Gigabyte RX 5600 XT Gaming OC Review

This week we brought you our review of the ASUS TUF Gaming RX 5600 XT OC. I wasn't sure what to expect from it, given that the 5500 XT wasn't particularly exciting. However, it turned out to be quite a fantastic graphics card! Now it's the turn of the new Gigabyte RX 5600 XT Gaming OC, and it's starting with a bit of an advantage. This card is running the new BIOS that wasn't available for our ASUS card prior to the review. Will this give it an extra performance edge? We certainly hope so, more FPS for the same amount of money is always a good thing for gamers. Gigabyte RX 5600 XT Gaming OC AMD has been making pretty good progress with its latest range of graphics cards. While the 5600 XT OC from Gigabyte isn't the most high-end solution, it does fit a good price point to make it competitive with the Nvidia RTX 2060 series of cards. We've seen good things from the Gigabyte Windforce coolers in the past too, in fact, the design works so well, it's virtually unchanged for a few years now. So, what else does this card have to offer? "The WINDFORCE 3X cooling system features 3x 80mm unique blade fans, alternate spinning fan, 5 composite copper heat pipes, heat-pipe direct touch and 3D active fan functionality, together delivering an effective heat dissipation capacity for higher performance at lower temperatures." - Gigabyte Features Powered by AMD Radeon™ RX 5600 XTIntegrated with 6GB GDDR6 192-bit memory interfaceWINDFORCE 3X Cooling System with alternate spinning fansRGB Fusion 2.0 – 16.7M colours synchronize with other AORUS devicesMetal Back PlatePCI-Express 4.0 Support A Closer Look I won't beat around the bush here, as when it comes to updating their design on the Windforce cooler, Gigabyte changes the shape slower than a Porche 911 designer. That being said, it's still a good looking card, sure, it's been on the block for a few years, but this cooler is proven to be reliable. That gives Gigabyte big advantages; similar parts, easier production runs, and lower costs. They pass on the savings to the consumer and have one of the most robust warranties out there too, so it is a win-win really. Being the WindForce X3, you'll find three fans cooling the heatsink on the card. What's cool, literally, is that the middle fan spins the opposite way to the outer fans. This creates more of a vortex around the chipset, shifting more heat. Plus, the fans can stop completely in low load, or just spin up the middle one if required. Down the side of the card, you'll see quite a bit of the heatsink is exposed, allowing for good airflow on all sides of the GPU. Furthermore, there's a simple and clean looking Gigabyte logo right in the middle, with customisable RGB lighting using their RGB Fusion 2.0 software. Towards the rear of the card, you'll find a single 8-pin power connector. Honestly, I'm surprised to see that it only has one connector, as AMD GPUs of old seemed to need a coal shute and furnace to power them. On the rear of the card, you'll find a very clean and simple looking backplate. It's nothing crazy, but it's tidy, function and I like that they kept the branding minimal too. Finally, around the back of the card, you'll find four display outputs. Three DisplayPort and a single HDMI. How We Test We continue to update our testing methods around once per year. As such, we re-test older hardware to reflect changes over time. These can be driver updates, Windows updates, game patches, and more; all of which have an impact on performance figures. Furthermore, we update our test bench to newer and more relevant hardware. This means that our new reviews aren’t always comparable to those of older reviews, so please compare the testing methodology on older reviews should you be trying to compare them with newer ones. Replicate Our Results When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory and kept as simple as possible, although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of a graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you’re looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using the benchmarks available to you. