DICE is deploying the first major update for Battlefield V shortly, albeit slightly delayed from its targeted arrival today. Tucked in among all the content inclusions is a major revamp of DirectX Raytracing (DXR) performance for PC players who own Nvidia GeForce RTX 20 Series graphics cards.
Real-time ray-traced reflection performance is up by as much as 50%, meaning ray-traced Battlefield V at a locked 60 frames per second is now well and truly achievable.
In a new video posted by Nvidia, it’s now possible to get 62 frames per second with a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti when playing BF5 at 1440p with Ultra quality ray tracing, compared with 34fps prior to this patch. It looks absolutely fantastic as well, so skip to about 35 seconds in the video to check that out.
Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2080 can hit 63fps on 1440p with DXR set to Medium quality, up from 32fps previously. Meanwhile, the lower-end GeForce RTX 2070 shows a slightly less marked improvement, hitting a respectable 72fps on 1080p / Low DXR, compared to 56 frames per second prior to the update.
The improved frame rates have primarily come about as a result of a technique known as Variable Rate Ray-Tracing. It’s actually a little bit similar to the Adaptive Shading feature for Wolfenstein II and allows DICE to focus the ray-tracing effects on the areas that matter, rather than the entire image. Using Variable Rate Ray-Tracing, DICE can identify the areas where the materials are the most reflective, improving the quality level in these areas while shifting away resources from other, less reflective, areas. DICE is also using Boundary Volume Hierarchies (BVH) for faster rendering of triangle intersections, optimised foliage, shader optimisations, and more. “We are just scratching the surface of optimising ray tracing performance” says Nvidia’s Jiho Choi.
Battlefield 5 is the first ever game to feature real-time ray-tracing so it stands to reason there are going to be a number of teething issues. Evidently, DICE was pushed for time in terms of getting DXR support included in time for BFV’s November 20th launch, leaving a lot of room for additional optimisation work. There are definitely a few tweaks and tricks that can be used to achieve stable performance with greatly impacting visual fidelity.
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Well, now this is getting interesting and more acceptable for the price you are paying for these gpus.Still i dont tking i will be able to experience ray tracing at least in 2 or 3 years.
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The better the experience is NOW - the better it will be later on even better hardware, the way I see it :)
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In hindsight I really wish nvidia would've held up the release of these cards until now during the holiday season to coordinate with the performance tweaks...
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So that they could keep the critics with the torches
and pitchforks at bay. They did things a little backwards but I feel they are going in the right direction
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But regardless, watch the boo birds come out and still have something to say either because they are partial to AMD or they are just haters who can't afford it.
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This holiday season it's the in thing to unconditionally be an AMD shill.
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the first comment here is exactly what we talked about when i stated this the other day from my profile.
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nVidia knows what they are doing. New technology has to be pushed at some point. I don't think AMD would have introduced ray-tracing in the next ten years if it wasn't for nVidia (still don't know if they would release it on their cards)
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AMD were the one pushing GPU tech further back in the day, and RT was a certain next step in GPU evolution. If Nvidia didn't do it AMD would've. If we see AMD RT in a year or two means they were certainly planing on it a while in advance.
AMD did nearly bankrupt themselves though because of their constant release of new architecture, so they had to scale down their GPU R&D dramatically and they put all they have into Zen and it's chiplet design.
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They upped the budget of their GPU division at the end of last year, or beginning of this one, due to Zen's massive success, and they have said that they will have a high end response to Nvidia's Turing GPUs by the end of 2020. How much of that is true is to be seen.
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Still don't have enough money to buy one lol
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Oh btw, if their fps counter is correct - in some cases the framerates got doubled and even tripled. That's some nice tweaking right there!
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I cant wait to see Metro exodus when its out with rtx on, hope the performance will be sorted by then
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And still... The prices are too fat.
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Yeah, we get it, there are about 5000 price-related comments on every article...
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They are still true though.
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Keyword being "still". I still keep reading about it, people still keep moaning and it's still pointless...
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Everyone just accepting it won't fix the problem either. It only stands to make it worse.
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You vote with your wallet. You don't walk into a michelin-starred restaurant and complain that the prices are too high, do you? You'd be shown the door. What you do is simply not spend your money there. If there are enough people eating there and the business goes well - the prices will remain and you achieved nothing. If there aren't enough people to support the restaurant - you pat yourself on the back as the prices fall.
