Ray Tracing Performance
We are going to focus on Ray Tracing 1440p gameplay performance with the SAPPHIRE PULSE AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT GAMING 12GB 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 a SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB, AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB Founders Edition. Keep in mind prices by MSRP when looking at the performance, the Radeon RX 6750 XT launched at $549, the Radeon RX 6700 XT launched at $479, and the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB FE launched at $399. The SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT GAMING 12GB Video Card has a launch MSRP of $449.
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 PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT GAMING 12GB remarkably offers almost 60FPS gameplay at 1440p with EPIC Ray Tracing. What’s even more incredible is the performance uplift versus the previous generation and the fact that it is neck-and-neck with the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB on Ray Tracing performance.
The SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT is within just 2% of the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB Ray Tracing performance here. Compared to the previous generation, the Ray Tracing uplift is pretty significant, the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT is 32% faster than the Radeon RX 6750 XT and 38% faster than the Radeon RX 6700 XT. Overclocking adds 3% to performance and allows it to overtake the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti on Ray Tracing performance.
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.
If you thought Returnal was exciting with the Ray Tracing performance comparison, Forspoken takes that to a new level. We are actually seeing the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT exceed the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Ray Tracing performance by 14% in this game. Compared to the last generation we are also seeing a 14% improvement. Though it is faster than all the cards, at 48FPS the game is not playable, and the game isn’t enjoyable at this level of performance. For this game with Ray Tracing you will have to enable FSR Upscaling on the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT to be playable, but doing so nets you 70FPS. It is the only card to deliver that level of performance. Overclocking adds a negligible 2%.
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, there is also a significant difference between not just the last generation video cards from AMD, but also the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Ray Tracing performance in this game. The SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT is 12% faster than the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti. Compared to the previous generation the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT is 43% faster than the Radeon RX 6750 XT and 48% faster than the Radeon RX 6700 XT, which is significant. The SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT is really the only playable card here at 60FPS with Ray Tracing, and with FSR it’s up to nearly 90FPS. Overclocking adds 5% more to 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 a bit, and this is due to the intensive Ray Traced Global Illumination in this game, which hurts all cards a lot. The GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB video card does the best here by being 16% faster than the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT. However, though there is a difference in percentage, the game is still not playable even on the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, it does require upscaling to reach 60FPS.
Compared to the last generation though, the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT is 45% faster than the Radeon RX 6750 XT and 51% faster than the Radeon RX 6700 XT. These are just simply large gains in performance compared to the previous generation at nearly the same price point. Remember, the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT is actually cheaper than the Radeon RX 6700 XT was at launch.
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 none of the video cards are playable with High Quality Ray Tracing at 1440p sadly. However, that can be reached by enabling upscaling on the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT and the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, where it could not before on the previous generation. The SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT is 36% faster than the Radeon RX 6750 XT and 42% faster than the Radeon RX 6700 XT. The GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is 9% faster than the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 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, even with upscaling. In this game, you will for sure want to lower the graphics setting, or Ray Tracing preset to enjoy this game with Ray Tracing at 1440p on these video cards, even then you may still opt to enable upscaling. The GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is 17% faster than the SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT. The SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT is 44% faster than the Radeon RX 6750 XT and 51% faster than the Radeon RX 6700 XT. Overclocking adds 4% to performance.