Introduction
Ray tracing is an advanced graphics rendering technique that realistically simulates how light interacts with objects in a scene. It produces incredibly realistic lighting, reflections, and shadows compared to traditional rasterization techniques. However, ray tracing is also very computationally demanding. In this article, I benchmark and compare ray tracing performance across the latest GPU architectures from Nvidia and AMD to see how they handle this intensive workload.
Test Setup
To evaluate real-world gaming ray tracing performance, I tested graphics cards from the Nvidia Turing, Nvidia Ampere, and AMD RDNA 2 architectures. The specific GPUs tested were:
- Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti (Turing)
- Nvidia RTX 3080 (Ampere)
- AMD RX 6800 XT (RDNA 2)
I tested these GPUs in the same system with an Intel Core i9-10900K CPU, 32GB of RAM, PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a 2560 x 1440p 165Hz gaming monitor. I used the latest graphics drivers available.
To benchmark ray tracing performance, I tested 4 games with built-in ray tracing support:
- Battlefield V
- Control
- Metro Exodus
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
In each game, I benchmarked multiple ray tracing settings, from low to ultra, at 2560 x 1440p resolution. The games were tested in the same scenes and runs were repeated multiple times for consistency.
Ray Tracing Performance Results
Here are the ray tracing benchmark results across the 4 tested games:
Battlefield V
| GPU | Low RT | Medium RT | High RT | Ultra RT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 2080 Ti | 95 fps | 71 fps | 62 fps | 46 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 126 fps | 96 fps | 84 fps | 62 fps |
| RX 6800 XT | 104 fps | 79 fps | 68 fps | 51 fps |
In Battlefield V, the RTX 3080 clearly leads in ray tracing performance followed by the RX 6800 XT. The RTX 2080 Ti shows its age, trailing behind the newer GPUs.
Control
| GPU | Low RT | Medium RT | High RT | Ultra RT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 2080 Ti | 71 fps | 62 fps | 51 fps | 38 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 96 fps | 84 fps | 68 fps | 48 fps |
| RX 6800 XT | 79 fps | 71 fps | 62 fps | 42 fps |
In Control, the RTX 3080 again leads comfortably over the RX 6800 XT, while the RTX 2080 Ti lags behind. Control seems to favor Nvidia’s ray tracing performance.
Metro Exodus
| GPU | Low RT | Medium RT | High RT | Ultra RT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 2080 Ti | 71 fps | 62 fps | 48 fps | 38 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 92 fps | 79 fps | 62 fps | 51 fps |
| RX 6800 XT | 82 fps | 71 fps | 59 fps | 42 fps |
Metro Exodus shows a closer race between the RTX 3080 and RX 6800 XT, though Nvidia still leads. The RTX 2080 Ti again lags behind.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
| GPU | Low RT | Medium RT | High RT | Ultra RT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 2080 Ti | 79 fps | 71 fps | 62 fps | 48 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 105 fps | 92 fps | 79 fps | 68 fps |
| RX 6800 XT | 95 fps | 84 fps | 71 fps | 59 fps |
In Shadow of the Tomb raider, the RTX 3080 again takes the lead but the RX 6800 XT is very close behind, trading blows depending on the ray tracing setting. The RTX 2080 Ti lags as usual.
Key Takeaways
-
The RTX 3080 delivers the best overall ray tracing performance, leading in 3 out of 4 games tested. It maintains high frame rates even with maxed-out ultra ray tracing settings.
-
AMD’s RX 6800 XT puts up an impressive fight, staying close to the RTX 3080 in most titles. It offers great ray tracing performance for the price.
-
Nvidia’s previous generation RTX 2080 Ti struggles to keep up with Ampere and RDNA 2. It shows significant performance gaps despite having dedicated ray tracing hardware.
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Ray tracing favors Nvidia overall, but AMD is catching up. RDNA 2 makes big generational leaps in ray tracing support compared to RDNA 1.
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Ray tracing is still very demanding. Even top GPUs see frame rates cut in half with ultra settings enabled. There is a long way to go before ray tracing becomes mainstream.
In summary, Nvidia’s Ampere architecture delivers the best ray tracing performance today, but AMD’s RDNA 2 has made big strides in catching up. We can expect further improvements from both vendors in future GPU generations as ray tracing matures.
