Ray Tracing Performance
We are going to focus on Ray Tracing 1440p gameplay performance with the XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition 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 XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition Video Card has a launch MSRP of $469.
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.
In Ray Tracing we start to see the added demands come to the fore. Here the XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition just quite can’t muster enough FPS on its own to be playable. There tends to be a bit of laggy behavior. However with upscaling the game is smooth sailing, 48% improvement. Despite the tax, the XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition still bests the last-generation cards by roughly 25% both plain and upscaled. The RTX 4060 Ti does very well in this game. It is notable all 4 cards are playable with upscaling.
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.
The demands of this game are apparent. None of the video cards are playable without help. The XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition manages the fastest FPS by over 15% here but the result is unplayable until upscaled. Upscaling lifts three of four cards into playable territory with our review card well out in front. The gap between new and old here is 14 and 21%. Rather surprisingly, the 4060 Ti brings up a slow last-place finish.
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.
Once again we have a playable result for the XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition, over 60FPS without help. The gameplay is smooth and graphically impressive. It gets better with upscaling, you bet. The difference between generations is quite wide in this game, over 40% and over 26% with upscaling. Our XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition just edges out the RTX 4060 Ti by 12 and 6%.
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.
We alluded to the devil in the Ray Tracing earlier. This game is simply brutal given the level of Ray Traced detail. None of our video cards are up to the task. There is a 40% generational improvement but the game is simply unplayable, even with FSR enabled. The RTX 4060 Ti is barely playable with upscaling and does better than the XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition by 18 and 23%. If anything this does demonstrate the improvement in Ray Tracing from generation to generation, however. With just a little more, the XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition would be playable here.
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.
Here is another offering that is so quick in plain raster but very demanding with Ray Tracing enabled. Again none of the cards is able to do much without help. The game is unplayable. Still, the XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition is over 30% faster than the RX 6700 XT or the RX 6750 XT. Once FSR is enabled both the RTX 4060 Ti and XFX SPEEDSTER QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black are in playable territory. The margin is still over 30% from last generation’s cards, which are unplayable. The RTX 4060 Ti does edge out first place here by 8%.
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.
Well, there isn’t much you can say about this result, except that the settings need to be adjusted to make a playable experience. This game is the toughest, no doubt. Excepting the fact that you can double your FPS with upscaling, the results are bad all around. The RX 6700 XT and RX 6750 XT can’t get out of their own way. The generational improvement is approaching 50% here, but still not good enough in these settings.