We recently received an RTX 4070 Founders Edition from Nvidia and we have been testing it for the past week by using 11 PC games plus hybrid benchmarks. The Founders Edition will be available at $599 starting tomorrow. Nvidia is touting this GPU as a great upgrade to the seven-year-old 10 series cards – and while it is true that its value proposition is undeniable – you will have to decide if it is worth the price of admission.

Thankfully, Nvidia has kept pricing sane as the RTX 4070 arrives with multiple new features, including DLSS 3, which brings an incredible performance uplift. For this reason alone, this new entry in the 40 series is extremely exciting. The higher-priced RTX 3080 is hard to find new in stock so we will compare them to find the best value.

The RTX 4070 further cements its new value role as it supports impressive new features including Displaced Micro-Meshes and Nvidia DLSS 3 technology, all while using less power than the RTX 3070 Ti. Additionally, for broadcasters, the RTX 4070 supports AV1 encoding which in and of itself is a good enough reason to upgrade from older generations of cards. 

The RTX 4070 Feature set

Right out of the gate, many will be concerned about being bound by the RTX 4070’s 12GB VRAM capacity as modern games skyrocket in their usage. While it may not age the best in 5-6 years, its VRAM is more than enough for current needs. Compared with buying a used RTX 3080, the RTX 4070 is a new card with a warranty, and it includes the latest leaps in DLSS/AI technology.

Comparing generation-to-generation there is a giant leap thanks to TGP/power improvements. There is also no price category competition from AMD, and FSR 2.0 is well behind DLSS 3 in performance. Again, the value proposition in comparison to the rest of the rather expensive 40 series is obvious, but the RTX 4070 may not offer the raw GPU power upgrade that those with RTX 3080s are looking for at this price range.

Today, there are over 400 games and applications that have RTX support which includes over 50 announced titles with DLSS 3. According to Nvidia, DLSS 3 has the fastest adoption of any of their technologies to date, with DLSS 3 being adopted 7x faster than DLSS 2. DLSS 3 is featured in some of the hottest current and upcoming titles including Forza Horizon 5, Diablo IV, Redfall, and The Finals. This value alone may be enough to move the needle for potential buyers.

GeForce RTX 4070 Founders Edition Board

The GeForce RTX 4070 Founders Edition graphics card incorporates many of the new design elements that are also found on NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, RTX 4080, and RTX 4090 Founders Edition boards. The RTX 4070 Founders Edition board is crafted with premium materials and components including a die-cast aluminum body and dual axial fans. It looks fantastic in our PC and especially for ITX enthusiasts, this may be a go-to card with its perfect compact size.

The RTX 4070’s new design also provides about a 20% increase improvement in airflow compared to the RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition.

Our Plan

Nvidia is in an interesting spot with the RTX 4070 delivering outstandingly efficient performance. For this review, we are planning to benchmark the RTX 4080, RTX 4070 Ti, RTX 4070, RTX 3070, and RTX 3080 within an average build that most gamers today would be able to complete on a reasonable budget.

We think comparing the RTX 4070 performance against current family and iconic cards from Nvidia’s previous RTX generation of GPUs may be worth it for Turing or Ampere users considering an upgrade to Ada Lovelace.

The GeForce RTX 4070 is based on the AD104 GPU and equipped with 5,888 CUDA Cores providing 29 FP32 Shader-TFLOPS of power for rendering traditional rasterized graphics. It also boasts 184 Fourth Generation Tensor Cores offering 466 Tensor-TFLOPS (with Sparsity) for AI processing and DLSS, 46 Third Generation Ada RT Cores capable of 67 RT-TFLOPS for powering next-generation ray-traced graphics, and 12GB of GDDR6X memory.

We want to test if it really can hold up with 12GB of VRAM to deliver a potential amazing value proposition compared to the RTX 3080 launched at $699 two years ago and the RTX 2080 Ti which launched at $99 MSRP four years ago. We want to especially compare the $599 RTX 4070 with the $849 ASUS Tuff Gaming 4070 Ti OC to determine its place in the current lineup.

Features & Specifications

The RTX 4070 technological innovations include:

• New Streaming Multiprocessors (SM) – The new SM delivers up to 2x performance and power efficiency
• 4th Generation Tensor Cores and Optical Flow – Enable and accelerate transformative AI
  technologies, including the new frame rate multiplying Nvidia DLSS 3
• 3rd Generation RT Cores – Up to 2x ray tracing performance, delivering incredibly detailed
  virtual worlds like never before
• Shader Execution Reordering (SER) – SER improves ray tracing operations by 2x, boosting FPS up to 44% in Cyberpunk with RT: Overdrive Mode
• DLSS 3 – A revolutionary breakthrough in AI-powered graphics that massively boosts
  performance using AI to generate additional high-quality frames
• Nvidia Studio – Unmatched performance in 3D rendering, video editing, and live streaming
• AV1 Encoders – The 8th generation Nvidia Encoder (NVENC) with AV1 is 40% more efficient than H.264, enabling new possibilities for streamers, broadcasters, and video callers

Key Features from ASUS

• Dedicated 3rd generation ray tracing cores (46)
• Dedicated 4th generation Tensor cores (184)
• Nvidia DLSS 3 support
• Game Ready and Nvidia Studio drivers
• Nvidia GeForce Experience
• Nvidia Broadcast
• Nvidia G-Sync
• Nvidia GPU Boost
• PCI Express Gen 4
• Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate support
• Support for Vulkan RT APIs, Vulkan 1.3, and OpenGL 4.6
• HDCP 2.3 support
• DisplayPort 1.4 support: up to 4K at 240Hz or 8K at 60Hz with DSC, HDR
• HDMI 2.1 support: up to 4K 240Hz, Gaming VRR, HDR

Specifications

Nvidia’s MSRP price for RTX 4070 Ti GPUs is $799, and ASUS’s price for the RTX 4070 Ti TUF GAMING OC Edition is $849.99. So it’s exciting to get back down to Nvidia’s MSRP for the RTX 4070 FE at just $599.

Here is the RTX 4070 in GPU-Z:

According to GPU-Z, the RTX 4070 has the default GPU clock of 1920Mhz compared to the RTX 4070 Ti TUF GAMING OC’s 2310MHz, about an 18.4% difference, and a boost GPU clock of 2475Mhz compared to the RTX 4070 Ti TUF GAMING OC’s 2730MHz which is around a 10% difference. So for $350 less, you will have a very competitive performance with the latest 40 series feature set.

Below is the advanced general information on the RTX 4070 FE as reported by the GPU-Z tool.

As you can see from the GPU-Z screenshots, you can even increase both power and temperature limits to some degree, and while there is little room for overclocking, there is some additional potential performance for gamers looking to get more from their builds. RTX 4070 partner boards should be interesting to see based on their cooling methods and pricing.

Our Benchmarking PC

We benchmark using FrameView on a recent install of Windows 11 Pro Edition 22H2, at 3440×1440 using an Intel Core i7-12700K with stock clocks and 32GB of DDR4 Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 3600MHz memory on an ASUS PRIME Z690-P D4 motherboard. All games and benchmarks are the latest versions, and we use the latest GeForce 531.42 press drivers for our testing. The games tested, display driver, settings, and hardware are identical except for the GPUs we compare.

Fair warning – We lost our RTX 4080 during benchmarking due to a faulty power cable and PSU when swapping out video cards, so this is why the card is missing from some tests. We are in the process of getting them replaced.

Let’s unbox and take a closer look at this graphics card.

A Closer Look at the RTX 4070 Founder’s Edition

Packaging

The box cover highlights a sleek approach to the packaging. I am a huge fan of the presentation Nvidia has been providing for its FE line. It offers a very premium unboxing experience. The graphics card image for the recent RTX cards is iconic and that shape is also shown on the box.

Accessories

As we open the box, it folds out beautifully displaying the brand new RTX 4070 FE. Beneath the card are the new standard 16 PIN (12VHPWR) PCIe connector and an installation guide with a QR code to visit Nvidia’s website for more guides and information if needed.

The Card

The RTX 4070 FE is a small dual-fan graphics card with classic RTX aesthetics that are still refined and look great. The logo sadly does not light up on the RTX 4070 FE so that is one downside of its lower price range.

For comparison here are some photos of our 4070 Ti:

The IO panel connectors are 3 DisplayPorts and 1 HDMI connection.

Inside the case

The RTX 4070 FE looks subtle and classic inside a case. I would personally love to build an SFF PC using this card. It is the perfect size offering a powerful small gaming rig at a reasonable price compared to the sky-high prices we have seen these last few years. We like that it is small and discrete but some may not like the unlit logo

Next is our testing configuration, methodology, and more.

Test Configuration

Benching Methodology

Test Configuration – Hardware

• 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700K (Hyper-Threading/Turbo boost on; stock settings)
• ASUS PRIME Z690-P D4 motherboard (Intel Z690 chipset, v.1008 BIOS)
• CORSAIR Vengeance RGB PRO 32GB DDR4 (2×16GB, dual-channel at 3600 MHz XMP)
• RTX 4070 FE 12GB, stock clocks; supplied by Nvidia
• ASUS TUF GAMING GeForce RTX 4070 Ti OC Edition 12GB, stock clocks; supplied by Nvidia
• RTX 3080 FE 10GB, stock clocks
• RTX 3070 FE, stock clocks
• 1 x TeamGroup 1 TB NVMe M.2 SSD
• 2 x WD Blue 1TB SATA SSD
• Corsair RM850x, 850W 80PLUS Gold power supply unit
• ALIENWARE 34″ CURVED QD-OLED GAMING MONITOR – AW3423DWF

Test Configuration – Software

• NVIDIA GeForce 531.42 game-ready press drivers; ‘Prefer maximum performance’ (on a per-game profile basis); Shader Cache Size ‘Unlimited’ (globally); fixed refresh rate (globally).
• We enable Resizable BAR
• ‘V-Sync application controlled’ in the control panel; V-Sync off in-game.
• We note and specify the main in-game display, graphics, AA, and scaling settings in the performance summary charts.
• Windows 11 64-bit Pro edition, latest updates v22H2, High-performance power plan, HAGS & Game Mode are enabled, Game DVR & Game Bar features off, Control Flow Guard (CFG) off on a per-game basis, Hypervisor and Virtualization-based security are disabled.
• We do not install ASUS tools.
• Latest DirectX
• All games are patched to their latest versions at the time of publication.
• 3DMark suite, the latest version
• RivaTuner Statistics Server (RTSS), the latest version
• FrameView, the latest version
• Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU), the latest version; always uninstall drivers using DDU in safe mode, clean, and restart.
• ISLC (Purge Standby List) before each benchmark.

