Ray Tracing Performance
We are going to focus on Ray Tracing 1440p gameplay performance with the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT 16GB Gaming OC 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.
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. The SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT 16GB GAMING OC has an MSRP of $549.
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 SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is still playable though with Ray Tracing in this game, at 69FPS gameplay is smooth. The GeForce RTX 4070 is faster by 7%, and the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is faster than the Radeon RX 6800 by 30%. It is also faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT by 11%. Overclocking improves performance by 4%, so already a bigger gain than without Ray Tracing. When overclocked, the GeForce RTX 4070 and SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC are much closer in performance, with only a 3% difference.
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 with Ray Tracing the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is once again very playable at 70FPS with smooth gameplay. What’s more, the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is exactly the same performance as the GeForce RTX 4070 with Ray Tracing in this game! That’s pretty interesting to see, both video cards offer 70FPS average with Ray Tracing and equal performance. Upscaling also boosts both cards to nearly the same performance. The SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is 23% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 and 8% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT. Overclocking improves performance by 3%.
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.
In The Callisto Protocol, we once again find the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC competing with the GeForce RTX 4070 on Ray Tracing performance. In fact, the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC ends up being 2% faster than the GeForce RTX 4070, and when overclocking is done it’s 5% faster than the GeForce RTX 4070. The SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is 36% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 and 13% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT. Overclocking adds 3% more performance.
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 where the Radeon cards fall down, and this is due to the intensive Ray Traced Global Illumination in this game, which hurts all cards a lot. The GeForce RTX 4070 ends up with the performance lead of 33% over the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC, however, it still also needs upscaling to actually be playable. The SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is playable when upscaling is used here, with FSR it can hit 60FPS with Ultra Ray Tracing.
The SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is 35% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 and 29% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT. We can definitely see the improvement in Ray Tracing performance on the RDNA 3 architecture in this game. Overclocking adds 5% more performance.
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 SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is not playable at High Quality Ray Tracing at 1440p, but again neither is the GeForce RTX 4070. Both video cards need to enable their upscaling methods to make the game playable, and with FSR the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is very playable at 75FPS, and the GeForce RTX 4070 is very playable at 90FPS with DLSS.
The GeForce RTX 4070 is 15% faster than the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC but the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is 33% faster than the Radeon RX 6800. The SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is 14% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT. Overclocking adds 5% more performance.
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 GeForce RTX 4070 is 31% faster than the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC, but the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC is 36% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 and 15% faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT. Overclocking adds 5% more performance.