Gameplay Performance 1080p Ray Tracing
On this page, we are going to focus on the 1080p Ray Tracing gameplay performance with the GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER and GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER video cards. The reason we are testing Ray Tracing at 1080p instead of 1440p is the fact that the GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is of the first generation of video cards supporting Ray Tracing. With this fact, the Ray Tracing performance of the RTX 20 series, is well, not as good, and quite simply 1440p with Ray Tracing is much too demanding on the 2070 SUPER in modern games.
Alan Wake 2
Alan Wake 2was 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 are now enabling “High” preset Ray Tracing, which does turn on Path Tracing. Even at just 1080p, the GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER just doesn’t have the muster to master Path Tracing, providing just 20FPS at 1080p. Even with DLSS upscaling, it’s a no-go. The GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, on the other hand, is actually playable at 60FPS at 1080p with Path Tracing in Alan Wake 2 without needing upscaling. The RTX 4070 SUPER is 205% faster than the 2070 SUPER. Enabling DLSS upscaling on the 2070 SUPER improves performance by 65%, and DLSS upscaling on the RTX 4070 SUPER improves performance by 51%. Just note, that’s only 13 more FPS for the 2070 SUPER, while that’s 30 extra FPS for the 4070 SUPER.
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 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is actually providing an average of 60FPS at 1080p with EPIC Ray Tracing in this game, and with DLSS we definitely have smooth performance. The GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is 94% faster though, and gives 120FPS without upscaling. DLSS upscaling improves performance on the 2070 SUPER by 31% and DLSS upscaling improves performance on the 4070 SUPER by 24%.
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.
The GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER gets destroyed in Forspoken as well at just 1080p, it cannot manage smooth gameplay with just shadow and ambient occlusion Ray Tracing. The GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is 138% faster, and playable without upscaling. We also think VRAM capacity is making a difference as well with Ray Tracing enabled. Enabling DLSS upscaling on the RTX 2070 SUPER improves performance by 29%, and enabling DLSS Upscaling on the 4070 SUPER improves performance by 21%.
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. This also kills performance on the GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, even at 1080p it isn’t playable unless you use DLSS upscaling. The GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is 127% faster than the RTX 2070 SUPER and playable without upscaling. Turning on DLSS upscaling on the 2070 SUPER improves performance by 48% and DLSS upscaling on the 4070 SUPER improves performance by 38%.
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 even at 1080p for the RTX 2070 SUPER, it just isn’t playable, and choppy. However, DLSS upscaling does help a lot. The GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is 133% faster, and playable without upscaling. DLSS upscaling on the RTX 2070 SUPER is 55% of an improvement, and DLSS upscaling on the 4070 SUPER improves performance by 47%.
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, not surprisingly, is not playable on the GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER even at 1080p with Ultra Ray Tracing, and DLSS helps, but honestly not enough to be smooth and enjoyable. The GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is 131% faster and playable without upscaling. Enabling DLSS upscaling on the 2070 SUPER improves performance by 64%, and enabling DLSS upscaling on the RTX 4070 SUPER improves performance by 61%.
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