AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT’s Very Wrong Pricing Editorial

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Introduction

What follows is an opinion piece, it is a short editorial based on our experience and performance of the new Radeon RX 6600 XT from AMD.  Our opinion is formed after fully testing the Radeon RX 6600 XT’s performance, and comparing video cards by official MSRP launch pricing.  Our metric, our yardstick, throughout this editorial will be based on the official MSRP. While we understand street prices will be different, we have to use a metric that is comparable, street prices are unpredictable and will change over time, the way to do that is to compare by the official MSRP.

Please check out our AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Introduction article and our XFX SPEEDSTER MERC 308 Radeon RX 6600 XT Black video card review.

Price Conundrum

It feels odd to talk about pricing, considering 2020 and 2021’s problems with demand and shortages.  However, it is a topic we need to bring up as it pertains to the Radeon RX 6600 XT’s current pricing.  Before we talk about the Radeon RX 6600 XT’s pricing, we do need to acknowledge some facts about the state of pricing today.  This is in no way shape or form a comprehensive evaluation of the state of the industry. 

There is a silicon shortage, and specifically a substrate shortage, this is real.  There is a higher demand for parts, this is real.  There are higher prices on parts, this is real.  Memory prices and demand for video cards have gone up, and material prices for video cards have gone up.  The cost of copper, plastics, and other metals that go into the entire package of a video card, has gone up.  All of these things add up, and it affects pricing.  These are known, and we acknowledge them as we state our opinion below.

MSRP stands for Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price.  AMD does make its own made by AMD video cards that are sold directly on AMD.com.  However, with the Radeon RX 6600 XT AMD is leaving it up to add-in-board partners.  That said, the MSRP that AMD states for its GPUs make an impact.  When AMD puts a video card on its website for sale, at a specific price, it sets a benchmark for that price.  The precedence that is set by AMD specifying an MSRP affects add-in-board partner pricing.  Therefore, the MSRP that AMD (or anyone else for that matter) states is important. 

The Radeon RX 6600 XT Is Priced Too High

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT’s MSRP of $379 is too high.  Let’s go over a little history lesson of pricing. 

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT was launched in 2019 at $399 MSRP and touted as the 1440p gaming card. 

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 was launched in 2019 at $349 MSRP and also touted as the 1440p gaming card. 

The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT was launched in 2020 at $279 MSRP and touted as the 1080p gaming card. 

In 2019, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT was positioned as the best GPU for 1440p gaming.  That’s right, the Radeon RX 5700 XT at $399 was positioned as the 1440p gaming card.  The video card that was positioned as the 1080p gaming card was the Radeon RX 5600 XT, which launched in early 2020.  You know what its MSRP was?  That’s right, only $279 MSRP.

However, two years later, AMD is positioning the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT as the 1080p gaming card, but you know what it is asking for it now?  That’s right, $379 MSRP.  The 1080p gaming card has for some reason jumped up in price by $100 two years later.

Brent Justicehttps://www.thefpsreview.com
Former managing editor of GPUs at HardOCP for 18 years, Brent Justice has been reviewing computer components since the late 90s, educated in the art and method of the computer hardware review, he brings experience, knowledge, and hands-on testing with a gamer-oriented and hardware enthusiast perspective. You can follow him on Twitter - @Brent_Justice You can sub to his YouTube channel - Justice Gaming https://www.youtube.com/c/JusticeGamingChannel You can check out his computer builds on KIT - @BrentJustice https://kit.co/BrentJustice

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