Question RX 6000 GPU series compatibility with a Z170 MB

[ibrsbk]

Hello everyone,

My current setup is:

• MSI Z170A GAMING M5
• Intel i7-6700K
• GTX 660 2GB
• Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3200MHz
• Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1 TB PCIe NVMe M.2
• Corsair RM650i 650W 80 Plus Gold

I am currently considering upgrading to a new RX 6650 XT that I found for 210€, as I don't want to spend much and it seemed to me the best deal. I want to stress that I am aware of the PCIe 3 limitations, the potential CPU bottleneck in new, more demanding games, as well as the probable AMD drivers issues odyssey. But my current GPU is just too old to keep up, and the RX 6650 xt is the most attractive deal for my modest needs.

In general terms, I just would like to know if anyone has had any particular bad experience with a RX 6000 series GPU and a z170 motherboard. As far as I know, these old z170 MBs doesn't have the SAM option in the BIOS, nor seem to be officially compatible with graphic cards released in 2020 onwards. I am not sure if that could bring unsolvable instability to my system.

Thank you

 

[Order 66]

AMD's drivers are just as good as Nvidia's. They were not great years ago but not anymore. I just wish people would realize this considering how overpriced the 40 series is.

 

[Eximo]

Still a relatively modern platform. I see no issues with it working.

SAM / ReBar doesn't have drastic effects on performance. Remember, we got along just fine without it for the vast majority of PCIe graphics cards.

Of more concern is PCIe 3.0 8x being equivalent to PCIe 4.0 4x. So you are getting half the bandwidth these cards are expecting. It shouldn't make a huge difference as long as you keep your game settings where your VRAM doesn't get completely used up.

How much would an RTX 3060 set you back? That is a still reasonably powerful card that has a full x16 connection and may make up the slight deficit that the 8x connection will bring with the 6650XT.


Only thing I will say about AMD vs Nvidia drivers is:
Nvidia will see close to 100% of the performance you can expect from the day a new game launches.
AMD will gradually release improvements that will increase performance.

Depending on your perspective you get improved performance over time, or miss out on zero day performance.

 

[Order 66]

Only thing I will say about AMD vs Nvidia drivers is:
Nvidia will see close to 100% of the performance you can expect from the day a new game launches.
AMD will gradually release improvements that will increase performance.

with the obvious exception of Starfield. It's a Bethesda game and sponsored by AMD what do you expect?!

 

[Eximo]

with the obvious exception of Starfield. It's a Bethesda game and sponsored by AMD what do you expect?!

Always exceptions. And I'm sure Nvidia and Intel will eventually get it taken care of.

I recall a funny one where there was an ATI sponsored game that didn't work with any of the X2 dual GPU models that were sold as the top tier cards. 4850x2, 4870x2, 5970, 6990 etc. My friend at the time had a 4850x2 and was furious.

 

[ibrsbk]

Still a relatively modern platform. I see no issues with it working.

SAM / ReBar doesn't have drastic effects on performance. Remember, we got along just fine without it for the vast majority of PCIe graphics cards.

Of more concern is PCIe 3.0 8x being equivalent to PCIe 4.0 4x. So you are getting half the bandwidth these cards are expecting. It shouldn't make a huge difference as long as you keep your game settings where your VRAM doesn't get completely used up.

How much would an RTX 3060 set you back? That is a still reasonably powerful card that has a full x16 connection and may make up the slight deficit that the 8x connection will bring with the 6650XT.


Only thing I will say about AMD vs Nvidia drivers is:
Nvidia will see close to 100% of the performance you can expect from the day a new game launches.
AMD will gradually release improvements that will increase performance.

Depending on your perspective you get improved performance over time, or miss out on zero day performance.

Thank you! The RTX 3060 was actually one of my first considerations, particularly the 12 GB version. However, when it comes to gaming benchmarks, the RX 6650 TX gives better results, and it is also more than 50 euros cheaper in my country (at least). Other than that I also found interesting NVIDIA'S driver overhead issue, which makes an AMD GPU way more convenient for an older CPU like mine. So the price difference together with the driver overhead issue were really the reasons that led me to choose AMD over NVIDIA this time. RX 6650 TX was released more than 1 year ago, so drivers should be fine by now. Hopefully everything will go alright.

 

[Order 66]

Thank you! The RTX 3060 was actually one of my first considerations, particularly the 12 GB version. However, when it comes to gaming benchmarks, the RX 6650 TX gives better results, and it is also more than 50 euros cheaper in my country (at least). Other than that I also found interesting NVIDIA'S driver overhead issue, which makes an AMD GPU way more convenient for an older CPU like mine. So the price difference together with the driver overhead issue were really the reasons that led me to choose AMD over NVIDIA this time. RX 6650 TX was released more than 1 year ago, so drivers should be fine by now. Hopefully everything will go alright.

not to mention the price gouging that Nvidia is doing with the 40 series.