RTX 3060: Release, price, and where to buy?
AMD’s latest graphics card is officially available from March 18, 2021, at 2 PM. There were already indications beforehand that the availability might be extremely poor. This is primarily due to the shortage of semiconductors.
These are needed for electronic devices such as consoles or graphics cards, and AMD not only manufactures graphics cards but also processors and the next-gen consoles PS5 and Xbox Series X. The U.S. trade restrictions and the Corona pandemic are causing additional problems.
An retailer has already offered the RX 6700 XT, but at double the price. How much the graphics cards will go for after release, we cannot yet say.
