As both a long-time gamer and data analyst tracking GPU tech, answering this question has been top of mind since Nvidia unveiled its new 40-series lineup. Led by the flagship RTX 4090, these new graphics cards promise enormous gains for ray traced lighting, reflections and shadows. But exactly how much faster is the 40-series compared to already capable predecessors? And are the upgrades truly worthwhile depending on the games you play and gear you already own? I‘ll analyze the key factors to help you decide.
How Ray Tracing Has Evolved Across Recent GPU Generations
Let‘s start by charting the ray tracing journey across the last few Nvidia GPU architectures powering its GeForce RTX graphics cards to properly contextualize generational leaps…
| Generation | Launch Year | Key Components | Performance at 1080p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turing | 2018 | 1st-Gen RT Cores | < 30 fps in early games even w/DLSS |
| Turing+ | 2019 | Moderately Improved RT Cores | ~45 fps in titles w/DLSS |
| Ampere | 2020 | 2nd-Gen RT Cores | 60-100+ fps in titles w/DLSS |
| Ada Lovelace | 2022 | 3rd-Gen RT Cores + Optical Flow/Micro-Mesh Engines | 120-200+ fps in titles Minimal need for DLSS at high res |
I‘ve consolidated the key ray tracing hardware driving real-time capability increases across the last four Nvidia GPU architectures – Turing, the Turing refresh, Ampere, and now Ada Lovelace powering the new 40-series.
Reviewing this progression offers helpful context. The original Turing 20-series introduced dedicated ray tracing cores but performance was still constrained, struggling to render complex scenes at adequate frame rates without the aid of upscaling via DLSS. By Ampere last generation, capabilities had grown by leaps – DLSS and CPU offloading further closing the gap to playability.
Now with Ada‘s upgraded RT core design, expanded toolset of dedicated ray tracing accelerators like the Optical Flow engine, and broader architectural optimizations such as Shader Execution Reordering, 40-series cards stand to lift ray tracing graphics even closer to cinematic quality.
Let‘s explore some of these next-generation advancements in more detail…
Ada Lovelace‘s Upgrades Set New Ray Tracing Performance Heights
Digging deeper, Ada Lovelace introduces a range of architectural innovations that expand ray tracing capabilities and improve corresponding gaming performance. Beyond just faster third-generation RT cores, it‘s the supplementary processing from new components that unlocks massive gains.
Upgraded RT Cores
- Doubled throughput – up to 191 RT TFLOPS in RTX 4090
- 4X acceleration for ray BVH traversal
- 2X speedup for triangle intersection testing
- All combining to trace way more rays per second
Optical Flow Accelerator
- Tracks object motion vectors across frames
- Reduces redundant RT calculations cycle-to-cycle
- Less wasted effort frees resources to trace additional rays
Micro-Mesh Engine
- Generates simplified mesh approximations of geometries
- Enables tracing this proxy mesh rather than complex native assets
- Further opportunity to process more rays and nodes per cycle
Shader Execution Reordering
- Groups similar shaders to execute concurrently before sync points
- Results in up to 2X speedup for ray tracing workloads
- Critical to avoid path divergence bottlenecks
Together these innovations compound to push Ada far ahead for ray tracing work compared to Ampere. Let‘s see how these next-gen enhancements ultimately translate to gaming experiences.
Gaming Performance Uplift in Numbers
Now for the acid test – how much does enabling all the new RTX 4090‘s ray tracing power actually boost performance in today‘s most demanding games? I‘ve compiled frames-per-second benchmarks from leading reviewers testing flagship titles known for their ray tracing prowess.
My testing methodology focuses specifically on visual masterworks I consider the current gold standard for state-of-the-art lighting:
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Spiderman Remastered
- Control
I‘ve recorded avg fps data across both a maxed-out RTX 3090 Ti and the new RTX 4090 to quantify generational leaps. All testing occurred at an ultimate-tier 4K resolution to really stress capabilities:
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| Game | Settings | 3090 Ti | 4090 | % Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077 4K Ultra | Full Ray Tracing On | 24 fps | 50 fps | 108% |
| Spiderman Remastered 4K Max | Full Ray Tracing On | 66 fps | 116 fps | 75% |
| Control 4K High Ray Trace | Full Ray Tracing On | 78 fps | 152 fps | 94% |
Analyzing these numbers, we observe enormous ray tracing performance gains from the RTX 4090 throughout, affirming Nvidia‘s promises. Impressively, control sees frames nearly doubling over an already well-optimized modern title on last-gen hardware. And Cyberpunk 2077 goes from a stuttery 24 fps to buttery 50 fps while maxing all ray tracing settings.
Across the board, Ada Lovelace‘s revamped architecture works in tandem with DLSS 3 to achieve fluid play at settings completely overwhelming for previous GPUs. This powerful combo sets a new bar for photorealism.
Now let‘s contextualize exactly what these salty performance metrics and buttery benchmarks mean for real-world players…
Determining If You Should Upgrade
We‘ve clearly established that the GeForce RTX 4090 and its underlying Ada Lovelace architecture provides utterly unmatched ray tracing capabilities compared to last generation GPUs. But should you rush out to upgrade? I‘d advise carefully weighing considerations like:
What games do you play?
As we saw in the benchmark data, certain titles emphasize ray tracing more than others. If you mainly run multiplayer competitive shooters, the visual splendor enabled by 40-series upgrades will prove marginal. But for story-driven graphics showcases, the 30% to 100%+ frame rate boosts are game changing.
Competitive Online – Skip 40-series
Story-Driven Eye Candy – Strongly Consider 40-series
What GPU do you currently own?
If already equipped with a higher-end last-gen card like the 3080 or 3090, know that raw performance deltas will be less monumental. These GPUs already drive solid ray traced experiences. However, if packing older 20-series or lower cards, Nienna Lovelace upgrades will feel revelatory.
3080 Owner – Maybe Wait for Next-Gen
2070 Owner – Time to Upgrade
What monitor resolution do you game at?
Higher resolutions better reveal the limits of underpowered GPUs as more pixels get rendered. At 1440p, even older cards still provide smooth playable frame rates with some ray tracing dialed in. But the 4090 truly spreads its wings at higher 4K monitor resolutions.
1440p Gaming – Save Your Coin
4K or Upscaling Ambitions – Drop Coin on 40-series
Depending on your personal context, investing $1600+ in an RTX 4090 may or may not prove worthwhile currently. But without question, Ada Lovelace hits an inflection point making ray tracing power accessible to all. Once these GPUs make their way into more affordable cards too, the generational shifts they drive will touch every gamer.
I‘m excited to see developers leverage this newfound performance headroom to further innovate! Ray tracing still has so much untapped potential to heighten realism and take our collective breath away. And the RTX 40-series supplies the rocket fuel to power a new era for computer graphics.
What are your thoughts on upgrading to these beastly new GPUs strictly for pushing ray traced graphics to the bleeding edge? I welcome perspectives from fellow gamers and hardware enthusiasts!
