VR Wars: the RTX 3070 vs. the RTX 2080 Ti – FCAT VR Performance benchmarked

Fallout 4

Fallout 4 uses the Creation Engine. Unfortunately, Bethesda has dropped support for it and the vanilla game, although playable, isn’t a great experience as it remains unoptimized. Index controllers are unsupported and we returned to using Vive’s wands. There are some community mods that make the game more playable and add features that may be worth exploring. We benchmark at its highest settings and with TAA.

Fallout 4 had issues on both cards with stuttering and slowdowns. Here is the frametime plot for Fallout 4.

Here are the details are reported by FCAT-VR:

The RTX 2080 Ti delivered 121.39 unconstrained FPS with 12 Warp misses and 12 dropped frames, but 11% (703) of its frames had to be synthesized.

In contrast, the RTX 3070 delivered 111.31 unconstrained FPS with 1 Warp miss and 1 dropped frame, and it required 19% (1247) synthetic frames. The experience playing Fallout 4 on the highest settings is similar using the RTX 3070 or the RTX 2080 Ti and we can only wish that the game could still be optimized.

Next we look at Half Life: Alyx:

Half Life: Alyx

Half Life: Alyx uses an adaptive/dynamic scaling algorithm which uses a card’s performance headroom to subsample in demanding scenes and to supersample in less demanding scenes. We used the console commands to lock the SteamVR resolution to 100% so that it did not supersample or subsample.

We loved playing completely through the game at its launch, and it is a great long interactive VR experience and a worthy addition to the Half Life universe.

Here is the frametime plot for Half Life Alyx.

Here are the details as reported by FCAT VR.

The RTX 2080 Ti delivered 178.96 unconstrained FPS with 6 dropped and 7 synthetic frames. In addition, it suffered 6 Warp misses which was rather disappointing for such a short benchmark run.

The RTX 3070 delivered 168.96 unconstrained FPS and with no dropped but with 6 synthetic frames although it did not suffer any Warp misses.

Half Life Alyx isn’t particularly demanding although the visuals are great, and there isn’t any real difference playing on either card at our chosen settings so we would recommend increasing the Super Resolution to 130% in SteamVR settings, and let the game subsample or supersample as necessary.

Next we look at 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, and we also increased the resolution to 140% in-game which is its maximum.

Here is the frametime plot for Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

Here are the FCAT VR details.[chart]

The RTX 2080 Ti delivered 102.86 unconstrained FPS with no dropped frames and no Warp misses. Yet surprisingly, 29% (1846) were synthetic frames.

The RTX 3070 delivered 100.84 unconstrained FPS with 2 dropped and 452 (7%) synthetic frames. It also suffered 2 Warp misses.

Hellblade isn’t particularly demanding until the Resolution is increased to 140% in-game causing the RTX 2080 Ti to run out of headroom. In this case, the RTX 3070 delivers a superior VR experience. We suggest lowering the in game resolution for both cards, but less for the RTX 3070.

Next we will check out another 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 his 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 “High” which is above Enhanced, and we set the anisotropic filtering to 16x, and also upgraded from FXAA to FXAA+TAA.

Here are the FCAT VR details of our comparative run.

The RTX 2080 Ti delivered 100.59 unconstrained FPS with 5 Warp misses and 5 dropped frame, but 35% (2208) of its frames had to be synthesized. It isn’t a great experience and we would recommend playing it on Enhanced instead of High.

In contrast, the RTX 3070 delivered 100.86 unconstrained FPS with 2 dropped frames and 2 Warp misses, and it required 1107 (17%) synthetic frames.

The experience playing No Man’s Sky using Ultra settings is better on the RTX 3070 on High settings than it is playing with the RTX 2080 Ti even though the Unconstrained FPS are almost identical.

Next we will check out another 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.

Here are the details.

The RTX 2080 Ti delivered 103.12 unconstrained FPS with 2 dropped frames, 2 Warp misses and 2166 (34%) synthetic frames.

The RTX 3070 delivered 113.97 unconstrained FPS with no dropped frames or Warp misses and with 98 (2%) synthetic frames. The experience playing Obduction on Epic is better on the RTX 3070.

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

Project CARS 2

There is no way to convey the incredible sense of immersion that comes from playing Project CARS 2 in VR using a wheel and pedals. It uses its own Madness engine, and the physics implementation is outstanding. We are disappointed with Project CARS 3, and may continue to use the older game for VR benching.

For this performance review, we have created a longer and more demanding benchmark than our previous one. We race the California coast and stay up with the pack this time making it more representative than before.

Project CARS 2 offers many performance options and settings and we prefer playing with SMAA Ultra instead of using MSAA.

We used maximum settings and here is the frametime plot.