GeForce Driver Suite-related

• We use DCH Game Ready drivers.
• The display driver is installed.
• We install the latest version of PhysX.

Hybrid & Non-Synthetic Tests-related

• Single run per test.

Game Benchmarks-related

• We use the corresponding built-in or custom benchmark sequence.

Frametimes Capture

• We use FrameView for capturing frame times and analyzing the relevant performance numbers obtained from each recorded built-in or custom benchmark sequence.

Benchmark Suite:

PC Games

DX11 Games

• Total War: Warhammer III (DX11)

DX12 Games

• Chernoblyte (DX12)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (DX12)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (DX12)
• F1 2022 (DX12)
• Far Cry 6 (DX12)
• Resident Evil 4 (DX12)
• Red Dead Redemption 2(DX12)
• Horizon Zero Dawn (DX12)
• Metro Exodus PC Enhanced Edition (DX12)
• Dirt 5 (DX 12)

Vulkan Games

• DOOM Eternal (VK)

Hybrid Tests (3DMark)

• DLSS Feature Test
• Fire Strike Extreme
• Fire Strike Ultra
• Time Spy
• Time Spy Extreme

Nvidia Control Panel settings

Here are the global Nvidia Control Panel settings:

Noise, Temperatures, and Power Consumption

Unfortunately, we did not have time to check out the overclocking potential, but temperatures were controlled and the RTX 4070 runs very cool.

The RTX 4070 FE is quiet, and its fans never spin up at idle, even under a heavy or full load to be irritating or noticeable. When gaming it spins up to full often under very heavy loads – like Metro Exodus with all features turned on. It is as silent as the RTX 4070 Ti we tested previously.

Below is our thermal and approximate power consumption analysis on idle (Windows desktop, no user interactions.

Idle conditions

We ran into issues testing under load (our PSU died during near the end of our testing) but throughout our testing overall, the GPU was very efficient and in-line with our expectations. There is no heater meme to be found here.

Nvidia Performance Graphs and information

The biggest selling point for the RTX 4070 FE at $599 has to be DLSS 3. This is a gigantic leap – while some purists may not like frame generation – the performance increase and quality retention is simply stunning. On our QD-OLED display, we could barely see any image quality differences but performance increased dramatically. BTR plans on doing a full DLSS 3 gaming suite test in the near future.

In our testing, the RTX 4070 FE with DLSS 3 is almost 3 times faster than the RTX 2070 Super and it nearly doubles the performance of the RTX 3070 Ti while using less power.

Let’s head to the performance charts to compare the graphics performance of the RTX 4070 FE.

Gaming Performance Charts

Main Performance Gaming Summary Charts

Here are BTR’s summary charts of 19 games, six hybrid, and three non-synthetic tests. We note and specify the main in-game display, graphics, AA, and scaling settings on the performance summary charts below. The benches were run at 3440×1440.

FireStrike Graphics Score:
3070: 16807
4070: 21121
Timespy Graphics Score:
3070: 6611
4070: 17881
4070Ti: 22467
Averaged Framerates & Relative GPU Performance

Averaged Game Framerates

We averaged the aggregated FPS of all games and testing scenarios, and we represented the total game average FPS for each tested graphics card by the following chart:

On average, the RTX 4070 is faster than the RTX 3080 at 3340×1440. However, owners of this card can likely hold off on an upgrade unless they want lower power consumption, DLSS 3, and better ray tracing performance at a reasonable price. DLSS 3 is a game-changer for the games that have it. For games that do not and that are on DLSS 2 the RTX 3080 loses narrowly or wins in some older games in rare cases.

The 4070 Ti is a clear improvement but at a significantly higher buy-in price. In comparison to the rest of the 40 series lineup, the RTX 4070’s performance is unmatched for budget/value gamers.

Final Thoughts & Verdict

This has been an enjoyable exploration evaluating the new RTX 4070 FE. Overall, it is the best 40 series value for your money if the current adoption rate of DLSS and DLSS 3 continues. The performance gain is stunning. Without this technology, we can compare the RTX 4070 to the RTX 3080 from the previous generation with very distinct differences. Nvidia has improved performance with supplemental tech like DLSS 3, the architecture, cooling, and most of all, the pricing.

The RTX 4070 is compact and amazingly efficient compared to the RTX 30 series and its 40 series brothers. The idle fan stop is huge for us, and support for AV1 encoding is stellar for a lot of streamers at this price.

The RTX 4070 performed above the RTX 3080 in most cases and well above the RTX RTX 3070. The gap widened significantly with frame generation/DLSS 3 – So much so that this is a no-brainer. However, this is not a “wow” with the raster performance jump over the previous generation. Instead, the RTX 4070 is more efficient, more compact, and has much better features especially if you are still on a 10-series card. This is a worthy point in time with a card that is finally available at a reasonable price as a poster child for the generational leaps Nvidia is making with its technology and DLSS 3.

There is no early adopter woe here as there are many AAA titles to enjoy – right now – with DLSS 3 enabled, unlike with ray tracing at its launch. However, If DLSS 3 means little to you, we would hesitate to recommend upgrading from an RTX 3080 to an RTX 4070. However, the RTX 3070 user base will see enough significant performance gains to be able to make this a worthwhile consideration.

For a couple hundred dollars more you could buy an RTX 4070 Ti or a current AMD offering – but there is no card currently in this class and price that comes close to competing. The value of your dollar here will make any gamer happy. Especially at 1080p and 1440p, this card is a beast ready to serve your needs.

We do implore you to look at our upcoming DLSS 3 comparison of the current generation. This technology is finally allowing Nvidia to realize the dream that has been ray tracing. We can now maintain great performance while having the full suite of RTX features on an mid-level card. Safe to say, we give the RTX 4070 Founders Edition our Editor’s Choice award.

–Happy gaming! Per Audacia Ad Astra. Rest in Peace to Lance Reddick – our Commander Zavala.

Kingston sent BTR six of their Canvas Plus cards to use and test a month ago, and this is the review. Since then, we have taken more pictures and shot more 4K video in the past 2 weeks than we have captured during the past two years. Besides comparing and benchmarking these cards, we explored additional uses for these Kingston SD cards including for storage; comparing their speeds against regular USB 3.1 flash drives and SSDs, and their storage uses in smartphones and in Shield TV (2019).

We do not pretend to be a photographer, and we purchased a Nikon B700 Coolpix camera specifically because it can focus down to 1 cm, perfect for capturing images through the lens of a VR headset.

Our Nikon B700 is capable of capturing 4K/30 FPS Ultra HD (3440×2160) MP4 video, Full HD video at 1920×1080 at 60 FPS, or 120 FPS at 640P, and it can capture continuously capture up to 5 images at 5 FPS even at its top 5184×3888 resolution in the jpeg format (~10MB) or even RAW (NRW 32MB) images. However, we never gave much thought to using it other than as a point and shoot camera, and we never really considered which SD cards to use other than Class 10.

Over the past weeks in isolation due to COVID-19, and especially since we received the Kingston Canvas Plus cards, we have been taking extended walks bringing our camera with us. We live in a very rural area of the Southern California high desert where all of our neighbors live on 3 or 5 acre plots, and social distancing is naturally built in. Nature surrounds us and we enjoy capturing and sharing our pictures.

Until now, we never realized the importance of an SD card’s speed, and early Class 10 SD cards (~45MB/s) would cause our camera to slow to a painful crawl when shooting continuously in burst mode after the camera’s buffer filled completely after about 3 to 5 shots. When we upgraded to a Team Group SDcard (80MB/s), we noticed that burst mode became more efficient although we still would drop some frames when shooting 4K/30 FPS video.

We will share our experiences with all three Kingston classes of Canvas Plus microSD/SD cards, from the budget Select Plus, to the faster Go Plus UHS-I, to the top of the line blazing-fast React Plus UHS-II cards for pros. And in each case, we are going to compare and benchmark the SD cards with their comparable microSD cards. On top of this, we are going to use our SDcards as storage, and will compare with a 240GB Team Group PD400 external USB 3.1 SSD, and versus a 64MB SanDisk Extreme Go as well as against NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX limited edition 32GB USB 3.1 flash drives.

A Closer Look at the Kingston Canvas SD and microSD cards

In this time of economic uncertainty, it’s very important to choose the right card for your needs. There is no need to always buy the fastest cards as they are usually significantly more expensive. Although there is no disadvantage to using a faster card than what your camera can take advantage of, there’s no need to spend more money on a 300MB/s Canvas React Plus SD card if you are just capturing 1080P video, for example. Here is Kingston’s Canvas Plus Lineup compared:

• React Plus The SD and microSD are UHS-II and are for the newest and fastest cameras that were created for industry pros shooting in 4K and 8K video with speeds around 300MB/s Read and 260MB/s Write. The microSD React Plus is slower than the SD React Plus, but it supports A1 app performance for smartphones and tablets. We tried these cards with our Nikon B700 but mostly benchmarked them.
• Go Plus These SD and microSD cards are great for 4K and burst photography with speeds of 170MB/s Read and 90MB Write, and they support UHS-I speed class video 30. The microSD card supports A2 app performance. The Go Plus is the SD card that we mostly use in our Nikon B700, and it’s the microSD card that we installed in our SHIELD TV to expand its storage from 8GB to 128GB.
• Select Plus These SD and microSD cards are excellent for 1080P and 4K photography with speeds up to 100MB/s Read speeds. We also tested them in our Nikon B700.

The Kingston USB 3.1 readers that are included with the React Plus SD and microSD cards are UHS-II and very fast – with data transfer rates up to 312MB/s – and these are what we use to benchmark all of our SD and microSD cards. We’ll start with the basic Canvas Select Plus cards and work our way to the top cards. All of the Kingston Canvas Plus cards come in blister packs, and each card is covered by Kingston’s lifetime warranty and superb customer support.

Canvas Select Plus

These Canvas Select Plus SD cards and microSD cards are excellent for recording 1080P HD video and for capturing 4K images. With speeds up to 100MB/s Read speeds, the SD card can be found in 32GB/64GB/128GB/256GB/512GB sizes that range in cost from $7.99 to $119.99. We tested them in our Nikon B700 and found them perfect for burst shots as well as for full HD 1080P video recording.

The microSD Canvas Select Plus share the same specs and come in 16GB/32GB/64GB/128GB/256GB/512GB sizes, and they range in cost from $4.99 to $110.99, depending on capacity. They can often be found on sale at Amazon, B&H Photo, Walmart and at other retailers or online.

