Gameplay Performance
For our evaluation, we are setting the resolution at 1440p (2560×1440). We are charting default and upscaled results in this section. Upscaling via FSR or DLSS is utilized depending on the video card and in-game selections. Our comparison card today is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB Founders Edition. The choice was based on the MSRP of GPUs at release.
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 this game, the performance is quite good for both cards. The game plays smoothly. The SAPPHIRE PURE Radeon RX 7700 XT GAMING OC is the fastest card by 16% and 30% when upscaled. Overclocking gains 3+%.
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 use the built-in benchmark.
Again we see fast, smooth FPS by the SAPPHIRE PURE Radeon RX 7700 XT GAMING OC. The difference here is 34% and 46%. Notably, the RTX 4060 Ti 8GB is unplayable without upscaling. Overclocking gains nearly 3%.
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-traced shadows, reflections, and transmissions. We use the built-in benchmark.
Our review card again is the quickest, the margin is 16% and 11% upscaled. The RTX 4060 Ti 8GB does close the gap a bit when upscaled. Both cards perform well in the game. Overclocking is marginal at best.
Chernobylite Enhanced Edition
Chernobylite, based on Unreal Engine 4, was released on the PC in 2021, but the 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. It supports upscaling, and we use the highest quality. We use the built-in benchmark.
This is a very tricky game. With all settings at maximum, in a rasterized format, the game is blazing fast and remarkably detailed and smooth. The results were fast for both cards, nearly even actually. The SAPPHIRE PURE Radeon RX 7700 XT GAMING OC did come out as the faster of the two by 3% before upscaling when it fell back by just over 1%. Pretty darn even.
Dying Light 2
Dying Light 2 was released in February 2022 on the PC. It uses Techland’s C-Engine and supports Ray Tracing for various environmental effects including Ray Traced Soft Shadows, Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion, Ray Traced Global Illumination, and Ray Traced Reflections. It also supports both DLSS and FSR 2.0 upscaling technologies. We are using the game’s built-in benchmark. We use the game patched to 1.12.1e
For a game with such demanding graphics, the SAPPHIRE PURE Radeon RX 7700 XT GAMING OC is fast without help. While both cards are remarkably fast and smooth, there is still a 19% advantage. Upscaling closes the gap, but at over 100 FPS is it really necessary? Overclocking gets you 3% extra.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 1.63 for our testing. We test using the built-in benchmark. Preset options for Ultra quality are used. Ray Tracing testing uses the “Ultra” presets. This game also supports DLSS and AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution FSR 2.1. We test FSR 2.1 Ultra Quality on AMD GPUs.
81 FPS of smooth gameplay in the most demanding game around! A pretty good distance between the two cards here as well. The SAPPHIRE PURE Radeon RX 7700 XT GAMING OC is quicker by 25% either way you cut it, that’s pretty good right there.