Gameplay Performance at 1440p with Ray Tracing
Now we are going to look at 1440p with Ray Tracing enabled in games. For this comparison, we are changing up the comparison video cards. We are going to look at the GeForce RTX 4080 versus the GeForce RTX 3080 and Radeon RX 6800 XT. In this way, we can see what an “upgrade” from the previous GeForce RTX 3080 would be to the new GeForce RTX 4080 at a more widespread resolution of 1440p. We are not going to include DLSS or FSR in these tests, just regular 1440p gaming performance with Ray Tracing enabled.
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 all Ray Tracing options in the game to “On.” 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.
In F1 2022 with all the Ray Tracing options turned on at maximum settings, the GeForce RTX 4080 allows a very smooth and enjoyable 112FPS at 1440p. The GeForce RTX 4080 is 49% faster than the GeForce RTX 3080 at this resolution.
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. This game supports Ray Tracing environmental effects including Ray Traced Soft Shadows, Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion, Ray Traced Global Illumination, and Ray Traced Reflections. We utilize the built-in preset option to set “HIGH-QUALITY RAYTRACING” which enables the game’s highest graphics settings plus the environmental effects explained above at the highest values. The game is run in DX12 Ultimate mode with ASYNC Compute turned on. 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.
In Dying Light 2 at 1440p with the highest Ray Tracing you can enjoy the game at a very smooth 80FPS, so that’s really enjoyable. This is 62% faster than the GeForce RTX 3080, which was not playable at these settings at 1440p. With the RTX 3080, you’d need DLSS to make this game playable at 1440p with Ray Tracing, but the new RTX 4080 allows this without DLSS and at a much higher 80FPS.
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 Ray Tracing via two DXR settings, one for Reflections and the other for Shadows, we turn on both for testing. This game supports FSR upscaling.
In Far Cry 6 the GeForce RTX 4080 can pull 126FPS at 1440p with Ray Tracing. This is 21% faster than the GeForce RTX 3080. In this game, we think the RTX 4080 is indeed being held back by the CPU, even with Ray Tracing, on the RTX 4080.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 1.52 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. We use the Ray Tracing Graphics Preset of either: “Ray Tracing: Low”, “Ray Tracing: Medium” or “Ray Tracing: Ultra” as indicated. This game supports DLSS and FSR.
In Cyberpunk 2077 the new GeForce RTX 4080 is the only video card that can play this game at 60FPS at 1440p with “Ultra” Ray Tracing enabled. The RTX 3080 would require DLSS, but the RTX 4080 doesn’t. The RTX 4080 is 57% faster than the GeForce RTX 3080.
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. We utilize the “Ultra” preset quality option for Ray Tracing. This game supports DLSS upscaling.
In Watch Dogs Legion the GeForce RTX 4080 allows a playable experience at 4K with “Ultra” Ray Tracing at 86FPS which is a super smooth experience. The RTX 4080 is 54% faster than the GeForce RTX 3080.
Metro Exodus Enhanced
Metro Exodus Enhanced is being run with Shading Quality at “Extreme” and Ray Tracing at “Ultra.” This is a demanding game, that heavily focuses on Ray Tracing utilization, including Global Illumination. We are utilizing the built-in benchmark.
In Metro Exodus Enhanced, only the GeForce RTX 4080 allows a very playable experience at 1440p with maximum Ray Traced image quality at 88FPS. That’s 62% faster than the GeForce RTX 3080.