Should I Choose the RX 6600 or RX 6650 XT for an i5-8400?
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MellowRaccoon47
I'm putting together my first reasonably powerful gaming PC using a Lenovo ThinkCentre M920t with an Intel i5-8400. I know the CPU is aging and may bottleneck either graphics card, but I'm deciding between an RX 6600 and an RX 6650 XT. The RX 6650 XT costs about $30 more where I live and offers a noticeable performance increase, so I'm wondering whether the CPU bottleneck makes the cheaper RX 6600 a better choice. I probably won't find an affordable i7-8700, since they're unusually expensive. I'll also be replacing the system's power supply and using the necessary adapter. Which GPU makes the most sense?
Answers
For only $30 more, I’d choose the RX 6650 XT. It’s a meaningful jump over the regular RX 6600, and the price difference is small enough to justify it. In games where the i5-8400 becomes the limit, you can raise the graphics settings or cap your frame rate to reduce stuttering. If you ever want a cheap CPU upgrade, an Intel CC150 may be worth investigating; it’s similar to a lower-clocked i9-9900 and can work on systems that support 9th-generation CPUs, though compatibility should be confirmed first.
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The RX 6650 XT is the sensible choice at that local price. Newer options such as the RX 7600 or RTX 5050 can be competitive or more power-efficient, but they only make sense if they’re reasonably priced and actually available. Since the RX 7600 costs about $150 more for you and the RTX 5050 isn’t available, the extra performance from those cards doesn’t justify switching. The i5-8400 may hold back the 6650 XT in some CPU-heavy games, but the GPU will still provide better performance and more longevity than the RX 6600.
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