Gameplay Performance 1080p Ray Tracing
On this page, we are going to focus on the 1080p Ray Tracing gameplay performance with the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER and GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER video cards. The reason we are testing Ray Tracing at 1080p instead of 1440p is the fact that the GeForce RTX 2080 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 2080 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 2080 SUPER just doesn’t have the muster to master Path Tracing, providing just 23FPS at 1080p. Even with DLSS upscaling providing a 65% increase, it is still a no-go. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER comes in and provides a giant leap of 264% performance uplift and the game is very playable at 1080p without needing upscaling. DLSS upscaling further provides a 40% performance improvement.
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 2080 SUPER actually does provide a playable experience at 1080p with Ray Tracing. Enabling DLSS provides a 30% performance improvement. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER provides a 120% performance uplift and is playable at 152FPS. Enabling DLSS further improves performance by 20%.
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 2080 SUPER does struggle in Forspoken, even at 1080p when Ray Tracing is enabled. DLSS helps and improves performance by 46%. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER improves performance by 183% and is very playable without upscaling. Enabling DLSS further improves performance by 18%.
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. The GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER just can’t muster a playable framerate, even at 1080p with Ray Tracing in this game. Enabling DLSS does help though, and improves performance by 46%. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER provides a 154% performance uplift and is very playable above 100FPS at 1080p with Ray Tracing. Enabling DLSS further improves performance by 31%.
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 GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER and is not playable without DLSS upscaling. DLSS upscaling improves performance by 55%. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER provides a 180% performance lift and playable performance. Enabling DLSS further improves performance by 35%.
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 2080 SUPER at just 36FPS. Enabling DLSS helps a bit, and improves performance by 61%. The GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER provides a 173% performance uplift and is very playable. Enabling DLSS provides a further 46% performance improvement.
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