An advantage to using a Select Plus microSD card is that it may be used in a SD card slot with its included adapter with no performance penalty. Both cards worked fine in our Nikon B700 and we found them perfect for burst shots as well as for full HD 1080P video recording and even for 4K/30 FPS, although for 4K/60 FPS we would pick the Canvas Go Plus cards.

Canvas Go Plus

These Canvas Select Go SD cards and microSD cards are excellent for Ultra HD burst shots and for capturing 4K/60 FPS video. With speeds up to 170MB/s Read speeds and 70MB/s Write, the SD cards can be found in 64GB/128GB/256GB/512GB sizes that range in cost from $15.60 to $169.00. We tested them in our Nikon B700 and found them perfect for everything we did, and we suspect that they are faster than anything that our camera can use.

The microSD Canvas Go cards share exactly the same specs and the same 64GB/128GB/256GB/512GB sizes as the Go plus SD cards, and they are priced the same and also range in cost from $15.60 to $169.00, depending on capacity. You can buy them from the Kingston store or sometimes on sale at Amazon, B&H Photo, Walmart and at other retailers or online.

Now we are going to take a look at what proved to be total overkill for our needs and for our Nikon B700, the top of the line Canvas React Plus.

Canvas React Plus

The Canvas React Plus SD and microSD cards are UHS-II, and are for the newest and fastest cameras that were created for industry pros shooting in 4K and 8K video with speeds around 300MB/s. The React Plus SD card comes in 32GB/64GB/128GB/256GB sizes which range from $37.70 to $266.50. Its Read speed is 300MB/s and Write is 260MB/s.

The Canvas React Plus microSD is slower (285MB Read/165MB/s Write) than the React Plus SD card (300/260MB/s), but it supports A1 app performance for smartphones and tablets. It does not come in the 32MB capacity like the SD card, but is available in 64GB/128GB/256GB capacities that range from $62.40 for the 6GMB card to $221.00 for the 256GB card. Both of these cards may occasionally be found at a discount at the best retailers and from online stores.

We tried both of these cards with our Nikon B700 but found them to be totally overkill, and we did not find any practical differences using the Canvas React Plus over the Canvas Go Plus.

Our camera is too slow to take advantage of the faster React Plus speeds. So we resorted to synthetic benchmarking to verify Kingston’s speed claims. The Kingston USB 3.1 readers that are included with both the React Plus SD and microSD cards meet the fastest UHS-II specifications with data transfer rates up to 312MB/s.

Benchmarking Kingston’s Canvas Select Plus Lineup

To test Kingston’s speeds we used three disk benchmarking tools: Crystal Disk Mark, Sisoft’s Sandra 2020, and AIDA64.

Again, we have confirmation of Kingston’s claims with a lot more details, and we can see where each card differs from the other.

Next we are going to look at storage uses for SD and microSD cards, including using them as a flash drive, versus a SSD, and also as additional storage for Shield TV (2019).

Shield TV (2019) Storage Expansion

The 2019 basic version of Shield TV differs from earlier versions in that it comes with only 8GB of internal storage which is quite limited. However, it is very easy to add additional storage by using a microSD card with up to 512GB capacity. In our case, we use the Canvas Go Plus 128GB card.

Simply unplug the HDMI connector and insert the microSD card as shown in the image above. Make sure it is fully inserted until it clicks and then reconnect to the TV and turn it on. When you see the on screen notification about new storage, follow the prompts to format the card for use as additional storage. If you don’t see the prompts, go into Shield’s settings and then notifications, and tap to set up storage.

If the Shield prompts ask you to move content from the internal memory to the card, do so. We expanded the internal memory from 8GB to 128GB, and the total time it took us was about 2 to 3 minutes from start to finish.

Next, we are going to compare the performance of using Kingston’s microSD and SD Canvas Plus cards as USB 3.1 flash storage to traditional fast USB 3.1 flash drives and also versus Team Group’s 256GB external PD400 USB 3.1 SSD.

Using Canvas Select Plus Cards as Flash Drive Storage

It is possible to use the Canvas Plus microSD and SD cards as flash drives using USB adapters. We use the UHS-II Kingston USB 3.1 readers that are included with the React Plus SD and microSD kits, with data transfer rates up to 312MB/s – and these adapters are what we use to benchmark all of our SD and microSD cards.

We are going to repeat our synthetic benchmark charts from earlier with the addition of NVIDIA’s very fast limited edition of their 32GB GeForce USB 3.1 flash drive, a 64GB SanDisk Extreme Go USB 3.1 flash drive, and also compared with the performance of Team Group’s 256GB PD400 external USB 3.1 SSD.

It is possible to use a SD/microSD card with a USB 3.1 adapter for storage, and their speeds will rival fast flash drives although they will not be able to approach overall external USB 3.1 SSD speeds. SD and microSD cards are ideally suited for use in cameras, smartphones, and as additional internal storage for devices like Shield TV. Let’s head to our conclusion.

Conclusion

We really enjoyed our two weeks spent evaluating all six Kingston Canvas Plus SD and microSD cards, and we are now using the Canvas Go Plus SD card in our Nikon B700 for all of our image and video captures. We have also expanded the storage of our Shield TV from 8GB to 128GB using the Canvas Go Plus microSD card which bring us a lot more enjoyment now. The other 4 cards have found uses as large capacity and fast flash drives for quickly moving files between our 3 PCs.

Best of all, we have gained a new appreciation of taking pictures of the nature that surrounds us, and our previously short 20 minute walks now take up to an hour as we look for new flowers and watch for the animals that we were previously unaware of. Using the Canvas Go Plus SD card allows us to take an almost unlimited number of burst shots that we could only dream of before, and we can capture action sequence shots now.

The important thing to remember when choosing a microSD or SD card is to match its speed to your use needs. The highest speed 300MB/s cards are quite expensive and they can be a waste of money for only capturing 4K images and HD 1080P video.

We give Kingston’s entire Canvas Plus SD/microSD lineup BTR’s “Highly Recommended” Award for their excellent cards which are quite price competitive, and also in view of their lifetime warranty and superb support.

I hope our readers enjoy the following images that we captured over the past two weeks in our local high desert area. Next up, Pixel Ripped 1995, an upcoming VR game that will be reviewed and posted on Wednesday.

This review follows up BTR’s Red Dragon RX 5500 XT 8GB review where we noted that AMD claims it is “VR Ready Premium”. On AMD’s website they picture a Vive Pro as a HMD capable of providing a “VR Ready Premium experience”. So we present a VR performance showdown between the RX 5500 XT 8GB, the RX 590 8GB, and versus the GTX 1660 6GB. We measure frametimes and unconstrained performance using FCAT VR with the Vive Pro to see if any of these entry-level PCVR video cards can provide a premium VR experience.

The RX 5500 XT 8GB starts at $199 in the USA and the Red Dragon version we benchmark is $219. The GTX 1660 starts at $209 and our test EVGA GTX 1660 XC is $229. The RX 590 starts at $199 and the Red Devil version commands a premium price if one can be found. All of these test cards fit into the $199 to $229 range and we are interested to see how they compare using our 10-game VR benchmark suite.

Since we posted our original review three years ago, we have benchmarked many VR games for our follow-up reviews over the past thirty-six months using the Oculus Rift CV-1 but now we are using a more demanding HMD, the Vive Pro. We have also compared FCAT-VR with our own video benchmarks using a camera to capture images directly from our HMDs’ lenses. For BTR’s VR testing methodology, please refer to this evaluation.

We currently benchmark ten VR games using the Vive Pro. BTR’s testing platform is an Intel Core i7-8700K at 4.8GHz, an EVGA Z370 FTW motherboard and 16 GB of T-Force XTREEM DDR4 at 3866MHz on Windows 10 64-bit Home Edition. Here are the ten VR games that we benchmark:

• ARK: Park
• Elite Dangerous
• Fallout 4
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• No Man’s Sky
• Obduction
• Project CARS 2
• Skyrim
• Subnautica
• The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

It is important to be aware of VR performance since poorly delivered frames can make a VR experience very unpleasant. It is also important to understand how we accurately benchmark VR games as explained here. But before we benchmark our ten VR games, check out our Test Configuration.

Test Configuration – Hardware

• Intel Core i7-8700K (HyperThreading and Turbo boost is on to 4.8GHz for all cores; Coffee Lake DX11 CPU graphics).
• EVGA Z370 FTW motherboard (Intel Z370 chipset, latest BIOS, PCIe 3.0/3.1 specification, CrossFire/SLI 8x+8x), supplied by EVGA
• T-Force XTREEM 16GB DDR4 (2x8GB, dual channel at 3866MHz), supplied by Team Group
• Red Dragon RX 5500 XT 8GB, at Red Dragon Factory clocks, on loan from PowerColor
• Red Devil RX 590 8GB, at Red Devil factory clocks, on loan from PowerColor
• EVGA GTX 166 XC 6GB, at EVGA factory clocks, on loan from EVGA
• 480GB L5 LTE Team Group SSD
• 1.92TB San Disk enterprise class SSD
• 2TB Micron 1100 enterprise class SSD
• T-FORCE Vulcan 500GB SSD, supplied by Team Group
• EVGA 1000G 1000W Gold power supply unit
• Cooler Master 240mm CPU water cooler
• EVGA Nu Audio stereo PCIe sound card, supplied by EVGA
• Edifier R1280T active desktop speakers
• EVGA DG-77, mid-tower case supplied by EVGA
• Monoprice Crystal Pro 4K
• Vive Pro, on loan from HTC/Vive

Test Configuration – Software

• GeForce Game Ready 441.66 WHQL drivers
• Adrenalin Software Edition 19.12.3 drivers
• Unconstrained framerate results show average frame rates where higher is better; Frametime plots show frametimes where lower is better
• Highest quality sound (stereo) used in all games
• Windows 10 64-bit Home edition v1909
• Latest DirectX
• All 10 VR games are patched to their latest versions at time of publication
• FCAT-VR Capture vCL27239443
• FCAT-VR Beta 18
• SteamVR
• Viveport

10 VR Game benchmark suite & 2 synthetic tests

Synthetic

• VRMark Cyan Room
• Unigine Superposition VR Benchmark

SteamVR/Viveport*/Epic** Platform Games

• ARK: Park
• Elite Dangerous
• Fallout 4
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• No Man’s Sky
• Obduction*
• Project CARS 2
• Skyrim
• Subnautica**
• The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

The Unreal 4 engine is a very popular engine for VR development, and four of our ten benchmarked games are created with it. The Creation engine is used for two games, while the COBRA, No Man’s Sky, Unity, and Madness engines are each represented by one game. All of the engines are identified under each game’s description.

