If you’re searching for the ideal graphics processing unit (GPU) for mining Proof of Work (PoW) cryptocurrencies, especially with Ethereum’s transition to Proof of Stake (PoS) on the horizon, then you’re in the right place. This article is designed just for you. We explore the mining performance of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB, focusing on their ability to efficiently mine leading PoW cryptocurrencies as Ethereum pivots to PoS. This review delivers crucial insights into the mining efficiency for Ethereum, Flux, Ravengo, Ergo, Firo, and others!
Keep reading to see the card specifications and a head-to-head comparison between the GTX 1660 Ti vs RX 6600 XT. Then, you can get the right card for your rig!
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB Specifications
Release Year : 2019
NVIDIA CUDA® Cores : 1536
Single Precision performance : 5.437 TFLOPS
Base Clock : 1500 MHz
Boost Clock : 1770 MHz
Memory Speed : 12 Gbps
Standard Memory Config : 6 GB GDDR6
Memory Interface Width : 192-bit
Memory Bandwidth : 288 GB/sec
Graphics Card Dimensions : Height : 1.4″ – Length : 9″ – Width : 4.4” – Slot Width : Dual-slot
Graphics Card Power : 120 W
Maximum GPU Temperature : 88 °C
Recommended System Power : 300 W
System Interface : PCIe 3.0 x16
Power Connectors : 1x 8-pin
Display Connectors : 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a
AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB Specifications
Release Year : 2021
NVIDIA CUDA® Cores : 2048
RT Cores : 32
Single Precision performance : 10.60 TFLOPS
Base Clock : 1968 MHz
Game Clock : 2359 MHz
Boost Clock : 2589 MHz
Memory Speed : 16 Gbps
Standard Memory Config : 8 GB GDDR6
Memory Interface Width : 128-bit
Memory Bandwidth : 256 GB/sec
Graphics Card Dimensions : Height : 1.6″ – Length : 7.5″ – Width : 4.3” – Slot Width : Dual-slot
Graphics Card Power : 160 W
Maximum GPU Temperature : 110 °C
Recommended System Power : 450 W
System Interface : PCIe 4.0 x8
Power Connectors : 1x 8-pin
Display Connectors : 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB mining hashrate for each algorithm tested by Red Panda Mining [ Scroll right for more ] :
| Coin | Algorithm | Hashrate | Watts (Software) | Watts (ElmorLabs PMD) | H/W | Overclock/Undervolt Settings MSI Afterburner |
| Ethereum | Ethash | 30.37 MH/s | 81 W | 71 W | 42.79% | 1050 Core, 2000 Memory, 60 Fan |
| Flux | Equihash 125.4 | 31.75 Sol/s | 113 W | 110 W | 28.86% | +115 Core, 1000 Memory, 60 Fan, 110 PL |
| Ravencoin | kawpow | 14.03 MH/s | 100 W | 90 W | 15.59% | +100 Core. 2100 Memory, 60 Fan, 100 PL |
| Ethereum + Alephium | Ethash + blake3 | 29.79 MH/s + 387.1 MH/s | 121 W | 115 W | 25.96% | +150 Core, 2100 memory, 120 PL, 60 Fan |
| Ergo | Autolykos | 58.60 MH/s | 68 W | 61 W | 96.07% | 1050 Core, 2000 Memory, 60 Fan |
| Cortex | Cuckaroo30 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Conflux | Octopus | 18.36 MH/s | 75 W | 75 W | 24.00% | 1050 Core, 2000 Memory, 60 Fan |
| Conceal | CNGPU | 1.061 kH/s | 84 W | 90 W | 1178.89% | +100 Core. 1000 Memory, 60 Fan, 100 PL |
| Firo | Firopow | 13.59 MH/s | 100 W | 90 W | 15.10% | +100 Core, 2100 Memory, 60 Fan, 100 PL |
| Aion | Aion | 160 Sol/s | 80 W | 80 W | 200.00% | +150 Core, 2100 Memory, 60 Fan, 80 PL |
AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB mining hashrate for each algorithm tested by Red Panda Mining [ Scroll right for more ] :
| Coin | Algorithm | Hashrate | Watts (Software) | Watts (ElmorLabs PMD) | H/W | Overclock/Undervolt Settings MSI Afterburner |
| Ethereum | Ethash | 32.40 MH/s | 58 W | 75 W | 43.20% | 1160 Core, 1120 Memory, 60 Fan, 670 VDD, 720 VDDCI, 1300 MVDD |
| Flux | Equihash 125.4 | 26.30 Sol/s | 70 W | 90 W | 29.22% | 2200 Core, 1000 Memory, 60 Fan, 3 DPM |
| Ravencoin | kawpow | 17.46 MH/s | 77 W | 95 W | 18.38% | 1600 Core, 1125 Memory, 60 Fan, 700 VDD |
