Gameplay Performance at 1440p
Our graphing format has changed a bit. After a great deal of plain old hard work (thanks Brent!) you will now see a fresh look to the colors, contrast, and labeling. My reviews will continue to be grouped into standard rasterized and upscaled, followed by Ray Tracing and upscaled. We will also be adding a section comparing Frame Generation. Below we will discuss rasterized gameplay at 1440p (2560×1440) as this is the target for the RTX 4070 Super. Our comparison cards are the MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming X TRIO and the PowerColor Hellhound Radeon RX 7900 GRE. (let’s see if we can pull a Rabbit out of our hat!!)
Alan Wake 2
Alan Wake 2 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 1.0.16.1.
In Alan Wake 2 we notice very smooth gameplay from all three of our test video cards. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER OC Edition leads the group by 3% and 17% Upscaling allows all three cards to run over 100FPS! Overclocking gains 3.7% here.
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. (V 1.3.195864)
Again, all three video cards are smooth and fast. The order is maintained. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER OC Edition leads the way by 40 and 43%. Upscaling is fast as well, however, given the baseline FPS not altogether necessary. The overclock here boosts 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 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.
The results here are a bit closer, still the order remains unchanged. The game is smooth and fast, no doubt. We see the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER OC Edition on top by 5 and 13%. Upscaling closes the gap between the Super and plain RTX 4070, the PowerColor Hellhound Radeon RX 7900 GRE is behind by 14%. Overclocking adds 5%.
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 delivers blistering FPS in plain rasterized settings. It is beautiful and smooth as silk. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER OC Edition is on top by 19 and 21% here before upscaling. Upscaled the FPS is ridiculous, but the PowerColor Hellhound Radeon RX 7900 GRE just can’t keep up. Overclocking gets us 6% more.
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 1.15.3p.
This game is a toss-up between the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER OC Edition and the MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming X TRIO, separated by a mere 1FPS until upscaled. Then the tables are turned for the first time…..by 10%. Our PowerColor Hellhound Radeon RX 7900 GRE is fast too but still trails by 14%. No matter, the game is a pleasure here without upscaling. If you overclock you gain 4%.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020 and uses the REDengine 4. We have the game patched to version 2.12 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 DLSS3 and AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution FSR 2.1.
Very fast results for a demanding game. The PowerColor Hellhound Radeon RX 7900 GRE must have found the carrot patch. A nice 11% margin and a bigger 32% lead over the MSI GeForce Gaming X TRIO!! Upscaling is really fast here, but with the native FPS not overly necessary. The gameplay is very smooth regardless. Overclocking boosts by 4% again.