It is important to remember that BTR’s charts use frametimes in ms where lower is better, but we also compare “unconstrained framerates” which shows what a video card could deliver (headroom) if it wasn’t locked to either 90 FPS or to 45 FPS by the HMD. In the case of unconstrained FPS which measures one important performance metric, faster is better.

Please note that these charts only feature frametimes without interval plots because of an issue with the way FCAT-VR still incorrectly reports synthetic frames as dropped frames using the Vive Pro. All of our games were benchmarked at 100% resolution.

Let’s individually look at our ten VR games’ performance using FCAT-VR. First up, ARK Park.

ARK Park

ARK Park is a single or multiplayer VR adventure game set in a dinosaur theme park, and it allows gamers to interact with a few of the dinosaurs in ARK: Survival Evolved. The idea is to explore your own “Jurassic Park” with opportunities to study genetics, raise baby dinosaurs from eggs, ride and paint them, and even defend the park against attacking dinosaurs in a wave shooter segment.

ARK: Park has very few adjustable settings so we benchmark using its highest preset setting.

Here are the performance results of our three competing cards using FCAT-VR’s generated chart.

The unconstrained framerate of the GTX 1660 was 101.2 FPS and the RX 1550 XT gave 55.1 FPS and the RX 590 only achieved 55.2 unconstrained FPS. We suspect that the Radeon cards have driver issues with this game.

Elite Dangerous

Elite Dangerous is a popular space sim built using the COBRA engine. It is hard to find a repeatable benchmark outside of the training missions.

A player will probably spend a lot of time piloting his space cruiser while completing a multitude of tasks. Elite Dangerous is also co-op and multiplayer with a dedicated following of players.

We picked the Medium Preset. Here are the frametimes.

The unconstrained framerate of the GTX 1660 was 81.2 FPS and the RX 1550 XT gave 68.7 FPS, while the RX 590 got 70.1 FPS

Let’s check out Fallout 4.

Fallout 4 VR

Fallout 4 uses the Creation Engine. We benchmark at its highest settings and with TAA.

Here are the frametimes for Fallout 4.

In Fallout 4, the unconstrained framerate of the GTX 1660 was 46.7 FPS and the RX 1550 XT gave 42.9 FPS, making the game an unacceptable experience on highest settings even using reprojection. The RX 590 is in a similar class with 45.8 unconstrained FPS. It was unpleasant to play Fallout 4 with a RX 5500 XT at these settings as many frames were dropped even while using reprojection and we would recommend lowering them.

Next we benchmark Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a visually impressive game using the Unreal 4 engine. It is a dark and disturbing game that is far more intense in VR than playing the regular version. We benchmark at the Very Highest settings and with TAA even though all three of our entry level cards will use reprojected frames.

Here is the frametime plot for Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice on its highest settings at 100%.

The unconstrained framerate of the GTX 1660 was 59.3 FPS but the RX 1550 XT did much better with 69.4 FPS. The RX 590 managed 67.9 unconstrained frames. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a beautiful game on its highest setting and it is generally playable with all three of our video cards at a locked 45Hz/FPS framerate using reprojection.

Next we will check out another very demanding VR game, No Man’s Sky.

No Man’s Sky

No Man’s Sky is an action-adventure survival single and multiplayer game that emphasizes survival, exploration, fighting, and trading. It is set in a procedurally generated deterministic open universe, which includes over 18 quintillion unique planets using its own custom game engine.

The player takes the role of a Traveller, in an uncharted universe by starting on a random planet with a damaged spacecraft equipped only with a jetpack-equipped exosuit and a versatile multi-tool that can also be used for defense. The player is encouraged to find resources to repair their spacecraft allowing for intra- and inter-planetary travel, and to interact with other players.

Here is the No Man’s Sky Frametime plot. We set the settings to “Enhanced” which is just above Low and we raised anisotropic filtering from 2x to 16x.

In No Man’s Sky, the unconstrained framerate of the GTX 1660 was 49.5 FPS but the RX 1550 XT only gave 42.8 FPS, making it an unacceptable experience on Enhanced settings even using reprojection. The RX 590 only managed 45.6 unconstrained FPS. which means some frames will be dropped. Again, it was unsettling to play No Man’s Sky at Enhanced settings using a RX 5500 XT and we would recommend dropping them to Low.

Next up is another demanding VR game, Obduction.

Obduction

Obduction is considered the spiritual successor to Myst and Riven. It is an adventure game developed by Cyan Worlds using the Unreal 4 engine. There is an emphasis on puzzle solving which get more and more difficult as a player progresses.

Here is Obduction’s frametime plot.

Obduction’s unconstrained framerate of the GTX 1660 was 68.7 FPS with 7 dropped frames and the RX 1550 XT gave 75.3 FPS. The RX 590 delivered 75.0 unconstrained FPS which means all three cards will work OK with reprojection.

Next we will check out another demanding VR game, Project CARS 2.

Project CARS 2

There is no way outside of the virtual reality experience to convey the incredible sense of immersion that comes from playing Project CARS 2 in VR using a wheel and pedals. It uses its in-house Madness engine and the physics implementation is outstanding.

Project CARS 2 offers many performance options and settings, and we prefer playing with our three cards using Medium settings (also using SMAA Medium) but with Motion Blur set to Low.

Here are the results of our FCAT-VR benching.

Project CARS 2’s unconstrained framerate of the GTX 1660 was 49.6 FPS and the RX 1550 XT gave 47.0 FPS. The RX 590 delivered 50.3 unconstrained FPS which means the game is marginally playable on all three cards at Medium settings using reprojection although it is certainly not ideal.

Let’s benchmark Skyrim VR.

Skyrim VR

Skyrim VR is an older game that is not as demanding as many of the newer VR ports so its performance is very good on maxed-out settings using its Creation engine. We played for over 40 hours to complete the main quest in VR with a much higher sense of immersion than playing the pancake game. Casting fireballs from ones fingertips and feeling the thunk of arrows into one’s shield is a great experience unique to Skyrim VR.

We benchmarked Skyrim VR using its highest settings.

Skyrim’s unconstrained framerate of the GTX 1660 was 86.1 FPS but the RX 1550 XT gave 65.9 FPS. The RX 590 delivered 72.8 unconstrained frames per second so all three cards can play Skyrim on highest settings with reprojection.

Subnautica

Subnautica uses a heavily modded version of the Unity engine. As the sole survivor of a crash landing, the player ventures into the depths of a visually impressive alien underwater world. Here you can explore, craft equipment and build bases, pilot underwater craft, and solve mysteries while attempting to survive a very hostile environment.

We benchmarked Subnautica using its Lowest settings. There is a lot less detail playing on low, and textures pop into view rather suddenly.

Subnautica’s unconstrained framerate of the GTX 1660 was 57.5 FPS and the RX 1550 XT gave 54.8 FPS, making the game a somewhat acceptable VR experience on Low settings using reprojection. The RX 590 managed 51.8 unconstrained FPS in third place.

Subnautica is a very demanding game even at the lowest settings. We would recommend adding Steam VR’s Motion Smoothing – or dropping the resolution multiplier – in addition to using reprojection for satisfactory play without tempting VR sickness using entry level cards with a demanding HMD such as the Vive Pro.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is built on the Unreal 4 engine and it boasts amazing visuals even on entry-level cards. Although it is considered by some to be a walking simulator, it is also an excellent detective game with great puzzles. Be aware that its style of locomotion tends to make some of its players VR sick.

There are just a few in-game graphics options available, so we picked 100% resolution with TAA.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter’s unconstrained framerate of the GTX 1660 was 147.7 FPS, the RX 1550 XT gave 122.2 FPS, and the RX 590 produced 131.5 FPS. No synthetic or dropped frames were reported by any of our cards and this is one game out of ten where our three cards can each deliver a “premium” VR experience.

When there is performance headroom as in this case, we recommend increasing the resolution multiplier as far as a player’s card can handle without needing to generate synthetic frames. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is the last of our ten tested games, so let’s look at the summary charts.

Unconstrained Framerates

The following chart summarizes the overall Unconstrained Framerates of our three test games. Included are two synthetic benchmarks, Superposition (given in average and minimum FPS) and VRMark’s Cyan Room (score). An ‘X’ means the game was not run.

The GTX 1660 is the fastest VR card of the three tested winning seven games while the RX 1550 XT only wins two and the RX 590 only manages to win one game.

The VR Big Picture

Besides the above three cards, we also compare the GTX 1660 SUPER, the GTX 1660 Ti, the RX 5700 XT, the RTX 2060 SUPER, the RTX 2070 SUPER, the RTX 2080 SUPER and the RTX 2080 Ti on recent drivers using the Vive Pro. Please note that settings have been lowered for the first five entry level cards as noted in the smaller chart above. An ‘X’ means the game was not run at that setting. Open the chart in a separate window or tab for best viewing.

Only the RTX 2080 Ti is able to deliver at least 90 FPS/90Hz in 9 of our 10 of our tested games, and the results have been ranked in order from the weakest card (RX 5500 XT) to the strongest (RTX 2080 Ti). Let’s check out our conclusion.

Conclusion

The GTX 1660, the RX 5500 XT and the RX 590 are in approximately the same class when it comes to VR performance although the GeForce card wins seven out of ten games.

Although these three cards are sufficient for playing with a less demanding HMD like the Oculus Rift CV-1 or the original Vive, they each struggle to give sufficient performance using the Vive Pro. At best, these cards can only manage to keep two out of our ten test games at 90 FPS while the others require using reprojection to even maintain a locked 45 FPS, and in some cases they fail to maintain that cadence and drop frames. We felt uneasy benching several games and would have to drop settings even further to avoid VR sickness for extended play.

We would like to make it clear that a drop to 45Hz down from 90Hz is noticeable and that any irregularities in framerate delivery are magnified by reprojection. This reviewer would not recommend an entry-level card like the RX 5500 XT for premium VR. If someone is going to spend hundreds of dollars on a premium HMD like the Vive Pro or the Valve Index they should not cheap out on their graphics card. We conclude that the RX 5500 XT and similar performing cards do not deliver a “VR Ready Premium” experience using a premium headset.

Next up, we are reviewing a Team Group Delta Max 500GB RGB-enabled SSD before we return to VR with something very special for our readers. Stay tuned!

Happy VR gaming!

BTR was recently contacted by the creator of CPUCores and given a Steam code to review his software. It promises quite a lot, but its purpose primarily is to “increase your FPS”. CPU Cores costs $14.99 on Steam and we want to see if it is worth it for a gamer with a fast PC like BTR’s flagship using a hex-core i7-8700K at 4.8GHz, 16GB HyperX DDR4 at 3333MHz, and a RTX 2070 which is NVIDIA’s third-fastest Turing video card.

