Ray Tracing Performance
We are going to focus on Ray Tracing 4K gameplay performance with the Overclocked NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition video card. 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. For video card comparisons we are using an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Founders Edition video card.
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 we are running at 4K and have turned on all the Ray Tracing options at “Ultra High” which really pushes the game hard. The GeForce RTX 4080 FE is barely able to provide a playable experience, but it does and is the best at it on this graph. Overclocking does help smooth out gameplay over 60FPS, improving it by a small 5%. What helps the most is DLSS, which takes it to over 100FPS, and with overclocking improves DLSS performance by 5%. The overclocked RTX 4080 FE is 22% faster than the RTX 3090 Ti FE and 30% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and 53% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XT.
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 games 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. We use the built-in benchmark.
In Dying Light 2 we have enabled the highest quality Ray Tracing at 4K, and at this resolution the GeForce RTX 4080 FE is not able to provide an enjoyable gameplay experience at just 48FPS. Unfortunately, overclocking does not cure that, it improves performance by 5%, but that is still only 50FPS. What does improve the experience best is DLSS, which brings it up to 82FPS or 87FPS overclocked, so it is super smooth. Overclocked, the RTX 4080 FE is 25% faster than the RTX 3090 Ti and 40% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, and 66% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XT.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December of 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 1.61 and use the built-in benchmark. We test using the Graphics Preset option to set graphics settings. We use the Ray Tracing Graphics Preset of either: “Ray Tracing: Low”, or “Ray Tracing: Medium” or “Ray Tracing: Ultra” as indicated. This game supports DLSS and FSR2.
In Cyberpunk 2077 we have enabled “Ultra” Ray Tracing at 4K, and in this game, just like Dying Light 2, it is not playable on the GeForce RTX 4080 FE without upscaling. Overclocking improves performance by 6%, but that is only 32FPS. Again, what helps the most is DLSS, which makes it playable at 57FPS, and overclocked it pushes it to 60FPS, which really makes the game feel very playable finally. When overclocked, the RTX 4080 FE is 28% faster than the RTX 3090 Ti FE and 60% faster than Radeon RX 7900 XTX, and 89% faster than Radeon RX 7900 XT.
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 we are running the GeForce RTX 4080 FE at 4K and “Ultra” Ray Tracing and the GeForce RTX 4080 FE is not really playable until we use upscaling. Overclocking improves performance by 4%, and it isn’t enough to make a difference. What does make a difference is DLSS, which brings it to 77FPS and overclocks up to 80FPS. Overclocked, the RTX 4080 FE is 26% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and RTX 3090 Ti FE, and 48% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XT.
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 we are running 4K and maximum Ray Tracing settings, the GeForce RTX 4080 FE is almost playable at around 52FPS. Overclocking improves performance by 6% and brings it close to 55FPS. DLSS improves performance the most and makes it playable at 80FPS. Overclocked, the RTX 4080 FE is 29% faster than the RTX 3090 Ti FE and Radeon RX 7900 XTX, and 53% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XT.