Gameplay Performance at 4K
In this section, we are focused on 4K resolution gameplay. The graphics settings are the highest preset or a combination of custom selections that give the highest fidelity. We will show the plain rasterized performance and the upscaled performance. The video cards chosen are GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER WINDFORCE OC 16GB, the XFX Speedster MERC RX 7900 XT Black Edition, and the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Gaming OC. These cards are chosen on price and relative performance targets.
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. The current version is 1.0.15.
Here none of the video cards can muster 60FPS until upscaled. That said the slow pace of the game allows near playable conditions at around 50FPS. The XFX Speedster MERC RX 7900 XT Black Edition is 4% and 11% faster than the other two cards. Overclocking adds about a 4% increase. All three video cards are nicely playable with upscaling. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER WINDFORCE OC 16GB is 7% faster than the GIGABYTE RTX 4070 Ti Gaming OC.
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.
All the cards are smooth and fast natively. With upscaling the FPS are quite fast. Once again the XFX Speedster MERC RX 7900 XT Black Edition is fastest by 10 and 20%. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER WINDFORCE OC 16GB is 9% over the GIGABYTE RTX 4070 TI Gaming OC, but only 4% with upscaling. Overclocking adds 4%.
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.
Again all the cards are playable natively. The XFX Speedster MERC RX 7900 XT Black Edition continues to dominate, by 2 and 16%. Our GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER WINDFORCE OC 16GB is 13% quicker than the RTX 4070 Ti. Upscaling is just about equal here excepting the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Gaming OC which is 15% behind, but still nicely playable.
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 simply crazy fast in plain rasterized form. This is very impressive given the graphics in game. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER WINDFORCE OC 16GB takes over here by 7%, with the other two cards in a dead heat. Overclocking will yield a 7% increase here. You will not require upscaling.
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 1.14.0pe.
Another graphically demanding game with fast results at the highest setting. The XFX Speedster MERC RX 7900 XT Black Edition is 5 and 16% quicker. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER WINDFORCE OC 16GB is 10% faster than the GIGABYTE RTX 4070 TI Gaming OC. Upscaling pushes all the cards over 100FPS!
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 2.11 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.
None of the cards has the muscle to make it playable without upscaling at 4K. The top three just squeak by and the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Gaming OC falls short. The XFX Speedster MERC RX 7900 XT Black Edition performs quite well, 20% faster. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER WINDFORCE OC 16GB just eeks out at 4% over the GIGABYTE RTX 4070 TI Gaming OC.