Gameplay Performance at 4K with Ray Tracing
In this section, we enable Ray Tracing at the highest level the game has to offer. All the remaining graphics selections are identical to the previous section.
Returnal
In this section, there is a greater demand for video cards. There was some noticeable stutter in the MSI Radeon RX 7900 XTX GAMING TRIO CLASSIC and it shows in the FPS. Overclocking isn’t much value here. The RTX 4080 FE has a 17% advantage before upscaling and is playable. Upscaling gives a nice 38% boost to the MSI Radeon RX 7900 XTX GAMING TRIO CLASSIC.
Forspoken
Performance gets tighter here. Still, there is a struggle for the MSI Radeon RX 7900 XTX GAMING TRIO CLASSIC without upscaling. The two cards are within 8% of each other. Once again upscaling is the key to smooth sailing with excellent 53% gains in FPS. Overclocking does help by about 4%.
Callisto Protocol
The gameplay here is pretty rough for both cards without upscaling. We see a 19% gap but even the RTX 4080 FE is marginal. Upscaling once again saves the day, a 43% increase to take the gameplay to another level. You can plainly see both video cards do well from upscaling here, the RTX 4080 is best on both fronts. Overclocking is a 4% improvement over default.
Chernobylite Enhanced Edition
This game has turned out to be pretty remarkable when you enable Ray Tracing. It takes no prisoners. The MSI Radeon RX 7900 XTX GAMING TRIO CLASSIC is just not potent enough either way, even with a nearly 41% addition in FPS from FSR!! The game is just jerky and stuttering. The RTX 4080 FE is playable with upscaling enabled.
Dying Light 2
Always a challenge, it’s nice to see both cards are playable with upscaling enabled. The MSI RX 7900 XTX GAMING TRIO CLASSIC benefits from a 44% uplift to gain playability. The default scores here are pretty rough.
Cyberpunk 2077
You get to hit the hardest in this game. Neither card has the muscle and the default scores are just bad. There’s no way to spin this performance, but to say it isn’t doable at 4K. The RTX 4080 FE tries hard but still falls short.
Salvation…..? Ray Tracing at 1440p
Given the performance of the MSI Radeon RX 7900 XTX GAMING TRIO CLASSIC showed in Ray Tracing at 4K, we thought it would be appropriate to sample half of the gaming suite in 1440p (2650×1440).
| 1440p | Ray Tracing | w/Upscaling |
|---|---|---|
| Returnal | 97 FPS | 135 FPS |
| Chernobylite Enhanced Edition | 55 FPS | 84 FPS |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 41 FPS | 69 FPS |
This will clearly demonstrate that just a small adjustment will allow you to game with smooth framerates, still with all the settings at their highest. These FPS were obtained from the default video card frequencies and otherwise, settings for the games remained unchanged.