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware tested here to give you a ballpark figure of how much of an upgrade this will provide you with. Graphics Card Test System Motherboard – Aorus Z390 Gaming MasterProcessor – Intel Core i9-9900K (Stock)RAM – Crucial Ballistix Gaming 32GB (4 x 8GB) 3000 MHzCPU Cooler – Noctua NH-D15SPower Supply – Be Quiet Power Zone 1000WMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBChassis – Thermaltake Core P5 TGOperating System – Windows 10 64-bitMonitor – AOC 28-Inch 4K Gaming Monitor Additional Hardware Killawatt style electricity usage meter wall plugPrecision Gold N05CC Decibel meter Gaming To gauge performance levels which are easily reproduced time after time, by both ourselves and our readers, we now stick strictly to games default profiles. We now use the “High” profiles for all games or their respective equivalent at all resolutions. V-Sync is always disabled in our testing, as are FreeSync and G-Sync technologies or similar. Graphics card power usage is set to optimised or balance, and the system power mode set to High Performance within Windows and the available GPU driver software. Identical settings are used for all resolutions unless otherwise stated. Games and Settings Used Shadow of the Tomb Raider DX12 High Preset1080p1440p2160pDeus Ex: Mankind Divided DX12 High Preset1080p1440p2160pGhost Recon: Wildlands High Preset1080p1440p2160pBattlefield V DX12 High Preset1080p1440p2160pBattlefield V DX12 High Preset (DXR Enabled) NVIDIA RTX Cards ONLY1080p1440p2160pMetro Exodus DX12 High Preset1080p1440p2160pMetro Exodus DX12 High Preset (RT, then RT and DLSS Enabled) NVIDIA RTX Cards ONLY1080p1440p2160pFar Cry New Dawn High Preset1080p1440p2160p The Division 2 High Preset1080p1440p2160pGhost Recon: Breakpoint1080p1440p2160pBorderlands 3 High Preset1080p1440p2160p Software Used 3DMark Fire Strike (download)FireStrike Ultra BenchmarkUnigine Superposition (download)4K Optimised BenchmarkHWMonitor (download)GPU-Z (download)MSI Afterburner (download) Noise Everyone has a reasonable noise level preference when it comes to components on a computer. Some can handle all fans at 100% load to keep temperatures down; some want an entirely silent computer. To accurately gauge the noise output of a graphics card, we position a Precision Gold N05CC one meter above our open-air test bench and take an average reading at idle and load. Power Consumption We take power readings during the idle state with no background applications running. Then again at 50% completion of the Unigine Superposition benchmark, using the average as the final published result. Temperatures We take temperature readings after 10 minutes of desktop idle with no background programs running, then take the recorded maximum delivered from Unigine Superposition after a 4K optimised run, confirming the numbers are accurate with HWMonitor. Furthermore, the ambient temperature is always kept +/- 1c from 21c. Synthetic Benchmarks The AMD RX 5600 XT chipset really is full of surprises. The resent BIOS update clearly works wonders, as this card scored a whopping 5583 in 3DMark FireStrike Ultra. That puts it on par with the more expensive RTX 2060 SUPER and RTX 2070. It also makes it nearly as fast as the RX 5700 (non-XT). It was extremely similar to the RTX 2060 and the 5700 again in TimeSpy, although the RTX 2070's smoked it in that test. For Unigine we see again that the RX 5600 XT scores strong, very close to that of the RX 5700 and just behind the RTX 2060 cards again. Of course, synthetic benchmarks are not always reflective of real-world games, so let's move on to those benchmarks for a few pages! 3DMark FireStrike Ultra - 55833DMark TimeSpy - 8006Unigine Superposition 4K Optimised - 6023 3DMark FireStrike Ultra 3DMark TimeSpy Unigine Superposition Experience Lara Croft’s defining moment as she becomes the Tomb Raider. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara must master a deadly jungle, overcome terrifying tombs, and persevere through her darkest hour. As she races to save the world from a Maya apocalypse, Lara will ultimately be forged into the Tomb Raider she is destined to be. Available now on Steam. Shadow of the Tomb Raider Performance 1080p Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 1121440p Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 752160p Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 41 Now an experienced covert operative, Adam Jensen is forced to operate in a world that has grown to despise his kind. Armed with a new arsenal of state-of-the-art weapons and augmentations, he must choose the right approach, along with who to trust, in order to unravel a vast worldwide conspiracy. Available now on Steam. