Gameplay Performance 4K
On this page, we are going to focus on the 4K gameplay performance with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER Founders Edition video card. We will include DLSS and FSR performance on the same graph in the games that are supported shown in the Upscaling Bar, DLSS for NVIDIA and FSR for AMD. Ray Tracing performance will be shown on a separate page. In the comparison, we have a GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition and an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX.
Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West was released to the PC on March 21st, 2024, and uses the Decima game engine. The game supports the full suite of Upscaling technologies, including DLSS, FSR, and XeSS. It also supports DLAA and DLSS 3 Frame Generation. For testing, we use the Preset of “Very High” and then manually enable the highest 16X Anisotropic filtering, this provides the highest possible graphics settings for testing. We use a manual run-through about two hours into the game, in the open world traveling from point to point, with machines along the way, through a desert scene, forest, and village.
In Horizon Forbidden West we are testing at 4K and the highest in-game graphics settings available. We can see that all the video cards are playable, but the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX seems to have a large advantage in performance in this game, providing 16% more performance than the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER and GeForce RTX 4080. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is only 1.4% faster than the GeForce RTX 4080, or 1FPS on average, so the same performance. This level of performance is playable, and the game runs smoothly. When we utilize DLSS Upscaling the RTX 4080 SUPER improves performance by 32% and runs super smooth at 90FPS at 4K. The Radeon RX 7900 XTX edges it out slightly on Upscaling, but they are still close when Upscaling is used.
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 no video card is playable without Upscaling enabled, even the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is not playable at 49FPS until we used Upscaling at 4K. In this game, we find the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER and GeForce RTX 4080 provide the same performance and experience. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is 9% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. When we use DLSS Upscaling, the RTX 4080 SUPER gains 67% more performance and is very smooth and playable at 80FPS at 4K.
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 4K, this game is playable on each video card, but it is on the border of being playable. With the slower game pace, it is playable in the 50’s. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is only 2% faster than the GeForce RTX 4080 with a 1FPS average difference. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER matches the Radeon RX 7900 XTX in performance, both video cards provide the same gameplay experience in Alan Wake 2. When we enable DLSS Upscaling performance increases by 61% and the game is much smoother at 87FPS.
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 very playable on all three video cards at 100FPS. We see generally the same performance between all of them at 4K and maximum settings in this game. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is only 1% faster than the GeForce RTX 4080. With Upscaling enabled, we can break the 120FPS barrier at 4K on each video card.
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 performance can be demanding in this area at 4K, and each video card manages to just hit over 60FPS, with the Radeon RX 7900 XTX being the overall fastest. The Radeon RX 7900 XTX is 3% faster than the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, while the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is 1.5% faster than the GeForce RTX 4080. When we enable Upscaling, performance is very smooth in this game at above 80FPS on the RTX 4080 video cards. DLSS adds 33% more performance to the RTX 4080 SUPER at 4K using Quality mode.
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 all three video cards are more than playable at 4K above 80FPS. The Radeon RX 7900 XTX takes the lead in this game by 12% over the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER and GeForce RTX 4080 have the same performance and same experience. Using Upscaling improves performance by 36%.
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 playable on each video card here and the Radeon RX 7900 XTX is on top by 3%. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is 1.2% faster than the GeForce RTX 4080 and provides the same experience. Using Upscaling brings performance up to 110FPS, an increase of 41%.
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 each video card is able to provide 100FPS at 4K without even needing Upscaling. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is 1.5% faster than the GeForce RTX 4080 and 11% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX. When using Upscaling performance increases by 43%.
Dying Light 2
Dying Light 2 was released in February 2022 on the PC and uses Techland’s C-Engine. The game supports Ray Tracing, DLSS, and FSR2. We use the built-in preset to set “HIGH QUALITY” which sets the highest game graphics, without Ray Tracing. We manually enable DX12 and ASYNC Compute. We use the built-in benchmark.
In Dying Light 2 all three video card offer a very playable experience and performance at 4K. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is 2.3% faster than the GeForce RTX 4080 and 11% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX. When DLSS Upscaling is used performance improves by 46%.
