SAPPHIRE PULSE RADEON
RX 5600 XT /£255 inc VAT
SUPPLIER overclockers.co.ukT
he Radeon RX 5600 XT is the latest
addition to AMD’s GPU range. Sitting
between the pricier Radeon RX
5700 and cheaper 5500 XT, it’s based on the
same Navi 10 GPU as the Radeon RX 5700
and even has the same number of compute
units and stream processors. However, it runs
at lower clock speeds, has a narrower memory
interface and less memory.
With a highly competitive price of £255
inc VAT for the Sapphire Pulse card we
tested, it’s in direct competition with theNvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, and that means
the RX 5600XT stacks up well. With 2,304
stream processors, it has buckets of parallel
processing power. Both the GeForce GTX
1660 Ti and the Radeon RX 5600 XT also use
a 192-bit memory interface, talking to 6GB of
RAM, although this Sapphire card clocks the
memory up to 1750MHz ( 14GHz effective), so
it has more bandwidth than the Nvidia card.
This particular Sapphire Pulse card is a well-
built, premium affair, although its extreme
height may be a concern for those with
smaller cases: it’s 135mm tall, whereas as a
standard expansion bracket is 120mm. Taking
full advantage of that extra real estate, you get
two large fans that not only stay still and silent
when the card is idle, but remain impressively
quiet when the card is under load too.
Output options consist of three DisplayPort
sockets and one HDMI output, with the whole
second expansion slot open for ventilation. A
metal plate also sits on the back of the card,
helping to protect the precious circuitry below.
A notch in the backplate allows access
to a BIOS switch that lets you flip the card
between a performance and a quiet mode.
The ‘silent’ mode has a 1460MHz game
clock, 1620MHz max boost clock and 12GHz
(effective) memory clock. In this mode, the
card comfortably outpaces the GTX 1660
Ti but still sits some way back from the RTX
2060 in our gaming tests.VERDICT
Excellent performance and power efficiency
but no hardware ray-tracing support.PERFORMANCE
43 / 50RAY TRACING
0 / 10OVERALL SCORE
80 %
EFFICIENCY
9 / 10VALUE
28 / 30SPEC
Graphics processor AMD Radeon RX
5600 XT, 1355MHz base clock, 1615MHz
game clock, 1750MHz boost clock
Pipeline 2,304 stream processors, 64 ROPs
Interface PCI-E 4
Memory 6GB GDDR6, 1750MHz
(14GHz effective)
Memory interface 192-bit
Bandwidth 336GB/sec
Outputs/inputs 3 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x HDMI 2b
Power connections 1 x 8-pinHEARTBEAT
+ Faster than RTX 2060
+ Low power draw
+ Great coolerCARDIAC ARREST- No ray-tracing
hardware - Only 6GB of memory
Performance mode ups the clock speeds
significantly, to a 1615MHz game clock and
1750MHz boost clock, along with a 14GHz
(effective) memory clock. Sure enough, in
this mode, this card seriously impressed, far
outstripping the GTX 1660 Ti in all our tests
and even beating the RTX 2060 in most
tests too. The performance mode makes
the fans slightly louder, but the noise isn’t
overly irritating – especially if you’re wearing
headphones – so we’d be inclined to leave
the card on this setting.
Overall, the performance in this mode
is plenty for 1080p gaming and adequate
for 2,560 x 1,440 gaming. What’s quite
astonishing to find is that the card delivers
all of this performance while consuming
relatively little power. Our system drew
222W from the mains with the RX 5600 XT
installed, compared to 241W with the RTX- As with all of AMD’s current GPUs,
though, you miss out on ray-tracing support
here, so it depends where your priorities lie.
Conclusion
The Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 5600 XT
offers excellent bang per buck. At £255 inc
VAT, this well-built card easily beats equivalent
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti cards, but its lack of
ray-tracing support hurts it compared with
the GeForce RTX 2060. If getting the fastest
performance for around £250 is your top
priority then this card is the best in its class.