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Performance 1080p Deus Ex Mankind Divided - 110.31440p Deus Ex Mankind Divided - 71.72160p Deus Ex Mankind Divided - 36.4 The Ghosts, an elite US Special Forces team, are sent behind enemy lines to wreak havoc, destabilize, and eventually break the alliance between the cartel and the corrupted government. Facing an almighty enemy in a massive and hostile environment, the Ghosts will need to make critical moral choices and engage in tough battles to complete their mission – their grittiest and most dangerous operation to date. Available now on UPlay. Ghost Recon: Wildlands Performance 1080p Ghost Recon Wildlands - 107.051440p Ghost Recon Wildlands - 81.242160p Ghost Recon Wildlands - 46.68 Enter mankind’s greatest conflict with Battlefield™ V in the most intense, immersive, and innovative Battlefield yet. Lead your squad to victory in all-new multiplayer experiences like the multi-map Grand Operations. Fight for survival in Firestorm – battle royale, reimagined for Battlefield. Witness a never-before-seen portrayal of WW2 in the single-player War Stories campaign. Assemble your Company of customized soldiers, weapons, and vehicles – then take them on an expanding journey where every chapter brings a new battlefield. You will never be the same. Available now on Origin. Battlefield V Performance 1080p Battlefield V - 1131440p Battlefield V - 842160p Battlefield V - 46 Metro Exodus is an epic, story-driven first-person shooter from 4A Games that blends deadly combat and stealth with exploration and survival horror in one of the most immersive game worlds ever created. Flee the shattered ruins of dead Moscow and embark on an epic, continent-spanning journey across post-apocalyptic Russia in the greatest Metro adventure yet. Explore the Russian wilderness in vast, non-linear levels and follow a thrilling story-line inspired by the novels of Dmitry Glukhovsky that spans an entire year through spring, summer and autumn to the depths of nuclear winter. Available now on Epic Game Store. Metro Exodus Performance 1080p Metro Exodus - 69.361440p Metro Exodus - 54.572160p Metro Exodus - 34.01 Seventeen years after a global nuclear catastrophe, civilization re-emerges from the chaos to find a world dramatically changed. In Hope County, Montana, the remaining populace has gathered into different groups, each with their own rules for survival. In this new world order, the vicious Highwaymen, led by twin sisters Mickey and Lou, travel from place to place bleeding people dry of all available resources. As the Survivors try to defend their lands against the Highwaymen's relentless onslaught, it's up to you to come to their aid and lead the fight. In the latest instalment of the award-winning Far Cry franchise, you are the last line of defence in a transformed, post-apocalyptic Hope County. Help the community of Survivors grow stronger, craft a makeshift arsenal through Turf Wars and cross-country Expeditions, and form unexpected alliances to fight for survival in a dangerous new frontier. Available now on UPlay. Far Cry New Dawn Performance 1080p Far Cry New Dawn - 1181440p Far Cry New Dawn - 922160p Far Cry New Dawn - 48 Seven months have passed since a deadly virus hit New York City and the rest of the world, crippling the population. When the virus hit, The Division, a unit of civilian sleeper agents, was activated as the last line of defence. Since then, Division agents have been fighting relentlessly to save what remains. For The Division, the stakes are higher than ever. Washington, D.C. – the most heavily protected city on earth – is at risk, leaving the entire nation on the brink of collapse. If Washington, D.C., is lost, then the nation falls. As a Division agent who has been in the field for seven months, you and your team are the last hope to stop the fall of society after the pandemic collapse. Available now on UPlay. The Division 2 Performance 1080p The Division 2 - 1281440p The Division 2 - 852160p The Division 2 - 46 The original shooter-looter returns, packing bazillions of guns and a mayhem-fueled adventure! Blast through new worlds and enemies as one of four new Vault Hunters. Play solo or with friends to take on insane enemies, score loads of loot and save your home from the most ruthless cult leaders in the galaxy. At the hard edge of the galaxy lies a group of planets ruthlessly exploited by militarized corporations. Brimming