Building a gaming desktop PC on a budget can quickly feel overwhelming when you add specific components to the basket, and graphics cards are the usual culprit of skyrocketing subtotals.
Budget GPUs aren't to be dismissed, though. A handful can provide impressive performance if you stick to 1080p gaming at around 60Hz with the graphical settings cranked up.
That certainly seems to be Acer's goal as it launches its first AMD GPU, the Predator BiFrost Radeon RX 7600 OC, available for around $249.99 to $319.99, and certainly more appealing when it hits the lower price during discounts.
RX 7600 OC: Price, availability, and specs
Price: $299.99 at Amazon
Release: May 24, 2023
Base clock: 2.3GHz
OC boost: 2.7GHz
VRAM: 8GB GDDR6
Power: 180W
Connectivity: 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4
Acer sells the Predator BiFrost Radeon RX 7600 OC through its official storefront for $339.99.
Prices drop when you shop at third-party retailers, with Amazon US offering the 7600X for $299.99 at the time of writing.
Still, it's cheaper and the best deal overall when applicable, with a time-limited $249.99 listing at Newegg, down from its usual $319.99.
The card launched on May 24, 2023, but stock remains healthy, with all retailers showing units available to order. Your best retailer will depend on delivery costs and potential loyalty membership benefits like Amazon Prime.
RX 7600 OC: Benchmark results
Running my standard Time Spy graphical benchmark test in 3D Mark places the RX 7600 OC below Intel's ultra-budget Arc A750 desktop card and above NVIDIA's 8GB GeForce RTX 4060. The most surprising outcome is that it manages to edge slightly ahead of a stock Radeon RX 7600 XT with the same 8GB of VRAM, a card that carries a $329 MSRP. Still, the focus will remain on the competition from Intel's Arc A750, a card currently selling for around $190.
However, despite Intel's efforts to improve Arc rendering tech for game performance, AMD and NVIDIA still have an advantage with a broader support catalog, particularly for older games using outdated engines and shader methods. I'll always recommend Intel to anyone looking to maximize a return on an extreme budget. Still, Acer's BiFrost Radeon RX 7600 OC finds itself in a healthy position, especially if the price drops even further during sales events.
Actual gaming performance is impressive for an entry-level graphics card, pushing around 85 to 102 FPS (frames-per-second) in Cyberpunk 2077's stress-testing benchmark with the 'Ultra' preset running at 1920 x 1080p. Temperatures creep up to around 70°C after repeating the benchmark for a few cycles, but it's far below anything concerning. Anything south of 85°C is totally normal, especially if you're pumping the graphical settings up close to maximum and expecting higher than 60 FPS.
Besides a couple of minor hitches when loading a new save, the frame pacing remains solid during gameplay, and the BiFrost RX 7600 OC never showed signs of struggling to maintain a smooth experience unless I specifically forced myself intro scenarios with excessive physics calculation with expired enemies and particle effects from explosions. Again, all normal and expected behavior from any GPU.
Looking back to check performance on slightly older titles like Forza Horizon 4 shows extremely impressive results, with the BiFrost RX 7600 OC managing around 217 FPS with the Ultra preset at 1920 x 1080p. It remains one of the world's best-optimized PC games, so it's relatively normal to see any device making light work of its open-world racing environment. However, it's still an admirable performance for a budget desktop GPU to run any game at maximum settings.
Hitman: World of Assassination is loaded with intense particle effects and simulated physics, but I still saw an average of 105 to 123 FPS in its benchmark stress test. Again, this is running with Ultra settings at 1080p, and the 7600 OC never struggled to maintain steady frame pacing. All these tests point to a clear audience for the 8GB BiFrost: 1080p gamers looking for smooth framerates. It might not quite reach the popular 144Hz refresh rates on some of the best gaming monitors, but hitting 120 FPS is beyond acceptable.
RX 7600 OC: The competition
I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but I can't understate the dominance of Intel's A750 in the entry-level desktop GPU category. An 8GB Sparkle Arc A750 Titan OC sells for as little as $199.99 at Amazon, down from its usual $259.99, an easy choice for anyone sticking with modern games. Still, Intel's drivers struggle with older rendering methods, which might dissuade others.
My fiancée uses a first-party Intel Arc A750 Limited Edition (pictured above) to play World of Warcraft: The War Within at 4K and other titles around 1440p, but she never opts for 'ultra' graphics settings, sticking with medium to high. Picking up an NVIDIA RTX 4060 with 8GB of VRAM will set you back around $289, and a 4060 Ti with the same amount of memory jumps to around $389. At the $250 mark, Acer offers some great value and even beats out my beloved 12GB Ventus RTX 3060 from MSI.
RX 7600 OC: Should you buy?
You should buy this if ...
✅ You play at 1080p and prioritize graphical fidelity
While the RX 7600 OC could handle higher resolutions, you'll get the most out of the BiFrost at 1920 x 1080.
✅ You're on a strict budget
Graphics cards with 8GB of VRAM might sound underpowered, but Acer's BiFrost will handle most modern games before you eventually upgrade.
You should avoid this if ...
❌ You want to utilize a 4K gaming monitor
Everything will rely on upscaling, and the RX 7600 will struggle to run most titles at anything above 1080p to 1440p.
As exciting as the high-end graphics card categories might seem, those fighting to rank among the best budget GPUs see some of the most intense scrutinies. If you're on a strict budget, AMD's Radeon RX range of desktop cards has historically been a great place to start, and Acer's first try with its Predator BiFrost RX 7600 OC is an admirable effort.
It competes against Intel's excellent Arc A750, which undercuts its price and performance. Still, a Radeon GPU makes more sense for those who don't want to gamble on backward compatibility for older titles, and the BiFrost will be a smart choice if reduced during any component sales event. Even at MSRP, it's not a terrible option, but waiting for a deal is better.