That's called "real life". You can either accept it or you can complain about it. Either way the free market will adjust itself.
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But voting with your wallet has inherit disadvantages though. They only know whether it sells or not, but not why. If they know why it doesn't sell, they can fix the problem if they're willing. Otherwise they have to find the problem themselves, and sometimes that's not easy, or maybe even possible.
I also don't think your restaurant analogy is applicable in this case either.
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Those restaurants do not have control of the market, so to say, due to there being hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of other restaurants. You have a choice in the matter.
But Nvidia in this case effectively does control the market, meaning that they control the prices too. And because their market is huge, and in many cases necessary, people don't really have the luxury to say no, and they don't really have another place to turn to either.
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Would you, for example, in your line of work be willing, or even able, to sustain yourself if you had no machine to power your work? You are effectively forced to either conform and buy, or find another job. In your case, you've been in the business enough to be able to sustain yourself and eat the cost, but for a newcomer the barrier for entry might just be too high, and if they vote with their wallet only, they practically do not have voice in the matter.
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Dude, I've been in this industry since the dual-core era. The barrier for entry is very low nowdays, the software is getting super fast. Rendering on GPUs is not the only option - it's just faster since you can keep swapping them and adding 2-8 GPUs into a single rig. You can also render on ANY GPUs - I used to render on my laptop 780M cards, etc. You can render on cheapy GTX 960s if that's what you can afford, it'll just be much slower.
The other alternative is CPU rendering. Get a cheap Ryzen or a Threadripper and you're golden! I started out with a 2GHz laptop AMD dual-core and earned money from that. It was slow back then, but doable :)
Options are there and the market responds.
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Like I said - another DX12 or [insert brand new tech here] thing. Nobody has any experience developing with it, it's not been done in games before and the in-house tech demos made exclusively for the tech run superbly. It's only a matter of optimizations and developer experience.
It will never be as fast as rasterization - computer graphics scientists invented raster precisely to circumvent the slow speed of raytracing (while raytracing is much faster than full-on pathtracing) - but we'll get playable framerates and things will only get better with time.
Now only if "gamers" didn't press on to murder the tech before it even comes out properly...that would be great...
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What we need now is SLI support for BFV and RTX - the game will sing! 4K60 or 1440p 120Hz would be easy-peasy with decent scaling.
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That can only be utilized by less than 1% of users so I don't believe it's a priority, nor necessarily what we need.
That's just a bonus for those fortunate enough.
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Bonus or not - it's the pinnacle in gaming experience. It was always the case with any demanding feature where a second GPU would help out a LOT, like with PhysX. I still remember people moaning about that Batman game being a "broken and unplayable mess" a 3 or 4 years back, but the funny thing was that multi-GPU users could offload PhysX to the second GPU and get 60fps+ and no stuttering from Day1, whereas it was single GPU users that couldn't do anything about it (other than disabling PhysX, but nobody wanted to do THAT - it was easier to complain...somehow...). Not saying it's was all good - for most ppl it wasn't, but it was just one of those cases.
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Kinda like now when I get to play FarCry5 at 5K maxed out 80fps+. It's a privileged experience, I am aware, but the game looks like garbage at 1440p due to just how much foliage there is. Tiny details resolve so much better at huge resolutions, so I prefer to take that fps hit at 5K over 140fps 1440p. And that's only possible with SLI, I think. I went ahead and thanked Ubisoft for not forgetting us SLI users, because I genuinely appreciate it.
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Yeah I am still amazed by what a second card did for Batman performance when configured properly. Forcing all PhysX to the second card doubled my performance.
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wow the game looks like garbage at 1440p and you wonder why people keep down voting you all the time
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It does when you try 4K or more, lol. And it does...to me anyway. The foliage becomes a mush of pixels! Same problem in Witcher 3 and other games with tons of grass. All those thin lines really benefit from being rendered at a much higher resolution. Power lines too - those are always an unsightly offender.
If I was still playing at 1080p like I was back in 2015 - sure, I wouldn't know better and would think it looks great.
