Gameplay Performance
We are going to focus on the 4K gameplay performance with the GeForce RTX 4090 FE video card in raster performance on this page. We will include DLSS and FSR performance on the same graph in the games that are supported. We will use DLSS on NVIDIA GPUs and FSR on AMD GPUs. Ray Tracing performance will be shown on a separate page. For video card comparisons we are using a GeForce RTX 3090 Ti FE video card and a GeForce RTX 3090 FE video card and a Radeon RX 6900 XT video card. Note that the percentage performance advantage offered by the GeForce RTX 4090 FE versus the other cards is shown in a table below each graph. This is a long page, scroll down fully.
F1 2022
F1 2022 was released on June 28th, 2022 on the PC and uses Codemasters Ego engine. The game supports Ray Tracing, DLSS, AMD FidelityFX, and FSR. We are going to run the game with the highest quality settings of “Ultra High” and TAA+FidelityFX. We will enable DLSS and FSR as needed at the Quality setting for both. We will utilize the built-in benchmark in the Imola track, in dry conditions with a far-chasing cam.
| GeForce RTX 4090 Performance Uplift VS—> | GeForce RTX 3090 Ti | GeForce RTX 3090 | Radeon RX 6900 XT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raster vs. Raster | 70% | 96% | 94% |
| Upscaling vs. Upscaling | 56% | 76% | 54% |
In F1 2022 the GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition allows a playable experience at 4K with the highest possible in-game settings. We are getting a whopping framerate well above 200FPS, so the performance is smooth and enjoyable. The GeForce RTX 4090 FE is 70% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, 96% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090, and 94% faster than the Radeon RX 6900 XT. DLSS also improves performance and pushes it past the 240Hz mark for those fast displays, and this is at 4K folks. This is a 17% performance improvement with DLSS.
Dying Light 2
Dying Light 2 was released in February 2022 on the PC and uses Techland’s C-Engine. The game supports Ray Tracing, DLSS, and FSR2. We use the built-in preset to set “HIGH QUALITY” which sets the highest game graphics, without Ray Tracing. We manually enable DX12 and ASYNC Compute. For our benchmark, we are using a custom manual run-through at the end of the game hopping between rooftops, as well as free-roaming on the ground city level, as well as a forested area, in the daylight.
| GeForce RTX 4090 Performance Uplift VS—> | GeForce RTX 3090 Ti | GeForce RTX 3090 | Radeon RX 6900 XT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raster vs. Raster | 50% | 70% | 96% |
| Upscaling vs. Upscaling | 54% | 74% | 84% |
Dying Light 2 is a demanding game at 4K, but the GeForce RTX 4090 FE dominates it in performance, allowing “Ultra” settings at 4K at 100FPS average. This is 50% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti FE and 70% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 FE which can only barely reach 60FPS. Compared to the Radeon RX 6900 XT the new RTX 4090 FE is 96% faster, almost doubled. If you need more, DLSS improves performance up to 158FPS average at 4K on the GeForce RTX 4090 FE. This is a 57% increase using DLSS. This game also supports the new FSR2 version, and with the Radeon RX 6900 XT that lifts that card up to near 86FPS average, which is certainly playable, and also necessary on the Radeon RX 6900 XT to make it playable at 4K.
Far Cry 6
Far Cry 6 was released in October of 2021 and uses the Dunia Engine. We utilize the built-in benchmark for testing. We have the HD Texture pack installed and turned on. We utilize the “Ultra” graphics preset which sets all options to the highest game settings. This game supports FSR upscaling.
