DLSS 3 Performance
DLSS 3 Frame Generation is a major advantage of the new GeForce RTX 4060 Ti that the last generation GeForce RTX 3060 Ti does not have. Therefore, we wanted to specifically test some DLSS 3 performance and see what the performance advantages are when enabling it at 1080p, 1080p with Ray Tracing, and 1440p on the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti. Below you will find two games where we tested its performance in all three of those scenarios.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 1.62 and utilize the built-in benchmark. We test using the Graphics Preset option to set graphics settings to “Ultra” and “Ultra” Ray Tracing.
Does DLSS 3 improve performance at 1080p? The answer is yes. Even at 1080p in Cyberpunk 2077 DLSS 3 improves performance up to a whopping 169FPS. Turning on Quality DLSS from Native Resolution Raster is a 20% improvement in performance, but then turning on Quality DLSS 3 from DLSS is another 38% performance improvement. The total improvement from DLSS 3 from Native Resolution Raster is 65% at 1080p.
In the above graph, we now have Ultra Ray Tracing enabled at 1080p, and in Native Resolution Raster the performance is not very playable at 46FPS. However, enabling Quality DLSS improves performance by a large 75%, and now the game is very playable at 80FPS. Then we can push it even further with DLSS 3 which improves performance by another 39% up to 112FPS. The total performance advantage versus Native Resolution Raster is 144%.
In the above graph, we are testing at 1440p. In Native Resolution Raster we are getting 63.9FPS, and by turning on DLSS performance improves by 20% up to 76FPS. Then we can turn on Quality DLSS 3 and that jumps up a large 50% to 114FPS. The total performance gain is 79% at 1440p.
Finally, just to show you what DLSS 3 can do for performance, here is 1440p with Ultra Ray Tracing enabled on the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti. Normally this would be nowhere near playable on this video card. However, with Quality DLSS 3 Frame Generation the game is playable at over 70FPS.
Returnal
Returnal was launched on the PC in February of 2023 and is based on Unreal Engine 4. The game supports real-time ray tracing effects, particle systems, and volumetric rendering. We utilize the graphics preset to set EPIC graphics settings with unlocked framerate, and everything is enabled including EPIC Ray Tracing where shown. We use the built-in benchmark.
Returnal, which was recently released, also supports DLSS 3 Frame Generation. At 1080p and EPIC settings in Native Resolution Raster, we are already getting 99FPS, so the game is already playable. We can turn on Quality DLSS and performance improves by 18%. Then we can turn on Quality DLSS 3 and performance jumps up another 35%. The complete performance jump is 59%.
At 1080p with EPIC Ray Tracing the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is playable at 84FPS without upscaling. We can enable Quality DLSS and performance increases by 26%. When we turn on DLSS 3 performance increases by another 39%. The total performance jump using DLSS 3 is 75%.
At 1440p the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is still playable at 73FPS, and turning on Quality DLSS improves performance by 27% up to 93FPS. Turning on Quality DLSS 3 improves performance by another 23%. The total performance bump is then 57% and gets you over 100FPS at 1440p.
With DLSS 3 Returnal is playable at 1440p with EPIC Ray Tracing at over 100FPS.
Discussion (13 replies)
Join Discussion →Interesting review. So looking at this card, I would want the same chip for a laptop. Because in a laptop I'm fine gaming at 1080 or 1440p and am willing to give up more with DLSS to get the performance I want as long as text is still legible.
yea actually, I'm going to keep an eye out for laptops with a 4070 series chip because that might be equivalent to this 4060ti. Right?
Laptops are a completely different ball of wax as performance depends on the laptop maker's implementation of the power/cooling delivery and wattage that they run the GPU at. I'm certain that there will be 4060 Ti based laptops that are faster than 4070 based laptops. Can't buy just based upon the GPU badge, especially for neighboring chips.
It's too bad TheFPSReview doesn't get sampled for review of laptop hardware. I'd love to see a TheFPSReview approved laptop spec.
Thanks, @Brent_Justice for the great review and careful examination of cards sold at the same pricepoints and performance differences.
Even with its limitations for the 8GB model, it's still more impressive than I would've expected.
As someone who is on his 3rd gaming laptop in the last 10 or so years, and constantly feeling the urge for another, I can definitely say it's possible we might see a variant of this in one soon. I haven't heard of any but the TDP is close. I could see them downclocking it a bit to get it closer to 130W where it would match the Max-P 3070 that's in my MSI GP66 Leopard, but then the real fun part is finding the manufacturer that does that. It's still a bit of a nightmare in tracking all the power/cooling variants each will do for each die. Some brag and some don't tell you squat.
The good news is that the closer we get to a non-Ti x60 the more likely it is you can find something that actually matches the desktop version. This happened with some mobile 3060s last time around and I could see it happening again with Ada.
https://techteamgb.co.uk/2021/07/19/rtx-3060-laptop-vs-desktop/
Interesting that AMD doesn't have a direct competitor for this card as of now.
The 6750xt sells for ~$350 & the 6800 for ~$500
The 6800 would make a good comparison for the upcoming 4060 ti 16gb as they are both in the same price range
I think you should compare all 4 cards (4060 ti 8gb & 16gb) vs 6750xt & 6800, once the 4060 ti 16gb is available
10% performance delta is in the range that a decent overclock on an older card could make up.
Assuming the 4060 isn't a barnburner of an overclocker itself.
A very true point. I had seen that in other video reviews as well, wish now I had mentioned it in the conclusion. But we will get to more card comparisons, I have a growing list of cards to compare it with. have to get through another thing first.
I think they will have a competitor eventually, I would imagine a "7600 XT" would fit the bill, what it will all hinge on is pricing and configuration. As I stated above, I've got a nice list of cards to compare the 4060 Ti with, going to be a fun time.
NVIDIA does have AD106 in laptop form, it's called the RTX 4070 for mobile. https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/laptops/compare/
Of course, it'll never have the full TGP of the desktop part. However, it is the full die implementation, so more CUDA Cores than the desktop version.
Can't wait for that Arc one. I've become a big fan of it after seeing all the positive news with performance improvements from the many updates and then also the inclusion of XeSS with so many more games in the last six months. If I had the money to just throw at it I'd have a low-budget Intel build for 1080p gaming just for s & giggles.
Good review, thanks!
I am still not sold as a $400 replacement for my 1080ti.... I paid less than 400 for that (second hand) years ago.
Glancing at ebay I see my card selling around 200.... not that I would sell on ebay any more, but just for pricing purposes...
Yea, honestly if there were any local AI engines that could be accelerated with an ARC GPU I'd be asking my company for budget to try it.
Just no way I'm going to get/fund one of those Nvidia 100 AI accelerator cards for 30k or whatever they want to charge for them.
I'm shipping a 1080 Gtx over to Brent shortly... I suspect this will be one of the comparisons that we make...