The first proper hands-on review of AMD's RDNA 3 graphics has emerged. Notebookcheck has done the deed on the Asus TUF Gaming A16 equipped with the AMD Radeon RX 7600S GPU and found it performs pretty much on a par with Nvidia's RTX 3060 mobile chip.
As we detailed when RDNA 3 headed to gaming laptops back in January, the RX 7600S is the entry level variant of the new RDNA 3 line. In fact, all four RDNA 3 mobile GPUs are based on the same Navi 33 silicon.
The 7600S gets 1,792 shaders and clocks in at 1,865MHz. Other variants offer up to 2,048 shaders and 2,300MHz clocks.
As for exactly how the 7600S performs, in 3DMark Firestrike it tops out at 25,900 points, a decent notch above the RTX 3060 with 22,915. For the record, AMD's previous generation mobile GPU from one tier above, the RX 6700S, is quoted at 24,315 points in the same test.
As for, ya know, actual games, the RX 7600S notches up 85.5fps in GTA V at 1080p maximum settings, while the RTX 3060 delivers 103 fps. In Dota 2 Reborn, it's 110 fps plays 148 fps, so the RTX 3060 has a bigger advantage there.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Compute Units | Stream processors | Game Frequency | Infinity Cache | Memory | GPU power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT | 32 | 2,048 | 2,300MHz | 32MB | 8GB GDDR6 | 120W |
| AMD Radeon RX 7600M | 28 | 1,792 | 2,070MHz | 32MB | 8GB GDDR6 | 90W |
| AMD Radeon RX 7700S | 32 | 2,048 | 2,200MHz | 32MB | 8GB GDDR6 | 100W |
| AMD Radeon RX 7600S | 28 | 1,792 | 1,865MHz | 32MB | 8GB GDDR6 | 75W |
On the other hand, in Strange Brigade, the 7600S clocks up 163 fps to the RTX 3060's 160 fps. The in Witcher 3, the 7600 has a very healthy circa 105 fps to 85 fps advantage over the RTX 3060 mobile.
Exactly which of the GPUs is fastest will therefore depend on your choice of game. But the new RX 7600S is certainly in the same ballpark as the RTX 3060. Which is welcome on the proviso that laptops with the new GPU are priced at something vaguely resembling sensible money.
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The RX 7600S Asus TUF Gaming A16 is already available on UK Amazon for just under £1,200. Not a bad pricing, but not especially appealing when you consider that RTX 3060 laptops can be had for around £1,000.
The TUF laptop doesn't appear to have popped up with pricing in the US yet, but if it's much more expensive than RTX 3060 laptops, then it won't make much sense.
Of course, the RTX 3060 is about to be replaced with Nvidia's new 40-series RTX 4060 chip. Thus far, all 40 series laptops have been horrifically expensive. So, the AMD 7600S will likely have an important role in keeping laptop prices in check.
But, sadly, all the indications are that the new AMD RDNA 3-based mobile graphics won't do all that much to change the generally very poor performance per dollar ratio of the latest generation of PC graphics.
