Gameplay Performance at 1080p
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 cards today are the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7600 GAMING OC and the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile. The choices were based on both the MSRP of GPUs at release and product position. The GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7600 GAMING OC was priced at $269 at the time of release and is likewise aimed at 1080p resolution gaming. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile was priced at $324 at release, also aimed at 1080p and 1440p gaming. As always, prices are very dynamic so check out your usual retailer for the current offerings.
Alan Wake 2
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” in the game. We use a manual run-through.
Here we see what you would call marginally playable, without upscaling. The ASRock RX 7600 XT Steel Legend and the GIGABYTE RX 7600 perform identically and 8% over the GIGABYTE RTX 4060 Low Profile. Once you enable upscaling, the game is smooth and enjoyable. Overclocking does have a nice advantage here of a 10% boost.
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.
The gameplay here is fast and smooth. The ASRock RX 7600 XT Steel Legend does bring up the rear by just 1% but is still very fast. With upscaling enabled the GIGABYTE RX 7600 is the fastest by 5%, that said we’re in the 100 FPS range. Again overclocking gives us a 12% gain.
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 the current version is 1.22.
In the plain raster benchmark, the ASRock RX 7600 XT Steel Legend and GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile reach playable framerates. The margin is 21% versus the GIGABYTE RX 7600 and 10% versus the GIGABYTE RTX 4060. Upscaling likewise shows an advantage for our review card of 12%. We do see all cards playable once upscaling is enabled. Overclocking once again by adding 10%.
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 game is very graphically demanding and it shows. We see almost three different tiers of performance. Here the GIGABYTE RTX 4060 shines, the ASRock RX 7600 XT Steel Legend is in the middle and the GIGABYTE RX 7600 is getting lapped. We see a gap of 28% from the ASRock RX 7600 XT Steel Legend to the GIGABYTE RTX 4060 and 54% to the GIGABYTE RX 7600. Upscaling is 38% and 22% respectively. That being said, the framerates are fast and the game looks fantastic. Overclocking is hovering at a steady 10% boost.
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 1.14.0p.
The game here plays fast and smooth and looks great. The results are nearly a dead heat with only 2% separating the three cards. There is a slight bit more separation with upscaling gained by the GIGABYTE RTX 4060 at 8%. That being said the FPS is consistently fast and this game is very demanding. Overclocking here is 7%.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 2.10 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.
The results in this game were quite surprising. Fast FPS and smooth gameplay all around. The GIGABYTE RTX 4060 OC Low Profile had the slowest results but was still very impressive. The ASRock RX 7600 XT Steel Legend was 10% quicker than the GIGABYTE RTX 4060 OC Low Profile and had essentially the same performance as the GIGABYTE RX 7600. Results between the two Radeon RX cards using upscaling were exactly the same. Once again overclocking gave a hefty 10% jump.