New graphics card under $300 - which rx 6600?

[teddyteddyteddy]

I'm trying to buy a new graphics card today or tomorrow, don't want to spend over $300 ish. I play games at 1080p, do a litttttle video editing and record a lot of music/audio production.

I also don't want to make the mistake of getting a card that can't keep itself cool again... (xfx r9 290)

It seems to me like the rx 6600 is the best option, here are the main ones I'm looking at:

 

Powercolor Fighter rx 6600 - $255

 

Powercolor Hellhound rx 6600 - $299

 

Sapphire Pulse rx 6600 - $289

 

 

Which of these would you buy? Or would you go a different direction? I'm leaning towards the sapphire pulse because they seem to have the best reputation (from what I've gathered). 

 

 

Other options I had considered:

-  Evga B-stock 2070 (worried about not buying brand new) - $299

-  rx 6700 on newegg  I can't find any other plain "6700" cards without the xt, anyone know if this is real? also slightly out of budget - $369

 

[Ryuikko]

I usually recommend whatevers cheapest in terms of gpus. Only one I know personally that dosent have ideal cooling is the msi mech 2x but it's usually fine with the lower end cards i.e 6600.

Personally I'd get the sapphire pulse because it looks nice lol, but also because it perfroms just a but quieter afaik.

Iirc the 6700 non xt were only released by sapphire pulse and powercolor but it is real.

[Pixelfie]

Sapphire should have a bit better cooling, but the Powercolor ones are good too. I have the Fighter model and it's pretty good, better than it looks and feels. Doesn't to above 70c under load and stays quiet. Only annoying thing is the fans start spinning at 55c, and often when watching YouTube it starts spinning and stops and keeps doing this because it's around 55c, but I don't know if the others are any different.

 

Techpowerup did a review of the RX 6600 Fighter. Also this video compares some GPUs including the Sapphire Pulse and Powercolor Fighter. Keep in mind that this was with mining, which isn't the same as gaming and fan speed doesn't mean noise since some can spin faster with the same noise level.

 

Whatever you do, do not get the MSI Mech version. It has a locked power limit which is a problem for this card, as simply unlocking it can give you 10% more performance, but keep in mind that it will consume 20w more which results in more heat and noise. Undervolting could help the power throttling too, if you don't want to unlock the limit but still get the most performance.