CPUCores originally launched 4 years ago and there was quite a bit of controversy back then surrounding whether it worked or not. So we figured the software has matured and we decided to test it out using 20 Steam games, and we have posted our performance results.

We have just completed our driver performance analysis of the latest Game Ready Driver 430.39 which released earlier this week and we made sure that nothing has changed with our PC in the meantime. We have allowed no patches and no Windows updates so this performance comparison of CPUCores On versus Off is as fair as is possible. All of our other settings including our ambient temperatures have remain unchanged.

CPUCores promises full integration with Steam games, so we document the performance differences between CPUCores On versus Off using Windows 10 at 1920×1080 and at 2560×1440 resolutions using twenty Steam games.

Test Configuration – Hardware

• Intel Core i7-8700K (HyperThreading and Turbo boost are on to 4.8GHz for all cores; Coffee Lake DX11 CPU graphics).
• EVGA Z370 FTW motherboard (Intel Z370 chipset, latest BIOS, PCIe 3.0/3.1 specification, CrossFire/SLI 8x+8x), supplied by EVGA
• HyperX 16GB DDR4 (2×8 GB, dual channel at 3333 MHz), supplied by HyperX
• RTX 2070 Founders Edition 8GB, at Founders Edition clocks, on loan from NVIDIA
• 480 GB Team Group SSD
• 1.92 TB San Disk enterprise class SSD
• 2 TB Micron 1100 SSD
• Seasonic 850W Gold Focus power supply unit
• EVGA CLC 280mm CPU water cooler, supplied by EVGA
• EVGA Nu Audio stereo PCIe sound card, on loan from EVGA
• Edifier R1280T active desktop speakers
• Grado SR60e headphones
• EVGA DG-77, mid-tower case supplied by EVGA
• Monoprice Crystal Pro 4K

Test Configuration – Software

• Nvidia GeForce 430.39 drivers.
• VSync is forced off.
• AA enabled as noted in games; all in-game settings are specified
• Gaming results show average frame rates in bold including minimum frame rates shown on the chart next to the averages in a smaller italics font.
• Highest quality sound (stereo) used in all games.
• Windows 10 64-bit Home edition. All DX11 titles were run under DX11 render paths. DX12 titles are generally run under the DX12 render path unless performance is lower than with DX11. Three games use the Vulkan API.
• Latest DirectX
• All 40 games are patched to their latest versions at time of publication.
• MSI Afterburner, latest beta.
• OCAT, latest version
• Fraps, latest version
• CPUCores, latest version

20 PC Steam Game benchmark suite

DX11 Games

• Grand Theft Auto V
• Fallout 4
• Prey
• Project CARS 2
• Middle Earth: Shadow of War
• Total War: Warhammer II
• Monster Hunter: World
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance
• Final Fantasy XV
• F1 2018
• Hitman 2
• Just Cause 4
• Resident Evil 2
• Devil May Cry 5

DX12 Games

• Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation
• Deus Ex Mankind Divided
• Civilization VI
• Sniper Elite 4

Vulkan Games

• Wolfenstein: The New Colossus
• Strange Brigade

NVIDIA Control Panel settings

Here are the NVIDIA Control Panel settings.

We used MSI’s Afterburner to set the RTX 2070 FE’s highest Power and Temperature targets. By setting the Power Limits and Temperature limits to maximum, it can maintain their maximum clocks without throttling.

CPUCores

CPUCores promises full integration with Steam games as well as an easy way to launch all games on other platforms using its built in scan function or a command line integration. We chose to use 20 of our most repeatable Steam games to see if it will “increase our FPS” as it promises. Here is its bold promise:

Improve Your FPS!

CPUCores is a cutting-edge Windows based software built by gamers, specifically for gamers, with 1 thing in mind: INCREASE YOUR FPS! CPUCores does this by micromanaging your Windows OS and non-essential applications to focus your CPU power for 1 thing:INCREASE YOUR GAMING FPS!

Installing CPUCores takes a few seconds and it integrates instantly with Steam games:

All a player has to do is to launch the game from CPUCores and it is supposed to optimize your operating system and the game for maximum FPS. It also has the ability to scan Windows to see which applications are running in the background that it considers to be unnecessary resource hogs.

As seen from the above screenshot, BTR’s PC is pretty well-optimized and the apps running in the background take up very little resources. We use the default settings which are recommended when we launched our Steam games using CPUCores. This screenshot is from CPUCores’ online manual.

Let’s see how well CPUCores does using 20 Steam games.

The GeForce RTX 2070 is the third GPU based on NVIDIA’s Turing architecture represented by EVGA’s RTX 2070 Black. The RTX 2070 is similar to the RTX 2080 that we reviewed last month although it is less powerful. It is also considerably less expensive at $499 compared with the GTX 1080 which launched at $699 for entry-level partner cards and at $799 for the reference Founder’s Edition .

The Black is EVGA’s stock-clocked entry-level RTX 2070 card and it costs $100 less than the built-by-NVIDIA reference Founder’s Edition, and many RTX 2070 versions will be available for purchase tomorrow. The Black’s Boost Clock is at 1620 MHz and EVGA offers 3 other more expensive SKUs that offer up to 1815 MHz Boost for the EVGA RTX 2070 FTW3 Ultra Gaming card.

Instead of repeating all of the same information in our RTX 2080 launch review, we will highlight the differences between the RTX 2070 and the RTX 2080, and then we will focus on performance by benchmarking it with a similar but expanded benching suite including Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey to see how capable it is.

We will pay particular attention to the RTX 2070 Black’s performance versus its main and higher-priced competitor, the $599 PowerColor Red Devil Vega 56, and versus the GTX 1080 which is in the $460-$599 price range. We will also compare its performance with the RTX 2080, the GTX 1070 that it replaces, and will measure how far it has progressed versus the GTX 980, at 1920×1080, 2560×1440, and even at 3840×2160 to see if it is suitable for gaming at 4K.

The RTX 2070 is not based on the same TU104 GPU used in the GeForce GTX 2080, but it uses its own GPU, the TU106. The GeForce RTX 2070 supports all of the same new features that NVIDIA’s Turing architecture brings including RTX ray tracing and DLSS. The EVGA RTX 2070 Black as well as the reference RTX 2070 features 2304 CUDA Cores, 36 RT Cores, 288 Tensor Cores, and a GPU Boost clock speed of 1620 MHz. A Founders Edition version will be offered directly from NVIDIA’s online store that ships with a 90 MHz overclock, and we will review it here by tomorrow morning

The memory 256-bit subsystem of GeForce RTX 2070 uses eight 32-bit memory controllers for 8 GB of 14 Gbps GDDR6 memory providing up to 448 GB/sec of peak memory bandwidth. Pixel shading is handled by 64 ROP Units with a peak Pixel Fill Rate of 109.4 Gigapixels/second for the RTX 2070 Founders Edition and slightly less for the EVGA RTX 2070 Black. The GeForce RTX 2070 has 144 Texture Units that provide a Texture Rate of 246.2 Gigatexels/second. Here is a table illustrating the differences between the stock RTX 2070 and the GTX 1070.

BTR received a RTX 1070 Black from EVGA last week, and for the past three days since we got the launch drivers on Friday, we have put it through its paces using 38 games. We are testing all of our competing cards on a clean installation of Windows 10 64-bit Home edition, using Core i7-8700K with all six cores overclocked to 4.7 GHz by the BIOS, and 16GB of Kingston’s 3333 MHz DDR4.

Key Features of the EVGA RTX 2070 Black

Here is a chart which sums up the specifications, features, and requirements of the EVGA RTX 2070 Black.

EVGA offers a 3 year warranty for the Black Edition that can be extended by registering on their site, and their warranty service is second to none in our experience.

The EVGA RTX 2070 Black Edition Images

We usually perform an unboxing, however, the RTX 2070 Black arrived in a box that EVGA says is not final, so we are using the box image they supplied and some others besides our own.

It’s a relatively large box compared with the Founders Edition boxes, and one corner is notched, probably for artistic reasons and to stand out from the usual rectangular boxes.

Here is the EVGA RTX 2070 Black.

Here it is from another angle.

Looking straight down we can see the large heatsink through the fan blades and translucent gray plastic shroud.

Here is the obverse. It doesn’t come with any backplate as befits an entry-level card.

Turning it on its edge, we can see that the EVGA RTX 2070 Black has a rather large heatsinks.

The connectors consist of two DisplayPorts, a HDMI connector, a DVI connector, the new NVIDIA Type-C/VirtualLink connector that may be especially useful for upcoming HMD VR connections, and a DVI port.

It looks great inside of our EVGA DG-77 case but we did not have time to vertically mount it.

Before we explore overclocking and then performance testing, let’s take a closer look at our test configuration.

Test Configuration – Hardware

• Intel Core i7-8700K (HyperThreading and Turbo boost is on to 4.7 GHz for all cores; Coffee Lake DX11 CPU graphics).
• EVGA Z370 FTW motherboard (Intel Z370 chipset, latest BIOS, PCIe 3.0/3.1 specification, CrossFire/SLI 8x+8x), supplied by EVGA
• HyperX 16GB DDR4 (2×8 GB, dual channel at 3333 MHz), supplied by HyperX
• EVGA RTX 2070 8 GB Black, stock RTX 2070 clocks, supplied by EVGA
• GTX 1070 8 GB Founders Edition, stock FE clocks, supplied by NVIDIA
• RTX 2080 8 GB Founders Edition, stock FE clocks, supplied by NVIDIA
• GTX 1080 8 GB Founders Edition, stock clocks, supplied by NVIDIA
• GTX 1070 8 GB Founders Edition, stock clocks, supplied by NVIDIA
• GTX 980 4 GB, Founders Edition stock clocks, supplied by NVIDIA
• PowerColor RX Vega 56 8GB, at factory overclocked settings, supplied by PowerColor
• 2 x 480 GB Team Group SSDs – one for AMD, and one for NVIDIA
• 1.92 TB San Disk enterprise class SSD
• 2 TB Micron 1100 enterprise class SSD
• Seasonic 850W Gold Focus power supply unit
• EVGA CLC 280mm CPU water cooler, supplied by EVGA
• Onboard Realtek Audio
• Genius SP-D150 speakers, supplied by Genius
• EVGA DG-77, mid-tower case supplied by EVGA
• LG 43″ HDR 4K TV
• Monoprice Crystal Pro 4K