There are games that look awesome in 1440p - DOOM 2016 is one where I don't need 4K or 5K - 1440p is great and runs super fast. But the game doesn't have grass and trees and is fast-paced on top of that. Not at all like FarCry or Witcher.
Take it how you want.
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Raw power will always eventually beat even the worst optimization, so should we just throw optimization out in the water because you can potentially buy multiple GPU's and fix all the problems?
Funny thing is, I had and AMD GPU at that time too, PhysX wasn't a toggleable feature for me and the game still ran like sh*t.
Disabling PhysX didn't fix the problems with those games nor was PhysX one causing them in this case.
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I think you have a hard time grasping that not eveyone is a multi-GPU user, and that not everyone owns the top of the line PC hardware to offload those problems which shouldn't ever be problems in the first place.
Yeah, f*ck all us single GPU users and our expectations to run games at optimal settings with playable framerates I guess.
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Those less than 1% who had enthusiast highest end PC's weren't making any issues, what a bloody surprise there.
I guess if we don't have dual GPU setups and top of the line hardware we should never complain because all those issues could technically be fixed by throwing more money.
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You're constantly here parading how PhysX and other "features" are getting undeserved hate and how "gamers" are ruining everything.
What's the bloody use of all those features when only 1% fortunate enough to have multi thousand dollar machines can bloody even utilize them, even to this F'n day. That was and still is peoples biggest gripe with those features, you cannot bloody use them.
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You're calling everyone cheap and entitled for ruining your experience by them wanting to have at least a quarter of what you have, and than you constantly ask and complain why people keep down voting you.
If that's not being selfish and entitled than I don't know what the hell is.
Sorry, dude, but you're just not being reasonable.
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Why are you so upset? Having 2 GPUs has enabled me to use this laptop for 5+ years. If not for SLI I would have had to buy a new rig 3 years ago. Also Xquatrox was correct about multi GPU helping with PhysX heavy games like the last Batman game. It didn't support SLI, but offloading all PhysX to the second card doubled performance for me. Meant I could hold a stable 60fps instead of dipping into the upper 20s quite often. You may dislike the features because you can't use them due to your choice to go with AMD, but that doesn't mean they are worthless features that should be hated on the way you are doing. Yeah... multi GPU nVidia is expensive, but not pointless or stupid by any means.
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Why am I upset? Because he's making it sound like anyone who does have top of the line system thinks they're entitled to run their games looking well and at stable 60fps. I do not think expecting to have optimal experience with a mid range machine is in any way entitled. I dislike those features because they're exclusive to one brand, and even then you can't utilise them unless you have high end hardware.
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I also never said I have issues SLI. What I did say is that they're not a priority because the amount of users able to utilise it is very, very tiny.
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You're an idiot, sorry. I read the whole thing and you make me out to be some monster who calls everyone else poor - please do quote me, because I never do. I even admitted that I'm in a privileged position with my rig - I am fully aware of that.
What YOU fail to understand is that game developers' job isn't easy and "optimizing" stuff a lot of the time means cutting down features, realism, etc - something that you don't have to do if you have more compute power.
I wouldn't even complain if there were games I couldn't max out at 1440p - I wouldn't even complain, provided the graphical fidelity is amazing! I'm the kind of guy that revisits old games constantly after hardware upgrades anyway
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I'm comfortable with less than "ultra" settings while most of the whiny "gamers" are not - CLEARLY - because they complain about tech of the future that they can't max out on day 1. Why would I complain? I'd rather have tech in games that I may not be able to max out now - but be able to enjoy later in another hardware generation - at least the features are THERE, I think it would be worse if they weren't. Who cares if you can't max something out? I don't and you'd think that I would, since all you see are my GPUs, lol.
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As far as SLI goes - yeah, not many ppl have that, but PC is all about options and a custom-tailored experience. That experience may be the best "bang for buck" sort of a thing, could be a "console replacement" or, in my case, "the best" (well, I don't have a 9900K and Titans, but whatever). Is it so wrong for me to wish that devs put a bit of time into making us ALL happy? Obviously any single-GPU enhancements apply to me too - so I want them. But at some point to get more performance you have to HAVE more GPU power. You buy yourself a xx80Ti card...and what if you want more? SLI is the only option. Is it wrong to wish for support? SLI beats waiting a hardware gen or two for sure, you know.
