Intro

The TUF Gaming X3 ASUS RX 5600 XT EVO OC Benchmarked with 50 games vs. the GTX 1660 Ti/Super, the RTX 2060, and vs. the RX Vega 56

BTR received a TUF Gaming X3 ASUS RX 5600 XT EVO OC 8GB ($279) review sample from AMD last week, and we have benchmarked it using 50 games versus its main competitor, the GTX 1660 Ti ($279). In addition, we benchmark the GTX 1660 Super 6GB ($229), the RX Vega 56 8GB ($265), the RTX 2060 ($299), and six other cards. Although the RX 5600 XT 6GB is designed for Ultra 1080P, BTR’s 50 game benchmarks were also run at Ultra 2560×1440 to push it beyond its limits.

We got a surprise yesterday morning – AMD released a new performance vBIOS for the RX 5600 XT. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to retest all 50 games so we flashed the card’s BIOS and rebenched ten games to get an idea of how much additional performance improvement this update brings. We also tested the power draw and the overclocking headroom before and after the vBIOS update.

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Final Update 01/24/20 9:30 AM PT: A new-vBIOS ASUS TUF Gaming X3 RX 5600 XT review has updated all 50 game benchmarks and the conclusion. It also focuses on the RX 5600 XT’s new performance versus the GTX 1660 Ti and Super as well as against the RTX 2060 and RX Vega 56.

UPDATED 01/22/20 9:30 AM: A full day after posting we just now got another surprise from AMD that the ASUS TUF Gaming X3 RX 5600 XT is priced at $309.99 (MSRP) which is $30 above AMD’s entry-level pricing of $279.99. Newegg has it on pre-order for $319.99 with availability scheduled for tomorrow.

Arriving on 7nm, the RX 5700 series signaled AMD’s return to competitiveness in July, and its new RDNA architecture is also the largest change since GCN. Starting with the RX 5500/XT, AMD has replaced the Polaris RX 500 series and is now aiming at the Ultra 1080P gaming market with the RX 5600 XT to go directly against NVIDIA’s GTX 1660 Ti.

The RX 5500 XT launches today starting at $279 only as AMD partner cards with multiple levels of overclock and different features. We also have a PowerColor RX 5600 XT review sample on the way and will have a new review up in a day or two.

In advance of the RX 5500/5600 XT’s launch, AMD has released the Adrenalin 2020 Edition which brings at least 20 new and updated features. It provides gamers with one-click presets to easily optimize software and system settings for custom gaming.

The new AMD Game Center gives gamers the option to launch games from one location regardless of platform. Settings can be adjusted for each individual game to track gaming and performance stats without ever leaving the game. In addition, a new integrated web browser enables users to browse online for game information. Here are some of the highlights of the Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition:

Radeon Boost – Delivers an average performance boost up to 23% during fast-paced gaming by dynamically reducing image resolution in areas where it matters least to image quality while increasing framerates, fluidity, and bolstering responsiveness.

AMD Link – Features an updated interface, and the AMD Link mobile application now allows gamers to stream to mobile devices with high-quality PC gameplay on phones or tablets from anywhere with a high speed Internet connection.

Integer Display Scaling – Scales on-screen images from one pixel to four or more to give classic games a retro pixel-art look with scaling options for high resolution displays without performance penalty.

DirectML Media Filters – Visual noise reduction and upscaling filters utilize machine learning to clean up photo and video files to deliver better quality than traditional de-noise and upscale filters.

Radeon Image Sharpening and Radeon Anti-Lag – Radeon Image Sharpening3 adds support for DirectX11 in addition to DX9, DX12, and Vulkan games. This feature now allows users to select the degree of sharpness. Radeon Anti-Lag4 adds support for DX9 titles on older 5000 series graphics cards.

The TUF Gaming X3 ASUS RX 5600 XT EVO OC 6GB

Although there is no AMD reference design for the RX 5600 XT, the specifications are detailed in their chart.

The RX 5600 XT is a similar GPU to the RX 5700 but with lower core clocks and with much less memory bandwidth. With the original vBIOS, the reference RX 5600 XT’s base clock is above 1130MHz boosting to a average game Game Clock of 1375MHz and a Boost Clock up to 1560MHz. The TUF 3 RX 5600 XT EVO OC offers a faster Boost Clock (OC Mode) up to 1640MHz and a Game Clock up to 1620MHz. Of course, the actual individual game and boost clock results will vary from card to card.

After the vBIOS flash, the ASUS TUF 3 RX 5600 XT 6GB EVO OC is now factory overclocked with an up to 1660MHz Game Clock/~1770MHz Boost clock using the OC Mode, and a 1615MHz Game clock with a ~1750 Boost clock using Gaming Mode. With Silent Mode, it also has an onboard controller that brings fans to a stop when the GPU core temperature is below 55 C, letting gamers play light games with no fan noise. As the temperatures rise past a predetermined threshold, the fans automatically restart. All of these modes may be accessed by using the ASUS Tweak II utility and further manual overclocking is also available.

Here are the specifications in ASUS’ chart.

Specifications

The specifications look good and the card looks awesome, so let’s unbox it and look more closely at it before we benchmark it.