Test Configuration – Software

• Nvidia’s GeForce 416.33 launch drivers were used for the EVGA RTX 2070 Black and the GTX 1070, and 411.51 drivers for the RTX 2080. 416.16 WHQL drivers are used for the GTX 980 and 399.07 is used for the GTX 1080. See Control Panel image below.
• AMD Adrenalin Software 18.10.1 drivers were used for the Vega 56. See Control Panel image below.
• VSync is forced off.
• AA enabled as noted in games; all in-game settings are specified with 16xAF always applied
• Gaming results show average frame rates in bold including minimum frame rates shown on the chart next to the averages in a smaller italics font.
• Highest quality sound (stereo) used in all games.
• Windows 10 64-bit Home edition. All DX11 titles were run under DX11 render paths. DX12 titles are generally run under the DX12 render path unless performance is lower than with DX11. Three games use the Vulkan API.
• Latest DirectX
• All 38 games are patched to their latest versions at time of publication.
• WattMan used to set overclocking, cooling and power options. See Control Panel image below.
• PrecisionX1 pre-release version for RTX settings and for overclocking
• OCAT, latest version
• Fraps, latest version

38 PC Game benchmark suite & 4 synthetic tests

Synthetic

• Firestrike – Basic & Extreme
• Time Spy DX12

DX11 Games

• Grand Theft Auto V
• The Witcher 3
• Fallout 4
• Watch Dogs 2
• Just Cause 3
• Rainbow Six Siege
• Battlefield 1
• Resident Evil 7
• For Honor
• Ghost Recon Wildlands
• Mass Effect: Andromeda
• Prey
• DiRT 4
• Project CARS 2
• Middle Earth: Shadow of War
• Assassin’s Creed Origins
• Destiny 2
• Call of Duty WW II
• Star Wars: Battlefront II
• Final Fantasy XV
• Far Cry 5
• The Crew 2
• Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

DX12 Games

• Tom Clancy’s The Division
• Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation
• Hitman
• Rise of the Tomb Raider
• Deus Ex Mankind Divided
• Gears of War 4
• Civilization VI
• Sniper Elite 4
• Total War: Warhammer II
• Forza 7
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Vulkan Games

• DOOM
• Wolfenstein: The New Colossus
• Strange Brigade

Additional Demo

• FFXV standalone Demo – DLSS vs. TAA

AMD Adrenalin Control Center Settings:

All AMD settings are set so as to be apples-to-apples when compared to NVIDIA’s control panel settings – all optimizations are off, Vsync is forced off, Texture filtering is set to High, and Tessellation uses application settings.

We used Wattman to set the Red Devil Vega 56’s power, temperature and fan settings to their maximums.

NVIDIA Control Panel settings:

Here are the NVIDIA Control Panel settings that match AMD’s settings.

We used the latest unreleased beta of EVGA’s Precision X1 scanner to set all cards’ highest Power and Temperature targets and for our preliminary overclock of the RTX 2070 Black.

By setting the Power Limits and Temperature limits to maximum for each card, they do not throttle, but they can each reach and maintain their individual maximum clocks. This is particularly beneficial for high power cards including the PowerColor Red Devil RX Vega 56 edition.

Let’s check out overclocking, temperatures and noise next.

Overclocking using Precision X1, temperatures & noise

The EVGA RTX 2070 Black is a very quiet card even when overclocked. We could not hear the card over the many fans of our PC even when it ramps up. We will spend more time with overclocking in our follow up reviews, but we did automatically overclock the EVGA RTX 2070 Black using the Precision X1 scanner. The beta that we are using is not yet available to the public but should be available tomorrow when the card is released for purchase.

We benchmark all of our video cards with power and temperature targets set to maximum to unleash the cards full performance potential at stock clocks.

We used the new scanner and it found it to be quite accurate compared with the scanner that released with Pascal. To find the automatic overclock, click on the Scan button and wait for about 20 minutes until it finishes, and then hit “apply”. You can also test the stability of your own overclock by using the Test button.

Precision X1 decided that 1950 MHz to 1980 MHz was the maximum safe overclock, set it automatically, and gave us a score of 225 at default and 226 with the voltage, power, and temperature limits set to maximum. It turned out to be over-optimistic.

At stock settings with temperature and power targets set to maximum, looping Heaven resulted in a cool-running GPU with Boost 4.0 settling in just above 1800 MHz but well above the Black’s 1620 MHz guaranteed boost.

We did not set our own manual overclock but finally added 200 MHz to the core to peg the clocks mostly at 1965 MHz after we pushed the voltage slider to maximum with peak Boost around 1995 MHz with complete stability. We also were able to add +600 MHz to the RTX 2070 Black’s GDDR6 memory clocks. Performance went way up, but temperatures remained in the mid-60s C with the fan speeds maxing under 2200 rpm.

Our preliminary RTX 2070 Black overclock is +200 MHz offset to the core and +600 MHz to the memory while Boost 4.0 varied from a peak of 1995 MHz downward, settling in around 1965 MHz with a low averaging around 1950 MHz.

Our final overclock will be explored later this week when we pit the Black against the Founders Edition and against the GTX 1080. In the meantime, we tested 8 games plus Final Fantasy’s TAA versus DLSS benchmark at 4K resolution to see if our overclock has made any performance difference.

We see several games where an overclock may help to improve a game’s fluidity at 4K. It appears from our very limited time with the RTX 2070 Dark that overclocking is good and similar to Pascal overclocking, but it appears that a 1980 MHz is close to the limit for its cooling and power delivery systems with peak Boost just under 2000 MHz. We also like NVIDIA’s new scanner, and EVGA’s new Precision X1 is much more stable than when it originally released for Pascal.

Let’s check the EVGA RTX 2070 Black’s performance using 38 games and then head for our conclusion.

Last month, AMD released its new Vega 64 processor in a vain attempt to beat the GTX 1080 and to take the performance crown from NVIDIA’s GTX 1080 Ti. We have put our liquid-cooled flagship Vega 64 and the Founders Editions of the GTX 1080 and the GTX 1080 Ti through their paces with ten VR games and also each overclocked to the max with 28 modern PC games, and in most cases, the $549 GTX 1080 FE is faster while the GTX 1080 Ti is in a class by itself as the world’s fastest gaming video card. And now we are going to compare the GTX 1070 FE with the reference RX Vega 56 which are both priced at $399 although the Vega 56 is still mostly out of stock.

Since we are using the reference version of both cards, we have set each card to its maximum power and temperature limits – and in the case of the RX Vega 56 – we have increased its minimum fan speed and allowed it to spin up to maximum so that it does not throttle, and we saw our overall stock-clocked Boost average around 1646MHz. We had originally planned to post overclocking results between the RX Vega 56 and the GTX 1070 FE, but AMD’s latest 17.9.1 drivers do not allow the core nor memory overclocks to be set under WattMan.

Our testing platform is Windows 10 Home 64-bit, using an Intel Core i7-6700K at 4.00GHz which turbos all cores to 4.6GHz as set in the ASRock Z170 motherboard’s BIOS, and 16GB of HyperX DDR4 at 3333MHz. The settings and hardware are identical except for the two cards being tested. We will compare the performance of 28 modern games at 1920×1080, 2560×1440, 3440×1440 and 3840×2160 resolutions with maximum settings.

Let’s see how well a non-throttling RX Vega 56 matches up with a Founders Editions of the GTX 1070.

Test Configuration – Hardware

• Intel Core i7-6700K (reference 4.0GHz, HyperThreading and Turbo boost is on to 4.6GHz; DX11 CPU graphics).
• ASRock Z170M OC Formula motherboard (Intel Z170 chipset, latest BIOS, PCIe 3.0/3.1 specification, CrossFire/SLI 8x+8x)
• HyperX 16GB DDR4 (2x8GB, dual channel at 3333MHz), supplied by HyperX/Kingston
• AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, 8GB, stock clocks, on loan from Tech of Tomorrow
• NVIDIA GTX 1070 Founders Edition, 8GB, stock clocks, supplied by NVIDIA.
• GTX 1080 8GB, Founders Edition, reference clocks, supplied by NVIDIA
• GTX 1080 Ti 11GB, Founders Edition, reference clocks, supplied by NVIDIA
• Two 2TB Seagate 7200 rpm SSHDs for each platform
• EVGA 1000G 1000W power supply unit (for both platforms)
• EVGA CLC280, 280mm CPU watercooler, supplied by EVGA
• Onboard Realtek Audio
• Genius SP-D150 speakers, supplied by Genius
• Thermaltake Overseer RX-I full tower case, supplied by Thermaltake
• ASUS 12X Blu-ray writer
• Monoprice Crystal Pro 4K
• ACER Predator X34 GSYNC display, supplied by ACER/NVIDIA

Test Configuration – Software

• GeForce WHQL 385.41 used for the GTX 1070 FE, WHQL 384.94 was used for the GTX 1080 and WHQL 385.28 for the GTX 1080 Ti. High Quality, prefer maximum performance, single display. See control panel images below.
• AMD ReLive Software 17.9.2 used for the RX Vega 56; RX Vega public launch drivers (17.30.1051-b6) were used for the benching the Vega 64. See control panel image below.
• VSync is off in the control panel.
• AA enabled as noted in games; all in-game settings are specified with 16xAF always applied
• All results show average frame rates including minimum frame rates shown in italics on the chart next to the averages in smaller font. Percentage differences are calculated between the average frame rates of the RX Vega 56 and of the GTX 1070 FE.
• Highest quality sound (stereo) used in all games.
• Windows 10 64-bit Home edition, all DX11 titles were run under DX11 render paths. Our DX12 titles are run under the DX12 render path; DOOM was run under the Vulkan API. Latest DirectX
• All games are patched to their latest versions at time of publication.
• WattMan
• MSI Afterburner.
• OCAT
• Fraps

The 28 PC Game benchmark suite & 4 synthetic tests

Synthetic

• Firestrike – Basic & Extreme
• Time Spy DX12
• VRMark Orange Room
• VRMark Blue Room

DX11 Games

• Crysis 3
• Metro: Last Light Redux (2014)
• Grand Theft Auto V
• The Witcher 3
• Fallout 4
• Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
• Just Cause 3
• Rainbow Six Siege
• DiRT Rally
• Far Cry Primal
• Call of Duty Infinite Warfare
• Battlefield 1
• Watch Dogs 2
• Resident Evil 7
• For Honor
• Ghost Recon Wildlands
• Mass Effect: Andromeda
• Prey
• DiRT 4

DX12 Games

• Tom Clancy’s The Division
• Ashes of the Singularity
• Hitman
• Rise of the Tomb Raider
• Total War: Warhammer
• Deus Ex Mankind Divided
• Gears of War 4
• Sniper Elite 4

Vulkan Game

• DOOM

Nvidia Control Panel settings:

These are the setting we use when testing NVIDIA cards. Power and Temperature Limits are set to their maximum under Afterburner; the GTX 1070 FE does not throttle due to thermal constraints and the fan speed was left on automatic.

