Gameplay Performance at 1440p
Below we will discuss rasterized gameplay at 1440p (2560×1440) as this is the target for the Radeon RX 7900 GRE. Our comparison cards are the MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming X TRIO and the XFX Speedster MERC 319 Radeon RX 7800 XT Black Edition. We have also recently reviewed the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER which was compared to the PowerColor HellHound Radeon RX 7900 GRE if you would like to evaluate even more of the same performance metrics.
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.
Right out of the blocks, we see all three of our video cards are smooth and playable. The ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 GRE OC Edition leads the way by 5 and 15% before upscaling. The upscaling performance here in plain raster is very fast. Overclocking adds 10%, pretty nice right there.
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)
Once again we see the game is very fast and smooth, with very fast upscaling. The ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 GRE OC Edition is 10 and 20% quicker in the same order as the previous game. Overclocking will add 7.5% 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.
We see things tighten up a bit in this demanding game. The results are nearly linear here, but all are still very playable. The order is preserved but the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 GRE OC Edition only manages 3 and 6% edge. Overclock here only gets you 2%. The upscaling once more is fast across the board.
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 our reviews we have seen this beautiful game feature fast FPS in plain raster gaming. The game does seem to favor GeForce video cards. This is the case here. The MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming X TRIO shows its stuff and is 3% (4 FPS) quicker than the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 GRE OC Edition which is in turn 7.5% over the XFX Speedster MERC 319 Radeon RX 7800 XT Black Edition. Still, all cards register over 120FPS! Upscaling is ridiculous. Overclocking boosts by 7%.
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 1.16.1c.
A demanding game with fast FPS from all three cards. The ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 GRE OC Edition leads the way by a slim margin however. The difference is only 3% and 5%. Overclocking gains 5% here. Upscaled the game is crazy fast.
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.
Cyberpunk 2077 is nicely playable here in plain raster. All three video cards give smooth and beautiful gameplay. The ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 GRE OC Edition is on top once again by 5% and 30% without upscaling. Overclocking will add 6%.