| Ethereum + Alephium | Ethash + blake3 | 33.02 MH/s + 470.6 MH/s | 93 W | 112 W | 29.49% | 1750 Core, 1125 Memory, 760 VDD, 60 Fan |
| Ergo | Autolykos | 62.58 MH/s | 55 W | 72 W | 86.92% | 965 Core, 1075 Memory, 670 VDD, 720 VDDCI, 1300 MVDD, 60 Fan |
| Cortex | Cuckaroo30 | 1.2 g/s | 76 W | 91 W | 1.32% | 1200 Core, 1100 Memory, 60 Fan |
| Conflux | Octopus | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Conceal | CNGPU | 1.518 kH/s | 82 W | 100 W | 1597.00% | 2200 Core, 1100 Memory, 60 Fan |
| Firo | Firopow | 17.43 MH/s | 77 W | 95 W | 18.35% | 1600 Core, 1125 Memory, 700 VDD, 60 Fan |
| Aion | Aion | 121.1 Sol/s | 53 W | 76 W | 159.34% | 1600 Core, 1125 Memory, 700 VDD, 60 Fan |
Head-to-head comparison according to the mining efficiency :
| Coin | RX 6600 XT H/W | GTX 1660 Ti H/W | Winner |
| Ethereum | 43.20% | 42.79% | Even |
| Flux | 29.22% | 28.86% | Even |
| Ravencoin | 18.38% | 15.59% | RX 6600 XT |
| Ethereum + Alephium | 29.49% / 420.27% | 25.96% / 337.39% | RX 6600 XT |
| Ergo | 86.92% | 96.07% | GTX 1660 Ti |
| Cortex | 1.32% | N/A | RX 6600 XT |
| Conflux | N/A | 24.00% | GTX 1660 Ti |
| Conceal | 1597.00% | 1178.89% | RX 6600 XT |
| Firo | 18.35% | 15.10% | RX 6600 XT |
| Aion | 159.34% | 200.00% | GTX 1660 Ti |
In terms of mining Ethereum, the RX 6600 XT 8GB and GTX 1660 Ti 6GB are on par with each other, giving a mining efficiency of around 43%. However, there are a lot of other Ethash-based algorithms. For example, if Ethereum Classic suddenly rose in value, these two cards can still be considered sufficient. Basically, the RX 6600 XT 8GB and GTX 1660 Ti 6GB offer adequate mining performance in various Ethash-based algorithms. In Flux mining, the two cards offer similar mining efficiency once again.
For Ravencoin mining, the RX 6600 XT 8GB takes the lead, but the difference between the two cards isn’t a lot. Considering that the GTX 1660 Ti 6GB is much cheaper than the RX 6600 XT 8GB, the slight difference in mining efficiency isn’t that big of a deal. If the price of the GPU isn’t very important, you may opt for the RX 6600 XT, which offers a little bit higher mining performance.
If you are looking to dual-mine Ethereum and Alephium, the RX 6600 XT 8GB is the better card as it gives higher mining efficiencies than the GTX 1660 Ti 6GB. For those mining Firo, the RX 6600 XT 8GB is also slightly more efficient than the GTX 1660 Ti 6GB.
If you are mining Conceal, you should get the RX 6600 XT 8GB. The architectural improvements allowed the RX 6600 XT 8GB to more efficiently mine Conceal than the older GTX 1660 Ti.
For those interested in Ergo mining, you may opt for the GTX 1660 Ti 6GB, which is a bit more efficient than the RX 6600 XT 8GB. However, it would be better if you went for the better cards, such as an RTX 3060 or higher, as they would give you enhanced hashrates. For Aion mining, the GTX 1660 Ti 6GB is the better option due to the higher mining efficiency. In general, the NVIDIA cards offer better Aion mining performance than AMD cards.
If you want to mine Cortex, the RX 6600 XT takes the win here. The GTX 1660 Ti 6GB does not have enough memory to mine Cortex and will give an error. To mine Cortex, you will need at least 8GB of memory. On the other hand, if you are looking to mine Conflux, the GTX 1660 Ti 6GB is the winner as the RX 6600 XT cannot mine this coin and will give out an error as there is no miner support. Hence, if you are focusing on either of these two coins, you may simply ignore the card that cannot mine the coin of your choice.
You can choose either of the two cards depending on the coin of interest. However, regardless of your choice, you will be getting your hands on a decent GPU for mining. Thus, if you are looking to mine any of the algorithms above, it might be a good idea to get your hands on a few of these cards right now!
NVIDIA GeForce GTX GTX 1660 Ti 6GB vs AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB :