MSI Radeon RX 6650 XT Gaming X review

ZAH Computers Tech Editorial

ZAH Computers Hardware Research Desk

We are evaluating the brand-new MSI Radeon RX 6650 XT Gaming X. Geared towards Full HD gaming with 8GB framebuffer and a price of approximately 399~449 USD, the card is being launched today. AMD's rDNA 2 desktop graphics card line, the Radeon RX 6000 series, was introduced towards the end of 2020 and has continued into 2021. The year 2022 is about halfway through, and AMD is now refreshing its RDNA 2 graphics card portfolio with a new family of graphics cards. All of them are rehashed and reconfigured products, which means this is not a new generation of cards, but rather an incremental improvement based on the same RDNA 2 architecture. The main difference here is the use of faster memory. All three graphics cards include up to 18Gbps GDDR6 memory chips, up from 16Gbps on non-50 versions. Some AIBs will configure the 6650 XT at 17.5 Gbps, though with OC models configured at 18 GBps. All graphics cards also use a comparable GPU seen from their predecessor but will arrive with increased memory and boost/game clock rates. As such, the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT will sit above the Radeon RX 6900 XT, and the Radeon RX 6750 XT will sit above the Radeon RX 6700 XT. Of course, the Radeon RX 6650 XT will sit above the Radeon RX 6600 XT. Consider this to be AMD's own 'SUPER', however without any major advancements as the shader and RT count remain identical. The lineup is intended to provide performance enhancements ranging from 5-to-10%, and memory will play a significant role in meeting these performance objectives. Once again, the new lineup would be as follows:

Radeon RX 6950 XT: 5120 SPs, 16GB GDDR6 (18Gbps), 256-bit bus, 335W TBP
Radeon RX 6900 XT: 5120 SPs, 16GB GDDR6 (16Gbps), 256-bit bus, 300W TBP
Radeon RX 6750 XT: 2560 SPs, 12GB GDDR6 (18Gbps), 192-bit bus, 250 TBP
Radeon RX 6700 XT: 2560 SPs, 12GB GDDR6 (16Gbps), 192-bit bus, 230W TBP
Radeon RX 6650 XT: 2048 SPs, 8GB GDDR6 (18Gbps), 128-bit bus, 180 TBP
Radeon RX 6600 XT: 2048 SPs, 8GB GDDR6 (16Gbps), 128-bit bus, 160W TBP

AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series
	RX 6950 XT	RX 6900 XT	RX 6750	RX 6700 XT	RX 6650 XT	RX 6600 XT
GPU	Navi 21 XT(XH)	Navi 21 XT(XH)	Navi 22 XT	Navi 22 XT	Navi 23 XT	Navi 23 XT
Cores	5120	5120	2560	2560	2048	2048
TMUs	320	320	160	160	128	128
ROPs	128	128	64	64	64	64
Infinity Cache	128 MB	128 MB	96 MB	96 MB	32 MB	32 MB
Boost Clock	2310 MHz	2250 MHz	2600 MHz	2581 MHz	2635 MHz	2359 MHz
Memory Clock	18 Gbps	16 Gbps	18 Gbps	16 Gbps	17.5 Gbps	16 Gbps
Memory	16 GB GDDR6	16 GB GDDR6	12 GB GDDR6	12 GB GDDR6	8 GB GDDR6	8 GB GDDR6
Memory Bus	256-bit	256-bit	192-bit	192-bit	128-bit	128-bit
Bandwidth	576 GB/s	512 GB/s	432 GB/s	384 GB/s	280 GB/s	256 GB/s
TBP	335W	300W	250W	230W	180W	160W
MSRP	1099 USD	999 USD	549 USD	479 USD	399 USD	379 USD
Launch Date	May 2022	December 2021	May 2022	March 2021	May 2022	August 2021

This week, we are excited to present a diverse range of graphics cards from the latest 6x50 series. Our focus will be on the MSI Radeon RX 6650 XT Gaming X in this review. Despite being a more premium option in the mainstream category, it falls short of the high-end models. For instance, the Twinfrozr / Gaming-X cooler now features two Axial fans instead of three. While the cooler is slightly smaller, its design closely resembles that of its larger counterpart. Before delving into the review, let's begin with some images and a brief architectural overview.