Gameplay Performance Ray Tracing
On this page, we are going to focus on the 4K gameplay performance with Ray Tracing enabled on the Overclocked 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. In the comparison, we have a GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition and an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX.
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 can utilize Super Sampling upscaling, and for our graphs, we will just call that DLSS or FSR. 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.
Alan Wake 2 definitely needs more performance at 4K with High Ray Tracing enabled. Overclocking improves performance by 7%, but at these low framerates that only means 2FPS average. Unfortunately, it just isn’t near playable without DLSS Upscaling. However, with DLSS Upscaling, the overclocked GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER does get a 12% boost in performance from overclocking with DLSS enabled! This does make a difference, and actually makes the game playable at 4K with DLSS Quality mode when overclocked, something we couldn’t claim without the overclock.
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.
In Returnal overclocking definitely helps performance with Ray Tracing at 4K. The overclocked GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER improves performance by 6% and is more playable with Ray Tracing without needing Upscaling. When overclocked, the RTX 4080 SUPER is 6% faster than the RTX 4080 and 19% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX. Upscaling when overclocked improves performance from not overclocked by 6%.
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 are going to enable both Ray Tracing options, Shadows, and Ambient Occlusion. We use the built-in benchmark.
In Forspoken, overclocking the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER also helps provide a smoother experience with Ray Tracing. Overclocking the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER improves performance by 7% and brings is more than 60FPS. At this performance level, it is 8% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX. Upscaling when overclocked improves performance by 4%.
Chernobylite Enhanced Edition
Chernobylite was released on the PC in 2021, but the free 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. The game is based on Unreal Engine 4. For our Ray Tracing test, we have enabled the Ultra Ray Tracing option.
In Chernobylite Enhanced Edition turning on “Ultra” Ray Tracing creates a very demanding burden as it uses Ray Traced global illumination. Unfortunately, even when overclocked, the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is not playable without DLSS Upscaling. Overclocking the RTX 4080 SUPER improves performance by 5%, but you will definitely still need DLSS Upscaling to play the game smoothly. The overclocked RTX 4080 SUPER is 43% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, though. When using Upscailng, and overclocked, this provides a 4% bump from it not being overclocked.
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. This game supports Ray Tracing environmental effects including Ray Traced Soft Shadows, Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion, Ray Traced Global Illumination, and Ray Traced Reflections. We utilize the built-in preset option to set “HIGH-QUALITY RAYTRACING” which enables the game’s highest graphics settings plus the environmental effects explained above at the highest values. The game is run in DX12 Ultimate mode with ASYNC Compute turned on. We use the built-in benchmark.
Dying Light 2 also benefits from overclocking when Ray Tracing is used at 4K. The overclocked RTX 4080 SUPER improves performance by 5%. At this performance level the overclocked RTX 4080 SUPER is 42% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX. When overclocked and using Upscaling, the performance uplift is 6% compared to not overclocked.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 2.0 and use the built-in benchmark. We test using the Graphics Preset option to set graphics settings. We use the Ray Tracing Graphics Preset of either: “Ray Tracing: Low”, or “Ray Tracing: Medium” or “Ray Tracing: Ultra” as indicated. This game supports DLSS and FSR2.
Finally, Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K with Ultra Ray Tracing is of course not playable, and overclocking doesn’t really help us without DLSS Upscaling here. The performance uplift is 7%, but that still only means 32FPS. With DLSS Upscaling though, overclocking does make a difference as it brings us up to 60FPS at 4K with Ultra RT. When overclocked and using DLSS Upscaling, the RTX 4080 SUPER is 6% faster compared to it not being overclocked. The overclocked RTX 4080 SUPER is 53% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX.