Comment by exDM69

Using printf and debuggers are complementary.

Finding which pixel to debug, or just dumping some info from the pixel under mouse cursor (for example) is better done with a simple printf. Then you can pick up the offending pixel/vertex/mesh/compute in the debugger if you still need it.

You get both, a debugger and printf related tooling in Renderdoc and it's better than either of those alone.

I've been writing a lot of GPU code over the past few years (and the few decades before it) and shader printf has been a huge productivity booster.