Ray Tracing Performance
We are going to focus on Ray Tracing 1440p gameplay performance with the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC 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 an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Founders Edition. Keep in mind launch prices by MSRP for comparison, the GeForce RTX 4070 FE launched at $599. The Radeon RX 7800 XT has a launch MSRP of $499. The ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition has an MSRP of $529.
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 ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition is still playable in this game at 70 FPS with Ray Tracing with smooth and enjoyable gameplay. In fact, it’s almost as fast, practically on par, with the GeForce RTX 4070 performance with Ray Tracing. The GeForce RTX 4070 is only 3% faster. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition it matches the GeForce RTX 4070 exactly on performance, for a 3% performance improvement. With FSR enabled, it also matches the RTX 4070 with DLSS.
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 ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition is very playable at 72 FPS with Ray Tracing enabled. In this game, it is actually 3% faster than the GeForce RTX 4070 with Ray Tracing. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition performance increases by 6% to 76 FPS. When overclocked it is 9% faster than the GeForce RTX 4070.
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, the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition is very playable at 75.6 FPS with Ray Tracing enabled providing a smooth gameplay experience. It is actually 3% faster than the GeForce RTX 4070 with Ray Tracing. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition performance increases by 3% to 78 FPS.
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 pretty hard on performance with Ultra Ray Tracing due to Global Illumination. Here the GeForce RTX 4070 is faster than the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition by 30%, but neither card is playable without upscaling. Once we enable DLSS or FSR on these cards, performance is playable and above 60 FPS. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition performance increases by 4%. However, when we use FSR performance is playable in the 60 FPS range with Ultra Ray Tracing on the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition.
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 GeForce RTX 4070 is also faster than the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition by 14%. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition performance increases by 5%. However, we still need upscaling in this game with Ray Tracing at 1440p on both video cards. With FSR enabled the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition is very playable in the 70 FPS range.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 2.0 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 2.0, 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 35% faster than the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition performance increases by 3%. When we enable FSR the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7800 XT OC Edition is in the 50 FPS range with Ultra Ray Tracing.