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.
This evaluation is a real GIGABYTE cage match. Our comparison cards 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. The game version is 1.0.15.
The game is right at playable in default settings. The pace is slow, so 55FPS is doable in this game. One percent separates the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7600 XT Gaming OC from its RX 7600 counterpart. Both are 13% faster than the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile. With upscaling the game plays very well, but there is much more of a gap from the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile, 20 and 16%. Overclocking adds 10%.
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.
This game is very playable in default settings. Essentially 1% separates the three cards. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile is on top. Upscaling sees a slight benefit for the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7600 Gaming OC by 4% and 10%. Overclocking gains 5% here.
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 have customized 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.
This game is playable in default except for the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7600 Gaming OC. The FPS gives a smooth gameplay even at 57FPS. The GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7600 XT Gaming OC is on top here by 12 and 26%. Upscaling allows an extra 12%, although all cards are playable once upscaled. Overclocking gains us 7%.
We have commented before on this game. The RX 7600 non-XT just doesn’t do well in default settings compared to the Radeon RX 7600 XT. The driver version is the same, so it may be extra VRAM that is at play here for this particular game.
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.
All cards are playable in default. We see time and again in this game a distinctly fast performance by NVIDIA-based cards. Here the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile is blistering the field by 17, 28 and 54%. Upscaling helps, all the cards are ridiculously fast, but that big gap is still there. Once again, the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7600 Gaming OC just gets blistered. Overclocking ups things to 9% faster.
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.
This one ends in a dead heat. The FPS is very fast and the game plays smoothly. There is a little advantage to the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile when upscaled, but it really isn’t needed at these FPS. Overclocked we gain 7% and 14% upscaled.
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.
The results in this game are very good. We have very close FPS with the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7600 XT Gaming OC out on top by 2% and 10%. Upscaling keeps the same margins with triple-digit FPS!! Overclocking adds 8%.