Which Video Card Should I Buy??

Hey fellas!

I'm looking to buy a GPU for my new PC, and after hours of research I've narrowed my options down (based on my budget) to 2 GPUs:

Asus Rog Strix GTX 1660 Super
PowerColor Fighter RX 6600

They're both in the same (affordable) price range, so the price is not a problem. But I don't know which one's better. I mean, judging the specs with my non-techy brain the AMD one seems better, but people say that Nvidia is better than AMD...

But I also need to mention that I'll be using this GPU with Linux and I do want to game with this GPU, but the problem is that I've heard someone say a few weeks ago that Nvidia has issues on Linux, so I'm leaning towards AMD now.

But still, I'd like to hear some expert opinions first, so please let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

Im chilling with a gtx 570.

UnusualSubstance said:

Im chilling with a gtx 570.

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Are you gaming on it? And are you on Linux, or Windows? (Although, it's a bit old for my taste, I don't think I can even find one here in Romania, not that I'd want to but just saying )

tazarbm said:

Are you gaming on it? And are you on Linux, or Windows?

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If by gaming you mean games from 2012, sure.

Lol no I don't game much anymore.

Windows here.

I still have a hard drive so my opinion on hardware means nothing.

Nvidia + Linux has come a long way in the past few years, however you may have to troubleshoot something or another once in a while - which is often not the case when using an AMD GPU.

Personally I have been using Nvidia on Linux as well as Win forever.

Also, try going for a 3050 or similar AMD range. I don't think they are too far apart in terms of performance but DLSS will be of help on an RTX.

Don't expect much from a 1660 - eq AMD in terms of gaming.. unless you are talking 2010ish games.

UnusualSubstance said:

If by gaming you mean games from 2012, sure.

Lol no I don't game much anymore.

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that's about when I've stopped gaming intensively too. But you know how it is: when you buy a new, shiny toy you want to play with it a little, so I'm considering trying some newer games just to feel UNLIMITED POWAAA....

But yeah, generally speaking, I also still play older games (Heroes 3, Subnautica, Grim Dawn, Legend of Grimrcok.... last week I've beaten The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing again... these types of games is what I usually play, but I'm honestly not gaming much anymore, just once every 1-2 months when I need to de-stress...)

UnusualSubstance said:

Windows here.

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well, you're not of much help in this regard, as I would like to hear the opinions of Linux + Nvidia users. No problem, though, I still appreciate the input

UnusualSubstance said:

I still have a hard drive so my opinion on hardware means nothing.

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I mean, I have one too, but I'm using it for storage. To be honest SSDs are pretty cheap, and even the cheapest and worst SSD is still 3-4 times faster than the fastest HDD, so you should take the plunge

pancakett said:

Nvidia + Linux has come a long way in the past few years, however you may have to troubleshoot something or another once in a while - which is often not the case when using an AMD GPU.

Personally I have been using Nvidia on Linux as well as Win forever.

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that's what I've heard (that I need to troubleshoot), but since I suck at technology I prefer not to troubleshoot anything. I prefer something that I plug into the socket, connect the wire to the MoBo, power up the PC and it works flawlessly for the next 10 years without me touching any setting. This is the level and desire that I've gotten to in learning how to use computers, I need technology that even donkeys can know how to use and that works outright without any input

pancakett said:

Also, try going for a 3050 or similar AMD range.

Or simply don't expect much from a 1660 - eq AMD in terms of gaming.. unless you are talking 2010ish games.

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no idea what 3050 is but it's probably out of my budget. And since - as I mentioned above - I am not a keen gamer anymore (and I usually play 10+ older games anyway), I think a 3050 would be overkill for me.

So yeah, I think a 1660 would be more than enough for me.

Ok, guys... Based on your replies it looks like AMD is the way to go, so PowerColor here I come...

Thanks for your valuable insights and have a great week!

tazarbm said:

I mean, I have one too, but I'm using it for storage. To be honest SSDs are pretty cheap, and even the cheapest and worst SSD is still 3-4 times faster than the fastest HDD, so you should take the plunge

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True but I built this bad boy all those years ago and so I feel like it's my baby.

Even though it's slow af, crashes constantly and takes about 10 minutes to loads chrome.

She's mine ya know.

The HDD that has suffered through years of torrents, years of free course downloads yet she still is chugging along.