AMD Radeon Global Settings:

Here are the global game settings in AMD’s ReLive control panel that we use:

These are the custom gaming global settings that we used for the RX Vega 56 that gave us slightly better performance than using the “Turbo” Preset. The Power Limit is set to +50%, the temperature is allowed to reach the maximum, and the fan is also allowed to spin up to its maximum, while a minimum of 4,000 rpm are set to prevent thermal throttling.

The above is our test bench and the settings that we used. Now let’s see how we calculate percentage differences between the RX Vega 56 and the GTX 1070 FE.

Calculating Percentages

There are two methods of calculating percentages. This one we are now using is the “Percentage Difference” that we are using to compare the GTX 1070 FE versus the RX Vega 56, and the other is “Percentage Change” which are usually used to show improvements. Percentage difference is generally used when you want to know the difference in percentage between two values, in this case the difference in average frame rates (FPS) between RX Vega 56 and the GTX 1070.

For the percentage difference we are simply dividing the difference between two numbers by the average of the two numbers. This is usually expressed algebraically where “V” equals value: ( | V₁ – V₂ | / ((V₁ + V₂)/2) ) * 100

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Let’s check out our Performance Summary chart followed by our conclusion.

Performance summary chart

Below are the summary charts of 28 games and 4 synthetic tests. The highest settings are always chosen and DX12 is usually picked above DX11 where available, and the settings are ultra or maxed. Specific settings are listed on the performance charts. The benches were run at 1920×1080, 2560×1440, 3840×1440, and at 3840×2160.

All game results show average framerates and higher is always better. Minimum frame rates are shown next to the averages when they are available, but they are in italics and in a slightly smaller font. In-game settings are ultra or fully maxed out, and they are identical across all platforms.

The GTX 1070 FE results are in the first performance results column and the RX Vega 56 results are shown in the second performance results column. “Wins” are shown in yellow font. The first (yellow) performance results column shows the percentage differences between the RX Vega 56 and the GTX 1070 FE. The third performance column represents the stock GTX 1080 FE results, the fourth performance column represents the RX Vega 64 Liquid Cooled edition results, and the final performance column shows GTX 1080 Ti FE results.

Open each of the 4 charts in separate windows or tabs for better viewing

Rainbox Six: Siege got a new major update and performance has increased with the new patch, especially for the RX Vega 56. The GTX 1080/Ti and Vega 64 were benchmarked before the update and should not be compared with GTX 1070/RX Vega 56 results.

It appears from our 28-game testing that the $399 RX Vega is faster than the $399 GTX 1070 Founders Edition, but it falls well short of the $550 GTX 1080 FE performance which is just ahead of the $699 RX Vega Liquid Cooled edition. And the $699 GTX 1080 Ti FE is simply in a performance class by itself.

Let’s head for our conclusion.

The Conclusion

Unlike the RX Vega 64 Liquid Cooled edition which fell quite short of its performance target of the GTX 1080 Ti and barely matched the GTX 1080, the RX Vega 56 is faster than the GTX 1070 FE. Using performance as our primary metric, at $399, the RX Vega 56 is a pretty good deal from our testing so far. However, it is impossible to find a $399 RX Vega 56 in stock at time of writing, and also the GTX 1070s are commanding a price-premium over their base MSRP of $379 because of crypto-currency mining demands on the GPU supply.

Although we haven’t yet tested overclocking headroom with RX Vega 56 since overclocking is broken with AMD’s latest 17.9.1 drivers under WattMan, it appears that Vega 56 is the star of AMD’s Vega lineup. We are next going to work on Vega 56 overclocking with Afterburner or we will revert to AMD’s last driver, and we will test VR performance in a few weeks after AMD has a chance to work on improving Vega VR drivers. We are especially looking forward to AMD’s partner versions of Vega 56 which may be released in the next few weeks, and we are hopeful that upper-midrange video card pricing may return to normal soon.

Stay tuned, there is a lot coming from us at BTR. Watch for our Vega 56 overclocking showdown versus the GTX 1070 FE this weekend! And we have a new Standing Desk, the VertDest v3, that we are setting up now for review as we build our Ryzen 7 platform.

Happy Gaming!

Mark Poppin

BTR Editor-in-Chief

We have been playing more than 30 VR Oculus Rift games using 4 top NVIDIA and 3 top AMD video cards this year including the RX Vega 64. Since we posted our original evaluation in January, we have benchmarked 6 VR games in our follow-up using FCAT VR and then 3 more games. We have favorably compared FCAT VR with our own video benchmarks which use a camera to capture images directly from a Rift HMD lens. For BTR’s VR testing methodology, please refer to this evaluation.

We are going to test 10 Oculus Rift VR games using the GTX 1080 Ti FE, the GTX 1080 FE, and a Gigabyte RX Vega 64 liquid cooled edition on a Core i7-6700K at 4.0GHz where all 4 cores turbo to 4.6GHz, an ASRock Z170 motherboard and 16GB of Kingston HyperX DDR4 at 3333MHz on Windows 10 64-bit Home Edition. Here are the ten VR games we are benchmarking:

• Alice VR
• Batman VR
• Chronos
• DiRT: Rally
• EVE: Valkyrie
• Obduction
• Robinson: The Journey
• Robo Recall
• Serious Sam: The Last Hope
• The Unspoken

Until FCAT VR was released in March, there was no universally acknowledged way to accurately benchmark the Oculus Rift as there are no SDK logging tools available. To compound the difficulties of benchmarking the Rift, there are additional complexities because of the way it uses a type of frame reprojection called asynchronous space warp (ASW) to keep framerates steady at either 90 FPS or at 45 FPS. It is important to be aware of VR performance since poorly delivered frames will actually make a VR experience quite unpleasant and the user can even become VR sick.

It is very important to understand how NVIDIA’s VRWorks and AMD’s LiquidVR each work to deliver a premium VR experience, and it is also important to understand how we can accurately benchmark VR as explained here. And before we benchmark our 10 VR games, let’s take a look at our Test Configuration on the next page.

Test Configuration – Hardware

• Intel Core i7-6700K (reference 4.0GHz, HyperThreading and Turbo boost is on to 4.6GHz; DX11 CPU graphics)
• ASRock Z170M OC Formula motherboard (Intel Z170 chipset, latest BIOS, PCIe 3.0/3.1 specification, CrossFire/SLI 8x+8x)
• HyperX 16GB DDR4 (2x8GB, dual channel at 3333MHz), supplied by Kingston
• Oculus Rift including Touch Controllers.
• GTX 1080 Ti, reference clocks, supplied by NVIDIA
• GTX 1080, 8GB, Founders Edition, reference clocks, supplied by NVIDIA
• Gigabyte RX Vega 64 Liquid Cooled Edition
• Two 2TB Toshiba 7200 rpm HDDs for each platform
• EVGA 1000G 1000W power supply unit
• EVGA CLC 280 – 280mm CPU watercooler, supplied by EVGA
• Onboard Realtek Audio
• Genius SP-D150 speakers, supplied by Genius
• Thermaltake Overseer RX-I full tower case, supplied by Thermaltake
• ASUS 12X Blu-ray writer
• Monoprice Crystal Pro 4K display
• ACER Predator X34, GSYNC display, supplied by NVIDIA/ACER
• Nikon B700 digital camera

Test Configuration – Software

• NVIDIA’s GeForce WHQL 385.41. High Quality, prefer maximum performance, single display.
• AMD Crimson Software ReLive 17.8.2 beta
• VSync/GSYNC are off in the control panel.
• FCAT VR benchmarking tools
• Oculus Rift Diagnostic tools
• Highest quality sound (stereo) used in all games.
• Windows 10 64-bit Home edition, all VR hardware was run under Oculus Rift software. Latest DirectX
• All applications are patched to their latest versions at time of publication.
• WattMan was used for AMD cards.
• MSI’s Afterburner, latest beta, was used for NVIDIA cards.

VR Games & Apps

• Alice VR
• Batman VR
• Chronos
• DiRT: Rally
• EVE: Valkyrie
• Obduction
• Robinson: The Journey
• Robo Recall
• Serious Sam: The Last Hope
• The Unspoken

NVIDIA Control Panel settings

(UPDATED 08/28/17) We used MSI’s Afterburner to set the Power and temp limits to their maximums.

AMD ReLive Radeon Settings

Here are the Global setting that we use in the Radeon Control Panel for the RX Vega 64:

Power Limit/Temperature/Fan targets are set to automatic maximum by WattMan.

Let’s individually look at the games that we benchmark starting with Alice VR, Batman VR, and Chronos.

Alice VR

Alice VR is a science fiction space adventure game that is very loosely based on Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”. You are awakened from cryo-sleep and directed by your ship’s AI to fix some malfunctions that require going to a nearby planet’s surface to acquire supplies. It’s a short game of perhaps 5 or 6 hours that has simple puzzles, and it might be worth playing except for the awful way that locomotion is implemented.

Although Alice VR uses the Unreal 4 engine, the outdoor graphics are weak and the interactivity is poor. Even when you get to drive a vehicle on a planet’s surface, the ground is mostly flat and the rocks you drive over only occasionally cause you to feel like you are really driving. The indoor environments are considerably better but the game is at best, average.

Here is the FCAT generated chart for Alice VR with all graphics settings set to their highest.

The 1080 Ti easily averaged 172.9 unconstrained FPS while the GTX 1080 produced an average of 141.7 unconstrained FPS, and the RX Vega 64 averaged 115.7 unconstrained FPS.

It’s pretty clear that Alice VR is not demanding at all. All of the video cards that we tested are able to deliver at least 90 FPS with only occasionally dropping into an rare frame reprojection and an occasional dropped frame. Let’s look at Batman VR next.

Batman Arkham VR

Batman Arkham VR is an unusual game that immerses you into Batman’s world but doesn’t really involve fighting. It is a beautiful-looking game with a lot of interactivity and an emphasis on “detective work” and puzzle solving. It’s short, but it really shows one what VR is capable of right now on the Unreal Engine.

Batman Arkham VR has multiple settings but we benchmark at the stock full resolution, 100% pixel density

Here is the performance across our 3 cards from the FCAT generated charts at 100% Pixel Density. The frames are generally delivered well with the exception of a couple of RX Vega 64 stutters. All three of our test cards can play at the highest settings, but even with 100% pixel density, the scenes are slightly blurred and there is a minor screendoor effect visible. The holy grail of VR image quality (IQ) would be to increase the Pixel Density since the RX Vega 64 can deliver 115.7 unconstrained FPS while the GTX 1080 delivers 141.7 FPS and the GTX 1080 Ti delivers 178 unconstrained FPS .

