Gameplay Performance 1080p
Our graphs and comparison methods have been updated. In the graphs below, note that we are showing both “rasterized” and “ray tracing” performance on the graphs, for each card. RT in the graphs stands for Ray Tracing. The bar above the RT bar is standard rasterized performance. All of this is without upscaling. We will show DLSS upscaling performance later, separately. We are comparing directly against an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB Founders Edition.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora was released in December of 2023 and is based on an updated Snowdrop engine. This engine supports real-time ray tracing, and Avatar Frontiers of Pandora is unique in that it supports hardware ray tracing turned on by default, with no options to disable it. If a video card doesn’t support ray tracing, it falls back to a software ray tracing mode. With ray tracing baked in, all the results shown reflect the use of ray-traced global illumination, ray-traced reflections, and ray-traced shadows, these are always on. We utilize the graphics quality preset option of “Ultra.” We use the built-in benchmark.
In Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G provides a playable performance at 1080p with “Ultra” settings, which is the game maxed out. This is impressive and shows that at 1080p the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G can provide above 60FPS average performance in this very graphically intense game, which always has Ray Tracing enabled. The MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G and the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB are performing very similarly here, this game is very engine performance dependent. Overclocking the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G improves performance by 6% and improves overall smoothness.
Alan Wake 2
Alan Wake 2 was launched on the PC in October of 2023 and is based on the Northlight Engine. The game supports detailed graphics and ray tracing with path tracing support. This game defaults to DLSS or FSR but does allow Native AA resolution settings with DLSS or FSR respectively. We utilize the graphics presets to set High quality, as well as the Ray Tracing presets to set Low or High quality. We use a manual run-through in the Initiation 5: Room 665 chapter.
In Alan Wake 2, at 1080p and the “High” quality preset the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G provides a smooth and playable gameplay experience at 70FPS, this game is very enjoyable. This is also on par with the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB.
When we enable Ray Tracing however, something interesting happens, we actually see the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G outperform the 8GB RTX 4060 Ti by 5% at 1080p. We do know that Ray Tracing consumes more VRAM when it is enabled. Unfortunately, the performance is a bit too low for High RT at 1080p without upscaling, on either GPU. Overclocking the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G improves performance by 8%.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage
Assassin’s Creed Mirage was released in October of 2023 and is based on the Ubisoft Anvil game engine. We are using the “Ultra High” graphics quality preset, and all adaptive framerate measures are disabled. We use the built-in benchmark.
Assassins’s Creed Mirage is more than playable on the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G at 1080p with the maximum graphics settings at a very smooth 120FPS. The 8GB RTX 4060 Ti also performs exactly the same at 1080p. Overclocking the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G improves performance by 7%.
Starfield
Starfield was released on the PC in September of 2023 and is based on the Creation Engine 2. We are using the highest Ultra settings in the game for all testing, and upscaling is disabled for standard testing, with no dynamic resolution. We use a manual run-through in the New Atlantis area encompassing all areas.
In Starfield we are running the game at the highest settings at 1080p and the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G allows smooth gameplay right at 60FPS. This game is playable, and other areas in the game do perform even better than this, as this one is more demanding. We once again find the 8GB RTX 4060 Ti performs the same. Overclocking the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G improves performance by 8% which does help smooth out the experience.
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 unlocked framerate, and everything is enabled except ray tracing, we have screen-space reflections on. We use the built-in benchmark.
In Returnal the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G is very playable at the highest EPIC game settings at nearly 100FPS, providing a very smooth experience at 1080p. We see the RTX 4060 Ti 8GB performing exactly the same. This game is also very playable with EPIC Ray Tracing on the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G at 1080p at 84FPS average, just 1FPS above the RTX 4060 Ti 8GB. Overclocking the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G improves performance by 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.
Forspoken is a game that is greatly affected by VRAM capacity in our testing, and it truly shows here today. We’ve seen this game want, no need, more than 8GB of VRAM, and our testing is proving that out. Here, the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G is providing a playable gameplay experience, a smooth experience, at 86FPS. The MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G is 9% faster than the 8GB RTX 4060 Ti, and the only difference is the VRAM capacity between the two.
We also find that the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G is playable with Ray Tracing at 1080p in this game at 71FPS average. Ray Tracing increases the burden on VRAM once again, and we see the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G is 22% faster than the 8GB RTX 4060 Ti! This is what more VRAM can do in games that demand it, and this is only 1080p.
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.
In Chernobylite Enhanced Edition the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G is very playable at 150FPS with maximum settings. It shares performance with the 8GB RTX 4060 Ti. In terms of Ray Tracing, the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G is borderline playable with Ultra Ray Tracing at 1080p in this game, but you can turn on DLSS upscaling to make it even smoother. Overclocking the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G improves performance by 6%.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 2.0 and utilize the built-in benchmark. We test using the Graphics Preset option to set graphics settings to “Ultra”. We utilize the highest quality upscaling.
Cyberpunk 2077 is more than playable at 1080p with “Ultra” settings on the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G at nearly 100FPS, it’s in the 90’s and just super smooth and enjoyable. We see that the 8GB RTX 4060 Ti is slightly faster, but there are power and clock speed differences between the GPUs that affect that performance.
Unfortunately, this game is not playable with “Ultra” Ray Tracing at 1080p, upscaling will be necessary on the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G in order to play it at 1080p with Ultra Ray Tracing. We do see the RT performance on the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G creeping up above the 8GB RTX 4060 Ti though, like we did with Alan Wake 2, which is telling when it didn’t without RT. Overclocking the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING X SLIM WHITE 16G improves performance by 5%.