Gameplay Performance
For our evaluation, we are setting the resolution at 1080p (1920×1080). 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. In all games, we set the in-game graphics as high as they can go or used a combination of settings that accomplished the same goal. Our comparison card today is the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7600 GAMING OC. The choice was based on the MSRP of GPUs at release. The GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7600 GAMING OC was priced at $269 at the time of release and is likewise aimed at 1080p resolution gaming. As always, prices are very dynamic so check out your usual retailer for the current offerings.
Alan Wake 2
We have added this newly released game to our testing suite this month. Alan Wake 2 is a brand-new game that has been developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games. Alan Wake 2 is based on the Northlight Engine game engine, which is an in-house engine developed by Remedy. Alan Wake 2 supports Global Illumination, Ray Tracing, and features NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 with Ray Reconstruction and Frame Generation with Super Resolution. Alan Wake 2 also supports FSR 2 out of the gate, so both upscaling options are available. This game is going to be known for its incredible lighting techniques and quality. We use presets of “High Quality” and “High Ray Tracing” in the game. We use a manual run-through.
Until the upscaling is enabled we would describe the gameplay here as marginally acceptable. The game is very graphically intense and it shows. The game plays nicely once upscaling is applied. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile doesn’t quite have enough to reach the 60FPS level needed to be marginally acceptable, even overclocked. The GIGABYTE RX 7600 does have the stuff and is about 10% better here. The difference is wider utilizing upscaling, over 20%! However, both cards are nicely playable with upscaling enabled. Our overclocking does help quite a bit here by 8%, narrowing the gap.
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.
Starting at the start we see very nice results. The gameplay is fast and smooth. The results are almost even, especially with upscaling enabled. Still, the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile is faster by 2.5% and loses a bit in upscaled performance. The overclock adds 2.5%.
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 and the version is now 1.22.
This game is somewhat demanding with very detailed graphics. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile nonetheless gives us a good showing. The results are quite good with upscaling enabled. Again, our review card is the better of the two by 17 and 14%. Overclocking gains 6%.
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.
The rasterized performance here is impressive and the visuals are beautiful. Both video cards are very fast, again the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC LowProfile comes out on top by 18%. Upscaling results are crazy, but probably not needed in this setting. Overclocking gains an additional 4.5%.
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 1.13.1pe.
Our results in this game were very fast. Both cards supplied smooth gaming framerates. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile was quickest by 3% and 6%. Overclocking added 5%. Upscaling was very fast and not entirely necessary for a good gaming experience in this case.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 2.0 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. Our testing uses version 2.02.
The framerates here in plain raster are quite impressive. The gameplay was very enjoyable using either card. We see a very close performance with the Radeon RX 7600 topping the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile. The margin was 8% and 4%. The overclocked card afforded a split decision when upscaling was enabled, however, and was a 4% improvement over the default.