Let’s look at Chronos next

Chronos

Chronos is an exclusive Rift launch title with graphics options that are good for GPU testing. It is an amazing RPG for the Rift and also very hard. It is about 15 hours long and has many puzzles to solve as well as requires a player to be very good in combat especially with defense and attack timing. It uses the Xbox One controller although the Touch controllers can also be used, and since it has a 3rd person view, there is little chance of getting VR sick unless you really push the settings too high. Chronos is an excellent VR game.

There are 4 settings and we picked Epic.

Here are the FCAT generated charts of Chronos with Epic settings:

The GTX 1080 Ti and the GTX 1080 can both play Chronos on Epic without needing to drop to 45 FPS with ASW reprojection like the RX Vega 64 needs to. When you are fighting, you really want 90 FPS without any ASW or you may encounter some artifacting. However, the RX Vega cannot play on Epic very well for any length of time as many of the frames are ASW simulated. We’d recommend dropping settings to High for RX Vega until AMD improves the drivers.

The 1080 Ti averaged 135.2 unconstrained FPS while the GTX 1080 produced an average of 123.1 unconstrained FPS, and the RX Vega 64 averaged 81.6 unconstrained FPS which is below the ideal 90 FPS and will cause reprojection.

Let’s check out DiRT: Rally, EVE: Valkyrie, and Obduction next.

DiRT: Rally

DiRT Rally has a built-in benchmark that is 100% repeatable. If a framerate drops below 90 FPS, the Test Summary of the built-in benchmark accurately shows the minimum as 45 FPS (with ASW reprojection). Unfortunately, it does not display unconstrained FPS. It’s also a very fun and demanding game for either PC gaming or for VR that requires the player to really learn the challenging road conditions. Best of all, DiRT: Rally has a lot of settings that can be customized although we benchmarked only the “Ultra” presets

Here is the DiRT: Rally benchmark run by our 3 test cards at Ultra settings.

Although there isn’t any performance headroom with only 69.2 unconstrained FPS managed by the RX Vega 64, the GTX 1080 fares much better with 94.7 FPS while the GTX 1080 Ti averages a solid 114.4 FPS.

Let’s look at EVE: Valkyrie performance next.

EVE: Valkyrie

EVE Valkyrie is set in space and there is often a lot of empty space outside of fighting and exploration. Unfortunately, it is also hard to find a repeatable benchmark outside of the training experiences. You play as a cloned pilot who is resurrected and is now back to work fighting enemies. You get to experience barrel rolls, loops, and shooting in zero gravity. There is plenty of feedback from the Xbox controller but VR beginners need to beware because of the VR-induced stomach churning some of the maneuvers cause.

Although graphics are very good and recently improved by a large patch, all three cards can play EVE: Valkyrie on Ultra settings as shown by the frametime graph. There is sufficient performance headroom with 115.8 unconstrained FPS managed by the RX Vega 64, although the GTX 1080 fares better with 155.3 FPS while the GTX 1080 Ti averages 188.6 FPS and can easily increase the Pixel Density for improved visuals.

Let’s look at Obduction next.

Obduction

Obduction is an adventure video game developed by Cyan Worlds that is considered the spiritual successor to Myst and Riven. A player finds himself in a strangely familiar alien world that he must explore to return home, and there is a big emphasis on puzzle solving which gets more difficult as the player progresses. There are 4 main areas of the game which may take anywhere from 5 to 15 hours to complete.

The game may be played seated or standing and the comfort level is reasonable as locomotion is provided by either teleportation or by a smooth forward movement with snap turn options. Unfortunately, there are still issues with the way that Touch is implemented and it is often difficult to interact with objects which definitely can break immersion. It is also possible to play with a gamepad.

Let’s look at FCAT VR frametimes of Obduction running at Epic settings:

A GTX 1080 Ti is generally sufficient on Epic to deliver 96.4 unconstrained FPS, but there are occasional sudden dips and stutters with dropped frames, while the GTX 1080 still manages to deliver a similar experience to the GTX 1080 Ti – dropping frames also, but rarely going into reprojection at 93.8 unconstrained FPS. On the other hand, the RX Vega 64 can only manage 69.2 unconstrained FPS while dropping enough frames to make the player uncomfortable on Epic settings.

Let’s check out a CryTek game next, Robinson: The Journey, and then our final 3 games, Robo Recall, Serious Sam: The Last Hope, and The Unspoken.

Robinson: The Journey

Robinson: The Journey is first person adventure/puzzle game developed by Crytek using the CryEngine. Just like with Crytek PC games, the visuals are among the very best to be found in any VR game. Crytek’s Robinson: The Journey is a blast to play in VR but it’s short and can be played in about 6 hours.

We benchmarked at the highest settings as below, but with the resolution scale set to 1.0x.

Here are the frametimes of our 3 competing video cards:

All three cards can increase the resolution scale or the pixel density to add to the immersion by sharpening up the visuals and decreasing the screendoor effect. The 1080 Ti easily averaged 155.3 unconstrained FPS while the GTX 1080 produced an average of 134.8 unconstrained FPS, and the RX Vega 64 averaged 120.6 unconstrained FPS.

Overall, Robinson: The Journey is a visually impressive game that appears well-optimized and it gives a satisfactory experience across our 3 cards at the highest settings. Let’s look at Robo Recall next.

Robo Recall

Robo Recall is a really fun game by Epic Games where you are given the task of “recalling” defective robots, and your method of dispatching them are varied and fun. Besides shooting them, you can swat enemy bullets back at the robots, and even tear them limb-from-limb and use their broken parts to beat other robots into parts. Robo Recall is a well-crafted game and the audio is excellent, plus the comfort level is outstanding. The only issue is that it is rather short. You can play through all nine missions in a few hours, and if you want to collect everything, you might put ten hours total into it.

Robo Recall has several settings and we picked the highest at 100% Pixel Density. MSAA is really helpful to sharpen the image, and high quality is noticeably better than low. Indirect Shadows are turned on as well as Planar Reflections which add to the immersion.

Here is the Robo Recall frametimes graph:

All of our cards do OK and do not go into any major reprojection – the GTX 1080 Ti manages 125.4 unconstrained FPS, the GTX 1080 averages 119.5 while the RX Vega 64 gets 98.7 FPS. Robo Recall comes highly recommended, and like the following game, Serious Sam: The Last Hope, there is a lot of dark humor.

Serious Sam: The Last Hope

Serious Sam The Last Hope is a lot of fun and is also very good for benching. There was a large patch released this Summer that completed the number of planets that were promised, and it appears to get more challenging as one continues to play. Serious Sam: The Last Hope is a lot different from the Serious Sam PC games as VR places the player into a theater-like setting facing forward in a mostly fixed position while you are rushed by many waves of enemies from the front, left and right sides. Unlike the PC version, you have real 2-handed gunplay and can use vastly different strategies.

There are a plethora of options that can be customized individually, but we picked default Ultra for the four basic performance settings.

Here are the graphs using all-Ultra settings:

The GTX 1080 Ti with 135.7 FPS is again fastest by a large margin although the RX Vega 64 at 99.6 unconstrained FPS is slightly better than the GTX 1080 with 95.9 FPS. Let’s check our tenth and final game, The Unspoken.

The Unspoken

The Unspoken is basically a multiplayer urban magic fight club set in contemporary Chicago whose name is so secret, that it is unspoken. There is no single player mode although there is a backstory about the player being hunted for casting spells in public. It is a multiplayer game that makes the one of best and most intuitive uses of the Touch controllers that we have found to date.

You must choose a wizard class and artifacts before you begin. Artifacts are powerful spells that can be used on occasion that require a more complex set of gestures than the usual attack or defense spell. The spells are simple and intuitive and the gesture motions are quite natural.

The Unspoken appears well-optimized and we picked the highest Ultra settings for our three cards.

We performed our benchmark on the Midway Pier by casting one spell after another since playing a multiplayer match is anything but repeatable. We used the very highest settings and the frametime graph shows the comparative performance of all three cards. The dips and rises in the charts tend to match up with the more demanding special effects of each (skull) spell being cast.

There is a real issue with the RX Vega 64 performance that is probably due to immature or broken drivers. In earlier testing, both the Fury X and the RX 580 had far better performance than the 47.8 unconstrained FPS of the RX Vega 64. The GTX 1080 Ti easily manages 151.5 unconstrained FPS and the GTX 1080 averages 127.3 unconstrained FPS.

Let’s head for our conclusion.

Unconstrained Framerate Chart Leaderboard

Here is the unconstrained FPS leaderboard summary for our 10 VR games which allows us to see how quickly the system could have displayed the frames if not for the fixed 90 Hz refresh cadence. The GTX 1080/Ti and the RX Vega 64 are benched on the latest drivers, while the other cards were benchmarked with the latest drivers of mid-Summer.

The above individual unconstrained FPS results are averaged over multiple benchmark runs and may not match up with each graph exactly although they are close. The cards are ranked in terms of average performance using ten VR game benchmarks, from lowest to highest, from left to right. Clearly the GTX 1080 Ti is the fastest video card for VR, and together with the GTX 1080, they are able to provide a premium VR experience. The RX Vega 64 and the GTX 1070 seem to provide a somewhat similar class of performance, and they are both more consistent than the Fury X which appears to be held back somewhat by its 4GB of vRAM.

AMD has delivered on its promise for entry-level VR for the masses with the overclocked RX 480/RX 580 while the GTX 1060 is also a very good card in the same class. However, the $499-$699 RX Vega 64 will need some driver improvement before it’s VR performance can be called “premium” as its performance is quite inconsistent and it is in a class lower than that of the $499 GTX 1080. The GTX 1080 Ti is in the top VR class by itself.

We feel that it is important to understand and compare performance of VR games across competing video cards so as to make informed choices. It is important to get a judder-free VR experience as your health is literally at stake! VR sickness is quite unpleasant.

BTR plans to stay at the forefront of the VR “revolution” and we have added VR benching to all of our video card reviews in addition to reviewing and benchmarking the latest PC games. Next up, we will be overclocking the liquid cooled RX Vega 64 for a showdown with the overclocked GTX 1080 Founders Edition, and as soon as AMD releases a CrossFire-enabled driver, we’ll benchmark RX Vega 64 CrossFire against GTX 1080 SLI.

Stay tuned.

Happy Gaming!