However, if you want the best eye candy, it’s
still worth paying the extra cash for the RTX
2060’s hardware ray-tracing support.+^ Gr^ eat cooler 2060 in our gaming tests.
c
u
stom P
CE
bcc
uu
ssstommPP
CCA
P
PROVED
SAPPHIRE PULSE RADEON
RX 5600 XT /£255 inc VAT
SUPPLIER overclockers.co.ukT
heRadeonRX 5600 XTis thelatest
additiontoAMD’sGPUrange.Sitting
betweenthepricierRadeonRX
5700 andcheaper 5500 XT,it’sbasedonthe
sameNavi 10 GPUastheRadeonRX 5700
andevenhasthesamenumberofcompute
unitsandstreamprocessors.However,it runs
atlowerclockspeeds,hasa narrowermemory
interfaceandlessmemory.
Witha highlycompetitivepriceof£255
incVATfortheSapphirePulsecardwe
tested,it’sindirectcompetitionwiththe
NvidiaGeForceGTX 1660 Ti,andthatmeans
theRX5600XTstacksupwell.With2,304
streamprocessors,it hasbucketsofparallel
processingpower.BoththeGeForceGTX
1660 TiandtheRadeonRX 5600 XTalsouse
a 192-bitmemoryinterface,talkingto6GBof
RAM,althoughthisSapphirecardclocksthe
memoryupto1750MHz( 14GHz effective),so
it hasmorebandwidththantheNvidiacard.
ThisparticularSapphirePulsecardis a well-
built,premiumaffair,althoughitsextreme
heightmaybea concernforthosewith
smallercases:it’s135mmtall,whereasasa
standardexpansionbracketis 120mm.Taking
fulladvantageofthatextrarealestate,youget
twolargefansthatnotonlystaystillandsilent
whenthecardis idle,butremainimpressively
quietwhenthecardis underloadtoo.
OutputoptionsconsistofthreeDisplayPort
socketsandoneHDMIoutput,withthewhole
secondexpansionslotopenforventilation.A
metalplatealsositsonthebackofthecard,
helpingtoprotectthepreciouscircuitrybelow.
A notchinthebackplateallowsaccess
toa BIOSswitchthatletsyouflipthecard
betweena performanceanda quietmode.
The‘silent’modehasa 1460MHzgame
clock,1620MHzmaxboostclockand12GHz
(effective)memoryclock.Inthismode,the
cardcomfortablyoutpacestheGTX 1660
TibutstillsitssomewaybackfromtheRTXVERDICT
Excellent performance and power efficiency
butno hardware ray-tracing support.PERFORMANCE
43 / 50RAY TRACING
0 / 10OVERALLSCORE
80 %
EFFICIENCY
9 / 10VALUE
28 / 30SPEC
Graphics processor AMD Radeon RX
5600 XT, 1355MHz base clock, 1615MHz
game clock, 1750MHz boost clock
Pipeline 2,304 stream processors, 64 ROPs
Interface PCI-E 4
Memory 6GB GDDR6, 1750MHz
(14GHz effective)
Memory interface 192-bit
Bandwidth 336GB/sec
Outputs/inputs 3 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x HDMI 2b
Power connections 1 x 8-pinHEARTBEAT
Faster than RTX 2060
Lowpowerdraw
G t l
CARDIAC ARREST- No ray-tracing
hardware - Only6GBofmemory
Performance mode ups the clock speeds
significantly, to a 1615MHz game clock and
1750MHz boost clock, along with a 14GHz
(effective) memory clock. Sure enough, in
this mode, this card seriously impressed, far
outstripping the GTX 1660 Ti in all our tests
and even beating the RTX 2060 in most
tests too. The performance mode makes
the fans slightly louder, but the noise isn’t
overly irritating – especially if you’re wearing
headphones – so we’d be inclined to leave
the card on this setting.
Overall, the performance in this mode
is plenty for 1080p gaming and adequate
for 2,560 x 1,440 gaming. What’s quite
astonishing to find is that the card delivers
all of this performance while consuming
relatively little power. Our system drew
222W from the mains with the RX 5600 XT
installed, compared to 241W with the RTX- As with all of AMD’s current GPUs,
though, you miss out on ray-tracing support
here, so it depends where your priorities lie.
Conclusion
The Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 5600 XT
offers excellent bang per buck. At £255 inc
VAT, this well-built card easily beats equivalent
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti cards, but its lack of
ray-tracing support hurts it compared with
the GeForce RTX 2060. If getting the fastest
performance for around £250 is your top
priority then this card is the best in its class.
However, if you want the best eye candy, it’s
still worth paying the extra cash for the RTX
2060’s hardware ray-tracing support.- Greatcooler 2060 in ourgaming tests.
E
bcc
uu
sstommPP
CCA
P
PROVED