Here are the FCAT-VR details.

The RTX 2080 Ti delivered 93.98 unconstrained FPS with 10 dropped frames and 10 Warp misses, and 44% (4182) of its frames had to be synthesized.

The RTX 3070 delivered 87.25 unconstrained FPS with no dropped frames or Warp misses, and it also required many synthetic frames (4556/48%).

It isn’t a great experience playing with Motion Smoothing on, and we recommend lowering grass and reflections to maximize framerate delivery as motion smoothing or reprojection tends to cause visible artifacting. The experience playing Project CARS 2 using maximum settings is too demanding for either the RTX 3070 or the RTX 2080 Ti.

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 still very good on maxed-out settings using its Creation engine.

We benchmarked Skyrim VR using its highest settings, but did not increase the resolution in-game. Here are the frametime results.

Here are the details of our comparative runs as reported by FCAT VR.

The RTX 2080 Ti delivered 214.12 unconstrained FPS with 2 dropped frames and 2 Warp misses, and 2 of its frames had to be synthesized.

The RTX 3070 delivered 202.12 unconstrained FPS and it didn’t have and dropped frames nor require any synthetic frames.

The game can benefit visually from increasing the in-game resolution further, and the VR playing experience is similar on both cards. Of course, many players would prefer adding mods to the game rather than increasing the resolution.

Let’s check out Subnautica next.

Subnautica

Subnautica uses 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 all while attempting to survive a hostile environment.

We benchmarked Subnautica using its highest settings plus TAA, but we left its resolution at 100%, and here are the frametime results.

Here are the details.

The RTX 2080 Ti delivered 84.20 unconstrained FPS, but 49% (3123) of its frames had to be synthesized.

In contrast, the RTX 3070 delivered 77.73 unconstrained FPS and it also required 49% (3136) synthetic frames. Neither card suffered any dropped frames or Warp misses.

The experience playing Subnautica using its highest settings is not ideal as it doesn’t appear to be well optimized.

Next up, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is built on the Unreal 4 engine and it boasts very good visuals although it is not demanding. 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 set 130% resolution in-game with TAA. Here is the frametime plot.

Here are the FCAT VR details.

The RTX 2080 Ti delivered 260.08 unconstrained FPS and the RTX 3070 delivered 280.77 unconstrained FPS. Neither card dropped any frames and the experience is identically smooth on both cards although the RTX 3070 has more performance headroom than the RTX 2080 Ti.

Although it is a beautiful game visually, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter isn’t particularly demanding even after the resolution is increased to 130% in-game, and then both cards can benefit further by increasing the Super Resolution in SteamVR.

Last up, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners.

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinner is the last of BTR’s 13 VR game benching suite. It is a first person survival horror adventure RPG with a strong emphasis on crafting. Its visuals using the Unreal 4 engine are outstanding and it makes good use of physics for interactions.

We benchmarked Saints and Sinners using its highest settings and with the Pixel Density set to 100% in game. Here is the frametime chart.

Here are the details as reported by FCAT VR.

The RTX 2080 Ti delivered 166.94 unconstrained FPS with no dropped frames or Warp misses, and none of its frames had to be synthesized.

In contrast, the RTX 3070 delivered a similar 166.09 unconstrained FPS with 2 dropped frames and 2 Warp misses, but it required 2 synthetic frames.

The experience playing The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners using the in-game maximum settings at 100% Pixel Density is similar using the RTX 3080 or the RTX 2080 Ti. We recommend increasing the Pixel density in game to just below the point where synthetic frames are needed.

Let’s look at our overall Unconstrained Framerates Chart.

Unconstrained Framerates

The following chart summarizes the overall Unconstrained Framerates (the performance headroom) of our two cards using thirteen test games and four synthetic benches: Superposition, VRMark’s Cyan and Blue Rooms, and the OpenVR benchmark.

Synthetic benchmarks are only useful for ranking cards. They don’t predict how any game will actually play in VR on any particular video card. Although the Unconstrained FPS information is useful as a general ranking tool for overall performance, it is completely useless by itself and the frametime charts and interval plots have to be considered together with it when comparing video cards.

Let’s check out our conclusion.

Conclusion

We are surprised that the RTX 3070 – although Ampere has no VR optimizations over Turing – is generally able to provide a slightly superior VR experience at the same settings over the RTX 2080 Ti. We think that the RTX 3070 is better than the RTX 2080 Ti is for VR, even more so than for pancake gaming. Of course, it is not an upgrade but a side grade, and we would recommend the RTX 3080 for RTX 2080 Ti owners who want more from their VR experience. But for VR enthusiasts who are looking for an upgrade from lesser cards, the RTX 3070 is a generally a better choice than the RTX 2080 Ti.