Cyberpunk 2077 with Ray Tacing Overdrive on an RTX 4090 hits 16 fps without using DLSS
If you buy an RTX 4090, you expect it to run all current games at 4K resolution and a smooth, silky 60 frames per second. But a new graphics mode in Cyberpunk 2077 called Ray Tracing Overdrive is so demanding that the card only manages 16 fps. The reason for this graphics mode? It's specifically designed to utilize image upscaling technologies like NVIDIA RTX's DLSS.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 struggles to maintain a decent 30FPS and only manages 16 FPS in the Cyberpunk Ray Tracing: Overdrive visual mode. This has been shown in the by NVIDIA in its official channel. The CDPRojekt RED game will use Path Tracing in that visual mode instead of the Ray Tracing that the game previously had.
Cyberpunk introduces Path Tracing with Ray Tracing Overdrive to put the NVIDIA RTX 4090 to the test
Nvidia has released a comparison video of its rasterized technologies, showcasing Ray Tracing and the upcoming Overdrive mode. This mode features full Path Tracing. The comparison video shows graphics with and without Nvidia DLSS. Nvidia demonstrates how DLSS 3 jumps from 16 to 128 FPS . In some scenes, the RTX 4090 jumps from 27 FPS to 117 FPS. In the city, one of the game's most demanding areas, it manages to jump from 33 FPS to 138 FPS.
Ray tracing technology in games is expected to be a major breakthrough in development. Instead of having to create custom light and shadow maps for each situation, it's enough to simply place the light sources and let the graphics card calculate the results. The main problem is that it requires powerful graphics cards. While there was speculation in 2012 that ray tracing might come to consoles, it didn't arrive until the PS5 and Xbox Series X, and even then, in a very limited way and at the expense of the frame rate.
Games that use it do so at most as a graphical demonstration, a way to attract users with high-end graphics cards. But until it becomes widespread—and it most likely won't, because low-end graphics cards will always exist—demos like Cyberpunk 2077's Ray Tracing Overdrive will remain as add-ons for users who buy enthusiast-level cards.
Source: Tech 4 Gamers
