“There seems to be a problem with AMD GPU’s in Star Citizen. I’ve been testing a RX 6600 alongside a GTX 1660 and RTX 4080 and it seems as though 8GB of VRAM still isn’t enough for the card to perform properly. The RX 6600 should be much faster”
In this video, the host initially intends to provide a quick look into the performance of the RX 6600 GPU. However, they discover a recurring problem with AMD cards in Star Citizen, particularly in the city of Lorville. The performance of AMD cards tends to suffer in this area, impacting overall results and making Nvidia cards appear superior. It is suggested that AMD cards struggle to handle running out of VRAM compared to Nvidia cards. The host decides to test the RX 6600, which has 8GB of VRAM and is targeted at 1080p gaming. They find that it performs well in certain areas like Area 18, but encounters issues in Quantum Travel where it matches the performance of Nvidia’s 1660 card.
The host begins to suspect that AMD cards may have an actual issue in Star Citizen, as the RX 6600 also struggles in Lorville despite its 8GB of VRAM. The display info occasionally turns red, indicating that the engine believes the card is running out of VRAM. Performance drops occur inconsistently during gameplay. The host switches the GPU to a PCIe 3 configuration, which affects the one percent lows but doesn’t significantly change the average performance. The performance of the RX 6600 on a minimum spec system is compared to an Nvidia card, and the AMD card performs worse, leading to speculation that it places a heavier burden on the CPU.
The host suggests that the performance differences between AMD and Nvidia cards in Star Citizen could be due to a combination of factors, including memory management and driver optimizations. They express interest in retesting once the Vulcan graphics API is implemented, as it could potentially have a significant impact. The host plans to keep the RX 6600 and hopes to gather more data from users with similar AMD cards to determine if the performance issues are widespread. They also consider testing a 6700 XT with higher VRAM capacity to see if it resolves the issues observed with the RX 6600. Despite its potential for 1080p gaming, the host currently does not recommend the RX 6600 due to the performance issues encountered.