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 of course very demanding, even on these modern video cards, at 4K and “Ultra” settings it is rather on the not-as-enjoyable side until you turn on DLSS Upscaling. The Radeon RX 7900 XTX actually comes out on top and feels fine without Upscaling, it’s 18% faster than the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER was a bit slower in this game compared to the GeForce RTX 4080. Either way, you’ll want to enable DLSS anyway to make it playable at 4K, and then you are playing at 70FPS and the game is super smooth.
Discussion (15 replies)
Join Discussion →I recently gave in to getting a Zotac Amp Aero Extreme OC version of this. Loving it so far and have mostly had identical experiences with it but so far only had a few hours of playtime and testing this past Sunday. I was lucky enough to find one on Amazon for $1150 plus tax and free shipping. I'm also impressed with its power efficiency. I totally agree, the 4080 done right.
While I think its a great card, its still overpriced IMO.
It's only overpriced if they can keep it in stock...
Well, the one I got is already out of stock and the other sellers start at least $100 higher.
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oh, and I messed up on what I paid. It was $1099.
The super cards have been over msrp since they came out unless you were lucky enough to get one pretty early on. I've been pretty happy with my MSI 4080 non super which I paid under $1,000 for at the time. Got it before things got crazy again with the GPU market again.
There've been some ups and downs with them. I've been checking somewhat regularly since the 4070 Ti Super launched because I knew I wanted to upgrade that rig. The one that I've never seen at MSRP is what Brent reviewed, the Founders Edition, but only having one or two official sources for that makes it incredibly difficult to get.
I forget who, but someone mentioned in another thread that B&H has had some AIB cards at MSRP, PNY I think, and I almost ordered one from them. Newegg has some but you usually have to get them in a PSU combo and there are some decent combos (saw a MSI Suprim X 4080 Super and 1300W ATX 3.0 for ~$1300) but I really don't need a new PSU right now but I almost pulled the trigger on that one. I ultimately reminded myself how this was really a splurge and to stick to a budget that started in the 900-1000 range.
It's a shame though, yeah, anyone wanting to get one at MSRP still has to put in the time to look around. They can be found and some days are easier than others but persistence is key for those who want to save money. The only reason I didn't go with the 4070 Ti Super, and I've absolutely found some at $799, is that it would be a wash with the 3090 Ti I replaced while the 4080 Super is ~10% improvement, and more when factoring in DLSS 3 options. That combined with significantly less power usage and better cooling vs the 3090 Ti was enough to convince me for this card and I'm definitely happy.
Just did a quick search at NVIDIA and yep, no sign of the founders edition but there are two other models at MSRP.
Just to add that I've been pleasantly surprised with the 4090 FE card I have. This is my first FE card and so far it has run the coolest out of the three 4090's I have owned.
I almost grabbed the MSI Expert version of the 4080 Super because it's more-or-less a clone of the FE and accessible but I wanted to try the strategy of an even bigger heatsink for more passive cooling. Having heard of the energy efficiency of the 4080 Super I was curious about that strategy but as your experience and Brent's review shows, the FEs are usually awesome. I'm pretty happy with the Zotac though, it boosts to 2685 MHz at stock and I can't hear it above the AIO/case fans which are all pretty quiet most of the time.
I don't think Zotac gets enough appreciation in the hardware community. I have used them off and on going back to I believe was a 9800GT card that lasted for years.
They're just not as focused on NA as the standard gamut of GPU vendors. Believe they're bigger in EU.
I've had folks telling me for about a decade that they make good cards at great prices but the name is what held me back. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but its just not one that makes me think, yeah I need a Zotac to get the job done. However, I'm somewhat converted now, at least on the affordable side of things for OC model.
I only had one Zotac card as they are hard to come by here, it was a Geforce 4 Ti 4200, it OCed past my brothers Ti 4600, really good performance at the time.
I didn't know, or at least remember, they'd been around that long. They didn't get on my radar until around the 700 or 900 series.
They're part of the Olde Garde.
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