| GeForce RTX 4090 Performance Uplift VS—> | GeForce RTX 3090 Ti | GeForce RTX 3090 | Radeon RX 6900 XT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raster vs. Raster | 43% | 55% | 55% |
| Upscaling vs. Upscaling | 33% | 43% | 40% |
In Far Cry 6 the GeForce RTX 4090 FE allows a playable gameplay experience at 4K with the highest graphics settings and HD Textures turned on. This game is not as graphically demanding as some other games, it is in fact more CPU limited, which is why we get a smaller uplift from all the other cards here. The GeForce RTX 4090 FE is 43% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti FE, 55% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 FE, and 55% faster than the Radeon RX 6900 XT. This game supports FSR, and that does lift performance up to about 157FPS at 4K on the GeForce RTX 4090 FE. This is a 22% increase in performance with FSR.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 1.6 and perform a long manual run-through driving in the game’s open world. We test using the Graphics Preset option to set graphics settings, mainly “Ultra”. This game supports DLSS and FSR.
| GeForce RTX 4090 Performance Uplift VS—> | GeForce RTX 3090 Ti | GeForce RTX 3090 | Radeon RX 6900 XT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raster vs. Raster | 45% | 64% | 92% |
| Upscaling vs. Upscaling | 42% | 60% | 60% |
Cyberpunk 2077 is of course very demanding at 4K and “Ultra” settings. Simply put, no other card except the GeForce RTX 4090 FE is playable at 4K and “Ultra” without some help from upscaling. The new GeForce RTX 4090 FE has an average of 55FPS and is the most playable card in this lineup. Still, even at a 55FPS average, you do drop into the upper 40’s for the minimum FPS. The GeForce RTX 4090 FE is 45% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti FE and 64% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 FE and 92% faster than the Radeon RX 6900 XT.
Even on the GeForce RTX 4090 FE, upscaling via DLSS is helpful in Cyberpunk 2077 to smooth out and make sure the game is super smooth while gaming. DLSS increases performance by 45% bringing performance up to near 80FPS average on the GeForce RTX 4090 FE. Whereas DLSS is absolutely necessary even on the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti FE to make it playable at 4K, and it’s still shy of 60FPS. At 80FPS on the GeForce RTX 4090 FE with DLSS, that’s about 42% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti FE’s DLSS performance and 60% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090’s DLSS performance.
Watch Dogs Legion
Watch Dogs Legion was released on the PC in October of 2020 and uses the Disrupt game engine. We utilize the built-in benchmark for testing. We have the HD Texture pack installed and enabled for testing. We use the built-in graphics preset of “Ultra” for testing. This game supports DLSS upscaling.
| GeForce RTX 4090 Performance Uplift VS—> | GeForce RTX 3090 Ti | GeForce RTX 3090 | Radeon RX 6900 XT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raster vs. Raster | 62% | 80% | 83% |
| Upscaling vs. Upscaling | 43% | 56% | N/A |
In Watch Dogs Legion the GeForce RTX 4090 FE allows a playable gameplay experience at 4K and “Ultra” settings at over 100FPS, providing a smooth experience. This is 62% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti FE and 80% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 FE and 83% faster than the Radeon RX 6900 XT. Turning on DLSS improves performance by 21% and brings it up to 139FPS on the GeForce RTX 4090 FE.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Shadow of the Tomb Raider was released in 2018 and uses the Crystal Dynamics Foundation Engine. We manually turn up the graphics settings in this game to the highest possible settings and with TAA. This game also supports NVIDIA DLSS, which is used, and thanks to a new patch now also supports Intel XeSS, which we use on the AMD GPUs. We run the built-in benchmark.
| GeForce RTX 4090 Performance Uplift VS—> | GeForce RTX 3090 Ti | GeForce RTX 3090 | Radeon RX 6900 XT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raster vs. Raster | 70% | 91% | 109% |
| Upscaling vs. Upscaling | 66% | 84% | 152% |
In Shadow of the Tomb Raider the GeForce RTX 4090 FE is playable at the absolute highest game settings at 4K at a whopping 178FPS average. This is 70% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti FE and 91% faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 FE and 109% faster than the Radeon RX 6900 XT. Turning on DLSS improves performance by 31% bringing performance up to 234FPS.