It's almost poetic.

I agree then AMD might be the better choice for you in that regard.

Also, if you do go for Nvidia - the RTX 3050 should be very close in terms of price to 1660 Super, depending on where you are from.. so in that case, definitely go for the 3050, like I said - DLSS will help you a lot in gaming.

Good day.

tazarbm said:

Hey fellas!

I'm looking to buy a GPU for my new PC, and after hours of research I've narrowed my options down (based on my budget) to 2 GPUs:

Asus Rog Strix GTX 1660 Super
PowerColor Fighter RX 6600

They're both in the same (affordable) price range, so the price is not a problem. But I don't know which one's better. I mean, judging the specs with my non-techy brain the AMD one seems better, but people say that Nvidia is better than AMD...

But I also need to mention that I'll be using this GPU with Linux and I do want to game with this GPU, but the problem is that I've heard someone say a few weeks ago that Nvidia has issues on Linux, so I'm leaning towards AMD now.

But still, I'd like to hear some expert opinions first, so please let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

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Go for Asus Rog GTX 1660 Super If TDP (electricity wise) saver.
Go for Power Color RX 6600 If you are a gamer.

UnusualSubstance said:

True but I built this bad boy all those years ago and so I feel like it's my baby.

Even though it's slow af, crashes constantly and takes about 10 minutes to loads chrome.

She's mine ya know.

The HDD that has suffered through years of torrents, years of free course downloads yet she still is chugging along.

It's almost poetic.

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I see you're in the same relation as I was with the previous PC (that's carried me for 11.5 years). I understand your bond.

However, once you meet the new hot chick in town (SSDs) you'll forget you even had a relationship

Anyway, I'll stop replying cause it's 4 AM here, and I need to get some sleep. I'll reply in about 5-6 hours... or when my brain remembers to wake me up .... Cheers!

pancakett said:

I agree then AMD might be the better choice for you in that regard.

Also, if you do go for Nvidia - the RTX 3050 should be very close in terms of price to 1660 Super, depending on where you are from.. so in that case, definitely go for the 3050, like I said - DLSS will help you a lot in gaming.

Good day.

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I'm from Romania and I'll be buying from a classified site as the online shops tend to beef up the prices by 20% or more, and I've had enough of this.

I just checked the 3050 and it doesn't seem much better than the AMD one, they're actually quite similar (and yes, the price is the same, too). But like I said (and like you said too), Nvidia requires interaction, which is something that I'm not capable of doing. You just have no idea how long it had taken me to permanently move from Windows to Linux and even now, after almost 1 year of Linux, I am still in terror at the thought of using the terminal and I still don't know how to deal with Timeshift and other Linux features. Technology is just not my thing, I know how to play video games, browse the internet, type words on BHW and watch YT... oh, and I can deal with emails too, but that's about everything I know how to do with the computer (don't ask me how I've managed to build my own PC after 12-14 hours of research per day for 3 weeks straight and after crying for help on TomsHardware, as I still have no clue... and I still don't know why the PC didn't KABOOM when I powered it up for the 1st time, but I'm glad that it's still running, it's so satisfying to build your own PC without having no idea what you're doing )

Sorry for the little rant, but I got carried away ... Anyway, the decision has been made: I go for the AMD one. Thanks for the help!

GameLabXtention said:

Go for Asus Rog GTX 1660 Super If TDP (electricity wise) saver.
Go for Power Color RX 6600 If you are a gamer.

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I'm not a gamer but I'll go for the AMD one regardless

Thanks for your input!

Ok peeps, I go to sleep and will reply in about 6 hours (or when I wake up). Have a good one!

There are no issues with Nvidia on Linux with Wayland in recent times. And it's going to get even better with the explicit sync patch. I've been rocking this configuration for over 2 years now and with all of the hardware encoding benefits, zero-copy framebuffer capture, no screen tearing, etc. Wayland on Nvidia is the the way to go.

Also AMD is way too innefficient for any video encoding/decoding, I can't justify buying AMD GPUs for my use cases.

If you want a Swiss Army knife, go with an AMD CPU + Nvidia GPU.

blocksrey said:

There are no issues with Nvidia on Linux with Wayland in recent times. And it's going to get even better with the explicit sync patch. I've been rocking this configuration for over 2 years now and with all of the hardware encoding benefits, zero-copy framebuffer capture, no screen tearing, etc. Wayland on Nvidia is the the way to go.

