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Gameplay Performance 4K
On this page, we are going to focus on the 4K gameplay performance with the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER 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. As the comparison cards, we have a made-by-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 the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER allows a very playable experience at 4K and maximum settings with 75FPS average performance. We experienced no slowdowns or stutter, and the game played smoothly. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is about 5% slower than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX in this game, but they are so close that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. When we look at Upscaling performance, the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER can hit above 100FPS average at 4K, which is very smooth. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER performance increases by 5% and it is now on par with the Radeon RX 7900 XTX in performance and beats it in Upscaling performance.
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 the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER performs at 50FPS average, which is 11% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX. However, you will really need upscaling in this game for it to be playable at 4K, and with the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER that runs at 85FPS on quality, which is faster than the RX 7900 XTX’s quality mode by 21%. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER performance increases by 6%.
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 the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER produces 55FPS, which in this game is very playable. This performance level is on par with the Radeon RX 7900 XTX in terms of gameplay. When we enable upscaling performance jumps above 80FPS if you want better latency and smoothness. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER performance increases by 4%.
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 runs extremely well on all of these graphics cards at above 100FPS. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is on par with the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, and upscaling brings performance up to 130FPS. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER performance increases by 4%.
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.
Starfield can have slower performance at 4K, but the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER manages a playable experience at 4K well above 60FPS average. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is on par with the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, but the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER does perform better with DLSS enabled. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER hits 89FPS with DLSS, and this is 13% faster than the RX 7900 XTX with FSR at the same quality mode. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER performance increases by 5%.
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 the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER provides a very playable experience at 87FPS, but it is about 9% behind the Radeon RX 7900 XTX in this game. Enabling upscaling helps bring performance up well above 100FPS at 4K. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER performance increases by 3%.
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 all the video cards are playable above 100FPS and very smooth. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER beats the Radeon RX 7900 XTX by 5%. With DLSS though, the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER takes a huge lead at 150FPS compared to the RX 7900 XTX. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER performance increases by 5%.
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 the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER provides a very playable experience at 96FPS and is 11% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX at 4K. DLSS takes a big lead as well, providing 144FPS on the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER compared to 120 on the RX 7900 XTX. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER performance increases by 4%.
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 demanding at 4K, and the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER struggles to hit 60FPS, though it is very playable with DLSS at 71FPS. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is about 15% behind the RX 7900 XTX in this game. When we overclock the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER performance increases by 3%.
The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a solid video card from ASUS with a great 4K gameplay experience and at 1440p it will dominate gameplay. With DLSS Upscaling, it provides exceptional performance at 4K and 1440p, even with Ray Tracing. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is built tough, it's eye pleasing but at the same time built with great quality and cooling, and offers something above a stock video card at the standard MSRP for the RTX 4080 SUPER. It has enthusiast level overclocking potential, and offers good value with its main competition, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX.
Former managing editor of GPUs at HardOCP for 18 years, Brent Justice has been reviewing computer components since the late 90s, educated in the art and method of the computer hardware review, he brings experience, knowledge, and hands-on testing with a gamer-oriented and hardware enthusiast perspective.
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