If you want to get a graphics card that is the Xbox Series X GPU equivalent, your best option will be the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, thanks to similar theoretical power and ray-tracing support. The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, which also supports ray tracing, makes for a good backup, though it is not as powerful.
If you're an avid member of the "PC Master Race", you'll likely want to keep your gaming PC on the same level as major consoles like the Xbox Series X. This is why it becomes important to know what each console's GPU equivalent is. Having been crazy about specs and computers for as long as I can remember, I have always made sure to compare graphics cards.
So, if you're here to find out which PC GPUs have the muscle to go head-to-head with the Xbox Series X GPU, this is the guide for you. Let's get right into it.
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The Xbox Series X came out at a time when PC gaming had made big strides and console gamers demanded high-fidelity graphics from their consoles, such as support for ray tracing, 4K resolution, and higher and more consistent performance with frame rates.
The Xbox Series X GPU is a custom-designed chip from AMD, built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture. This GPU is called the AMD Scarlett.
This AMD GPU has 10 GB of GDDR6 video memory and a theoretical performance that measures about 12.15 TFLOPS.
For the spec heads, this chip has 3328 shading units, 208 texture mapping units, and 52 compute units. It also boasts a GPU clock speed of 1825 MHz.
With these specifications on paper, there are a few graphics cards that come close to the Xbox Series X. It's time to talk a bit more about them.
The equivalent GPU to the Xbox Series X graphics card is none other than the very capable Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060.
This graphics card was part of the second generation of Nvidia GPUs supporting real-time ray tracing, which brings it close to the immersive gaming experience that the Xbox Series X provides.
With 3584 shading units and 112 texture mapping units, this GPU comes very close to the one in the Xbox Series X, spec-wise. The base clock speed is 1320 MHz, though this can climb to 1777 MHz when needed.
This GPU also has two major variants: one with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, and one with 12 GB.
Regardless of which you get though, you get the same processing power, with a theoretical performance of 12.74 TFLOPS. This is a bit better than the Scarlett, but we can essentially put them on the same level.
This card also has deep learning super sampling, or DLSS, which basically uses AI to push a lower-resolution image to a higher one, to achieve more detail without the performance hit it would normally take.
With the RTX 3060 graphics card, you can pretty much enjoy all major PC games at 4K resolution over 30 fps, though very few will be able to touch 60 fps.
The GPU in the Microsoft Xbox Series X is an AMD model, so it isn't too surprising to find out that there's a PC graphics card from the same company that comes close to matching it.
The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is a very capable card. It supports real-time ray tracing, being part of the first generation of RX GPUs. However, its ray-tracing performance isn't as good as the RTX 3060.
In terms of raw power, it's a bit far from the RTX 3060 or the Scarlett, with performance rated at 10.79 TFLOPS. However, this is the closest that an AMD graphics card comes without going way over.
This card comes with 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 compute units. It comes with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory too.
On paper, these two AMD GPUs might not be super similar, but in terms of performance, it is close to the RTX 3060.
The base clock speed is high, at 2055 MHz, and it can go all the way up to 2635 MHz. This is how this GPU can make up for the difference in shader units and other specifications and achieve similar performance to the Xbox Series X.
This GPU can handle a lot of modern games at 4K resolution and 60 fps. However, only certain games - like a handful - can play at 60 fps.
In terms of TFLOPs, the 6650 XT and the RTX 3060 aren't that far off from the Xbox Series X GPU.
However, if you look at most games and play them on your Microsoft Xbox Series X versus any of the two GPUs mentioned earlier, it's very likely that the Xbox will give you better performance and more consistent frame rates.
Sure, the Xbox Series X can't handle every single game at 4K 60fps, but it can handle a whole lot of them at that frame rate. The bare minimum for this console is either 4K 30 fps or 1440p 60fps.
The reason for this major difference in performance is simple: optimization.
The Xbox Series X only comes with one major hardware setup. However, a computer can have all sorts of components in it.
Developers are able to build their games from the ground up with the Xbox Series X in mind. This means they can work to the strengths and limitations of the hardware that is guaranteed to be in the console. This can't be done with a PC though.
This is how your console hardware is able to get higher peak performance over a similarly configured computer.
If you want to get a GPU that can play games at 4K and 60 frames per second most of the time, you're going to need to shoot a little higher than a GPU equivalent to the Xbox Series X on paper.
I've got two great options that will be able to bring you to a level of responsive gameplay closer to the Xbox Series X.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 is going to cost you a pretty penny, but if your goal is for it to handle most PC games easily at 4K resolution and very close to a frame rate of 60 fps, this is the sweet spot without going bankrupt.
This GPU has 8960 shading units, and 280 texture mapping units, which is a major jump over the previous cards we talked about. Plus, it has 12 GB of GDDR6X RAM and supports DLSS.
This graphics chip has a whole lot of power too, with a theoretical limit of 30.64 TFLOPS. This is an ample amount of power, and it shows in how it is able to perform.
The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT is a lot less expensive than the RTX 3080, but it also gets very solid performance.
This card has 5120 shading units and 320 texture mapping units. Plus, it has a whopping 16 GB of GDDR6 video memory. These specifications bring it to 23.04 TFLOPS, which is impressive.
With this graphics card, 4K resolution is achievable for virtually every single game you throw at it, equivalent to the Xbox Series X. However, unlike the Xbox console, it can handle most of them at well over 30 fps, and many at 60.
The GPU is just one aspect of the components inside the Xbox Series X gaming console. So, if you want to know more about the other components in this Xbox, here they are:
The computer GPU equivalent to the Xbox Series X console is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060. This card has ray-tracing, DLSS, and plenty of gaming power to bring it right beside the Xbox Series X on paper, for the most part. The Radeon RX 6650 XT is also comparable.
However, to get performance equivalent to the Xbox Series X, you will need to aim a bit higher than the specifications on paper. For this, the RTX 3080 12 GB or the RX 6900 XT will likely satisfy your needs.
Was this article able to show you the GPUs equivalent to the one in the new Xbox Series X console? If so, take a look at our related articles to learn more.