Also AMD is way too innefficient for any video encoding/decoding, I can't justify buying AMD GPUs for my use cases.

If you want a Swiss Army knife, go with an AMD CPU + Nvidia GPU.

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I think Wayland is in beta (or experimental only, whatever this means), I think (but I'm not sure) that I'm still using X11, I believe that's what it's called...

So, I won't be using Wayland for at least 1-2 more years, and during this time I will need a GPU, which is why I've chosen the AMD one.

Also, I do know that Nvidia is better, don't worry! All of my previous cards until the last one have all been Nvidia (or Geforce, God knows which is what), and I've only had issues with 1 of them, but even that has been after 3.5 years (so, almost 2 years after the warranty had expired). But yeah, I know that Nvidia make better GPUs, but I also don't like monopolies and - even moreso - I don't like greedy, exclusivistic bastards which Nvidia have become. So I am kind of morally forced to give other players a chance, which is why this new computer that I've put together is devoid of the stuff that I've used for over 30 years (Intel and Nvidia), and which is why I want - whenever possible - to make it fully AMD-based. Maybe both AMD and Nvidia are heads of the same ugly hydra and it will come to bite me in the ass later, I don't know. But as an average consumer with limited power I'm doing my best to shape a better world for everyone, and ditching the ultra rich, ultra greedy multi-trillion companies when our planet and society is crumbling because of these mobsters is something I can do.

But thanks for the recommendation. I know that what you're saying is true, but I've made up my mind already and will choose the Powercolor GPU. Cheers!

tazarbm said:

I think Wayland is in beta (or experimental only, whatever this means), I think (but I'm not sure) that I'm still using X11, I believe that's what it's called...

So, I won't be using Wayland for at least 1-2 more years, and during this time I will need a GPU, which is why I've chosen the AMD one.

Also, I do know that Nvidia is better, don't worry! All of my previous cards until the last one have all been Nvidia (or Geforce, God knows which is what), and I've only had issues with 1 of them, but even that has been after 3.5 years (so, almost 2 years after the warranty had expired). But yeah, I know that Nvidia make better GPUs, but I also don't like monopolies and - even moreso - I don't like greedy, exclusivistic bastards which Nvidia have become. So I am kind of morally forced to give other players a chance, which is why this new computer that I've put together is devoid of the stuff that I've used for over 30 years (Intel and Nvidia), and which is why I want - whenever possible - to make it fully AMD-based. Maybe both AMD and Nvidia are heads of the same ugly hydra and it will come to bite me in the ass later, I don't know. But as an average consumer with limited power I'm doing my best to shape a better world for everyone, and ditching the ultra rich, ultra greedy multi-trillion companies when our planet and society is crumbling because of these mobsters is something I can do.

But thanks for the recommendation. I know that what you're saying is true, but I've made up my mind already and will choose the Powercolor GPU. Cheers!

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Your reply was fantastic, and irrespective to you joining team red or team green, I'm happy to see another BHW member join the Linux community.

Welcome to the dark side.

Seems like you've already made up your mind and it anyway is what I'd recommend as well for your setup - AMD. Mostly because of better driver support and less overall issues on Linux.

blocksrey said:

Your reply was fantastic, and irrespective to you joining team red or team green, I'm happy to see another BHW member join the Linux community.

Welcome to the dark side.

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Thanks! Despite of how hard it is for me to adapt to Linux after 35 years of Windows I'm already loving the freedom and control I have over my system

AshOasis said:

Seems like you've already made up your mind and it anyway is what I'd recommend as well for your setup - AMD. Mostly because of better driver support and less overall issues on Linux.

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yep, AMD it will be. I mean, if the world ends at least I'm trying new stuff, right?

Based purely on your preferences and Linux compatibility, the PowerColor Fighter RX 6600 seems like the right fit. It's beneficial to have less troubleshooting, and AMD has generally better Linux support. Enjoy your new PC build!

Barnabicle said:

Based purely on your preferences and Linux compatibility, the PowerColor Fighter RX 6600 seems like the right fit. It's beneficial to have less troubleshooting, and AMD has generally better Linux support. Enjoy your new PC build!

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my thoughts exactly

Thanks!

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