AMD’s Radeon RX 5600 XT used to be a little bit of a complicated mess. The corporate driven out a last-minute vBIOS replace that unlocked upper clock speeds and reminiscence speeds for its GPUs. And that intended it is advisable to see drastic variations in efficiency from one 5600 XT to the following, relying on whether or not or now not the producer packed within the higher instrument. That left me recommending everybody opt for the Sapphire Pulse RX 5600 XT. Again in January, it used to be the one card that I knew would have the speedier vBIOS out of the field. However now, AMD is operating with companions to deal with that confusion. And that ended in merchandise just like the up to date PowerColor Pink Dragon Radeon 5600 XT, which has 14Gbps reminiscence pace (as a substitute of 12Gbps) out of the field.
The Pink Dragon 5600 XT is to be had now for $300.
To be transparent, whilst PowerColor is updating its Pink Dragon, this product nonetheless reviews the similar problems the RX 5600 XT had at release. AMD’s up to date instrument clearly stuck corporations like PowerColor unprepared. And now it’s looking to proper that. However that is nonetheless an RX 5600 XT, so don’t be expecting a significant development over one thing like the Sapphire Pulse.
So, what will have to you are expecting? Preferably, I wish to see the Pink Dragon ship Sapphire Pulse-like framerates and thermals. That will aid you counsel the cardboard. And that’s just about what I were given from this GPU.
PowerColor Pink Dragon has the RX 5600 XT efficiency you need
The 5600 XT is a superb 1080p GPU. Like I mentioned in my overview, it has greater than sufficient energy at that solution. It additionally fares respectably at 1440p. And actually, it’s at 1440p the place the speedier reminiscence goes to make a far larger distinction. So for my checking out, I put the Sapphire Pulse and Pink Dragon head-to-head at 1440p. I most commonly need to see that the PowerColor card is in the similar vary because the Sapphire card.
I examined with the next rig:
- i9-10900Okay
- Z490 Aorus Grasp
- 32GB HyperX Predator reminiscence @ 3200MHz
- NZXT E850 PSU
- 500GB Samsung 860 Evo Sata SSD
Additionally, to pressure extra of the weight onto the GPU, I attempted to max out settings at 1440p. In benchmarks like Gears Ways, that put 100% of the weight onto the video card during the check. Actually, you might most likely flip down many of those graphical options if the usage of the 5600 XT at 1440p. So don’t be expecting those numbers to precisely mirror how the sport will carry out. I’m simply looking to see how one card compares to the following.
Listed below are the consequences:
In Murderer’s Creed: Odyssey, the PowerColor Pink Dragon got here out forward of the Sapphire Pulse. It’s 10% sooner relating to the typical framerate. However it additionally has an total extra solid framerate, which you’ll be able to see from the 1% and nil.1% lows.
However in the remainder of the video games, the Sapphire Pulse completed out in entrance. Every now and then the Sapphire card is simply round 2% sooner (Hitman 2), however in Gears Ways it used to be a whopping 19% sooner. Whilst perhaps one thing else goes with the sport in that example, it’s transparent the Sapphire Pulse continues to be the RX 5600 XT to overcome.
And that is sensible. Whilst the Pink Dragon were given the reminiscence spice up to 14Gbps, it doesn’t have the similar spice up to clock speeds because the Sapphire Pulse. The previous can constantly spice up as much as a sport clock of 1560MHz, whilst the latter hits 1615MHz.
Above: Quicker is quicker.
Symbol Credit score: GamesBeat
Conclusion
I might nonetheless counsel the Sapphire Pulse over the Pink Dragon. However I’ll concede that the 5600XT panorama is somewhat much less complicated than it used to be, and I believe that used to be AMD’s objective. For those who pass out to shop for a 5600XT nowadays, you’ll nonetheless need to do your analysis. Make sure to’re getting that 14Gbps reminiscence pace within the specifications sheet. However discovering this is more straightforward now than it used to be in January and February.
I believe you’re most definitely pushing either one of those playing cards too a long way in case your objective is 1440p gaming. However at 1080p, both one is overkill. And it’s a just right signal that the Pink Dragon does so neatly in a large Ubisoft sport like Odyssey.
In relation to thermals and noise, each playing cards are nice. Once more, the Sapphire has the threshold, however I had no lawsuits in regards to the Pink Dragon — particularly when it got here to fan noise.
At $300, the PowerColor card is dearer than its Sapphire counterpart. But when Pulse sells out, the Pink Dragon is a superb selection.
