Ray Tracing Performance
We are going to focus on Ray Tracing 1440p gameplay performance with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT. 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.
When comparing video cards in this review, we are using an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, Radeon RX 6800, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Founders Edition. Keep in mind launch prices by MSRP for comparison, the Radeon RX 6800 XT launched at $649, the Radeon RX 6800 launched at $579, and the GeForce RTX 4070 FE launched at $599. The Radeon RX 7800 XT has a launch MSRP of $499.
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 an unlocked framerate, and everything is enabled. For ray tracing tests we have enabled Ray Traced Shadows and Reflections at EPIC settings. We use the built-in benchmark.
Now we are really pushing these cards by enabling Ray Tracing at maximum settings in games at 1440p. The new AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is able to provide a playable gameplay experience with EPIC Ray Tracing in Returnal at 1440p at 66FPS average, the game ran smoothly. Overall, we see Ray Tracing has picked up from the Radeon RX 6800 XT and RX 6800. The Radeon RX 7800 XT is 6% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT and 25% faster than the Radeon RX 6800. However, the GeForce RTX 4070 still remains Ray Tracing king, and the Radeon RX 7800 XT is 11% slower than the GeForce RTX 4070.
Forspoken
Forspoken was released on January 24th, 2023, on the PC and uses the Luminous Engine. The game supports all upscaling methods and Ray Tracing. We are going to customize the settings and enable the highest graphics settings, including Ultra High Texture Memory. We are going to enable both Ray Tracing options, Shadows, and Ambient Occlusion. We use the built-in benchmark.
In Forspoken, the Radeon RX 7800 XT is also playable at 1440p with Ray Tracing at 68FPS average. This is just a tad faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT, by 5% but 19% faster than the Radeon RX 6800. The GeForce RTX 4070 edges out performance, but the Radeon RX 7800 XT follows close behind at 3%. With FSR or DLSS, the Radeon RX 7800 XT and RTX 4070 share identical performance using upscaling.
The Callisto Protocol
The Callisto Protocol was released in December of 2022 on the PC and is based on Unreal Engine 4. We run the game in DX12 mode with unlimited framerate, and all graphics settings enabled and at the highest graphics settings. This game supports ray tracing, and FSR upscaling only, we use FSR2 for testing. For Ray Tracing we enable Ray Traced Shadows, Ray Traced Transmission, and Ray Traced Reflections to High. We use the built-in benchmark.
Things are better in The Callisto Protocol for the Radeon RX 7800 XT when Ray Tracing is used. Now we see it performing faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT, where it was slower without Ray Tracing on the previous page. The Radeon RX 7800 XT is 7% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT, and 29% faster than the Radeon RX 6800. The GeForce RTX 4070 still edges out the Radeon RX 7800 XT, but they are close at 3%.
Chernobylite Enhanced Edition
Chernobylite was released on the PC in 2021, but the free Enhanced Edition update for the game was released in April 2022. The Enhanced Edition provides a visual overhaul of the game with better textures, plus introduces tessellation and ray tracing features. It features raytraced reflections, raytraced translucency, raytraced caustics, and raytraced dynamic diffuse global illumination. The game is based on Unreal Engine 4. For our Ray Tracing test, we have enabled the Ultra Ray Tracing option.
Chernobylite Enhanced Edition is another game that really puts the screws to all video cards when Ultra Ray Tracing is used because it uses Ray Traced Global Illumination. This game is just super demanding with it enabled, so we can really see who is the what here. The new Radeon RX 7800 XT does show a bigger improvement over the Radeon RX 6800 XT in this game with Ray Tracing, by 24%, which is the largest percentage difference yet with Ray Tracing enabled.
This shows that the Radeon RX 7800 XT does have better Ray Tracing than the Radeon RX 6800/XT, but it really takes intensive Global Illumination to bring it out. The GeForce RTX 4070’s Ray Tracing advantage is also very apparent here, and the Radeon RX 7800 XT is 27% slower than the GeForce RTX 4070. Interestingly, with FSR enabled though, the Radeon RX 7800 XT is playable at 60FPS with Ray Tracing, whereas the Radeon RX 6800 XT was not.
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. We use the built-in benchmark.
In Dying Light 2 the Radeon RX 7800 XT is 10% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT, again more than it was without Ray Tracing, so there is a performance advantage with Ray Tracing on the new GPU. Compared to the Radeon RX 6800 the Radeon RX 7800 XT is 27% faster. The GeForce RTX 4070 still has the advantage, and the Radeon RX 7800 XT is 16% slower than the GeForce RTX 4070.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 1.62 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, none of the video cards are playable at 1440p with Ultra Ray Tracing until we enable upscaling, even then, only the GeForce RTX 4070 is playable. The Radeon RX 7800 XT is 10% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT and 30% faster than the Radeon RX 6800. The GeForce RTX 4070 is the fastest and the Radeon RX 7800 XT is 27% slower than the GeForce RTX 4070. Only the GeForce RTX 4070 with DLSS is playable at 66FPS here. FSR does add a large 79% more performance to the Radeon RX 7800 XT, but that only gets you to the high 40s with Ultra Ray Tracing.