with loot and violence, this is your home—the Borderlands. Now, a crazed cult known as The Children of the Vault has emerged and is spreading like an interstellar plague. Play solo or co-op as one of four unique Vault Hunters, score loads of loot and save the galaxy from this fanatical threat. Available now on Epic Games Store. Borderlands 3 Performance 1080p Borderlands 3 - 85.621440p Borderlands 3 - 58.162160p Borderlands 3 - 30.44 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint puts you in the boots of the Ghosts, an Elite US Special Operations Unit stranded behind enemy lines. This time there is no briefing. All contact has been lost with Auroa. This archipelago is home to Skell Technology, a high-tech company. You are sent there with your unit for a recon mission, but your helicopters are shot down: Skell Tech has fallen into the wrong hands. The Wolves, a lethal ex-US military unit gone rogue, have taken over the island. Led by your ex-brother-in-arms, Colonel Cole D. Walker, they have reprogrammed Skell’s drones into killing machines and are ready to use them, no matter the casualties. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint is a military shooter set in a diverse, hostile, and mysterious open world that you can play entirely solo or in four-player co-op. Injured, without support, and hunted down by ex-Ghosts, you must fight to survive while lost in Auroa. Choose the right alliances and decide how to take down your toughest enemy. Available now on UPLAY. Ghost Recon: Breakpoint 1080p Breakpoint - 791440p Breakpoint - 552160p Breakpoint - 26 Power Consumption Temperatures Acoustics Despite this card already having an "overclock" from factory and another "overclock" thanks to the BIOS update it received a few days ago, we still managed to push the clocks even higher! It's not much of a boost though, I think this card is already giving us the best it can. However, your results may be better, as overclocking is as much luck as it is a skill. Stock Overclocked FireStrike Ultra Ghost Recon Wildlands How Much Does It Cost? The Gigabyte AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT Graming OC Graphics Card is available from most major retailers right now. It's currently listed at £289.99 in the UK and around $299 in the US. However, prices on these cards (the 5600 XT's) seems to jockey between £254.99 and £299.99. There's a little bit of a price war going on, so shop around for deals, as they change daily until the dust settles. Overview AMD has (finally) created a card that is right on the money with the RX 5600 XT. The 5500 XT was a little underpowered and the 5700 XT didn't quite have the price to performance ratio to stick it to Nvidia. This time, however, they've nailed it. Gigabyte hasn't had to do much to get the best out of it either, as it's nothing like the AMD cards of days gone that turned electricity mostly into a lot of heat. The Windforce X3 cooler allowed this card to run its best, and that's all you really want from it, so well done Gigabyte. Albeit, an AORUS cooler and a big overclock would be fun to see if they can keep the price reasonable. Performance Well, it smashed through everything at 1080p using High settings. We were hitting North of 100 FPS without breaking a sweat. That's great news for those on higher refresh rate displays. Plus at 1440p, the RX 5600 XT blasted past 60, 70, 80 and even 90 FPS in one title. Some of the more demanding games did just to 54-58 FPS at times, such as Metro, Borderlands 3, and Breakpoint, but that's still great for 1440p and the Benchmark is often more demanding than real-world gameplay. 4K isn't even off the cards here, with perfectly playable frame rates from most games. At least, if you don't mind using FreeSync, V-Sync and sub 60 FPS. That being said, for single-player gaming, it's pretty decent and dare I say it, superior to any current console 4K experience. Plus, if you drop to medium settings, 60 FPS even in some more modern titles isn't unrealistic. Should I Buy One? Right now, I think this is my favourite AMD graphics card. It doesn't have ray-tracing like the similarly priced RTX 2060. However, the Gigabyte card is about £40-50 cheaper than Gigabyte's own RTX equivalent. That being said, if you're a fan of AMD cards, you're going to struggle to find a better card for the money. For 1080p and 1440p gaming, it's a fantastic graphics card. Gigabyte RX 5600 XT Gaming OC Review