ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER Video Card Review

Gameplay Performance 4K Ray Tracing

On this page, we are going to focus on the 4K Ray Tracing 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.

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.

In Alan Wake 2 we lowered the resolution down to 1440p since the demand for Path Tracing is so great at 4K. Instead, we dropped to 1440p but enabled “High” Ray Tracing, which does enable Path Tracing in the game to show that it is viable on the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER runs at 56FPS with this mode at 1440p, and the game is playable, you can also enable DLSS and boost that up to 80FPS+. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ends up being 100% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX which is not playable, even with FSR enabled. Overclocking the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER boosts performance 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 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 the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is playable at 4K with EPIC Ray Tracing at above 60FPS. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is 16% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, and with upscaling DLSS hits almost 100FPS at 4K with EPIC Ray Tracing. Overclocking the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER increases 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. Even at 4K, performance is not playable, but what we wanted to show here is that it actually is when you use DLSS upscaling. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is playable with DLSS upscaling at 70FPS with the highest Ray Tracing in this game at 4K. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is 34% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX. Overclocking the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER improves performance by 7%.

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 is also demanding with full Ray Tracing quality at 4K. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER does struggle at 4K with the highest Ray Tracing quality, that is until we turn on DLSS upscaling. With DLSS at 4K the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is playable at 86FPS, whereas the RX 7900 XTX struggles to hit 60FPS with FSR. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is 33% faster than the Radeon 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 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.

In Cyberpunk 2077, like Alan Wake 2, we lowered the resolution to 1440p here to enable Ultra Ray Tracing. In this way, we find the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is playable at 60FPS without needing upscaling. However, if you do enable DLSS and upscaling performance is smooth at 100FPS with Ultra Ray Tracing. The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is 43% faster than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX. Overclocking the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER improves performance by 6%.

Join the discussion in our forums...