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My gripe is that people forget that not everyone should be able to run everything at ultra settings. Ultra settings 10 years ago meant that you have to have a baller rig, even SLI, to run the game that way. Some games like Crysis demanded so much that only the next hardware gen could effectively max the game out at 60fps. Fast-foward now and people cry that they can't use some advanced technical feature right this minute and go out of their way crying and destroying it before it's even out properly - RTX is has only hit the shelves 2 fvcking weeks ago as a PREVIEW, FFS! I have 2080Tis and I don't give a damn if I can run it or not. If not this gen - then next gen, I don't mind!
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And all this is why I'm starting to see why my missis hates the term "gamer"... The way people behave these days is just appalling - cry-babies, like Jon says. I play games as much as the other guy - I even invest a lot of money so that my experience is great. But with time I feel less and less comfortable identifying myself as a "gamer" just because of the kind of crap that these so-called "gamers" stir up for no reason. Play your damn game and be happy - that's what it used to be all about...
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You never call anyone out directly, yes, I'll give you that. It's really bloody hard not to see your GPU's because you constantly mention them anywhere and everywhere, and do everything you can to subtly place attention to them.
I don't give crap about hardware anyone on this site uses, what does bother me though is when people who know they are in a better position constantly complain about us poor plebs for ruining their experiences by us just wanting to have decent time.
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I despise the term gamer because today is practically used as a vulgar word to describe those who dare to spend time playing games. Term concocted by people wanting to be a part of the community, distorted by the media and now used by both sides to refer to those they think are "lesser" people. Never called myself a gamer, never wanted to, because the term doesn't mean s*it, and never had.
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I don't want to argue with you, I believe you're a decent enough guy, although a bit of a show off, but then again you have what to do it with I suppose.
I hate these kind of squabbles, so to call them. They don't go anywhere, they never do anything, only purpose they serve is to insult each other needlessly.
I'd make my case better, but this site is not a good place for it, nor would you want to hear about it, neither would I probably, so I'll leave it as is.
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I don't know where I was going with this nor even why I started this stupid sh*t.
I hate being treated as trash for being a second class citizen, but It looks like I'm just seeing things that aren't there.
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Dude, nobody is treating you like trash. I guess I do mention my toys here and there, but only because I'm a happy customer (especially NVLINK!). Plento of people mention their new toys around here, but I get the most flak since my toys are...bigger, I guess... All I can do is either talk **** back or own it. I do a bit of both, epending on my mood, like anyone else.
Anyway, I am not taking anything personally or whatnot and I hope you aren't either - I'm here for a good time and a debate. If you ever want to talk about something - drop me a message on the profile feed or Discord or something, I'll be happy to chat! It's not like I magically stop socializing with people because of my PC xD
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Well regardless of emotional flare ups both of you are correct on some of your statements. Yes SLI is great when supported and should be implemented in more games than it has been since Dx12 was released, and yes SLI is a niche configuration that doesn't get much attention as of late. Once all arguments about cost and so called elitism are removed you both gave factual statements. Cheers! XD
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whats interesting about this whole conversation is that games years ago used to push hardware so much that even the best of the best couldnt run it maxed out. that was good and acceptable. as long as people could play the games, no one really cared. they all knew that one day they would get to max it and see what the developers were aiming for. since ive been on this site, i have seen people cry over and over how its not fair their hardware cant max out a game at 1080/60 and that developers are screwing them over. hell when i got my xfire 290s and then upgraded to one and then two fury x, i got people crapping on me.
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the idea with pc's is that anyone can get in on it. the ability to adjust settings mean you can start out playing a game at its lowest settings and then one day upgrade your hardware and adjust the settings accordingly. the attitude of "Yeah, f*ck all us single GPU users and our expectations to run games at optimal settings with playable framerates I guess." is a sense of entitlement. instead of being happy being able to can run a game and that a developer offered up the chance to add more hardware and be able to up the settings...we gett crying cuz a $200 gpu cant max at a AAA title. i dont care what you have. just shut up and play the games. be happy you can even do that.
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^ THIS, pretty much sums up what I said. I've had crap experiences and I've had great experiences, but I always end up revisiting older games with new hardware to see what's new. Hell, when GTA IV came out my laptop could not run it at more than 15fps no matter how low I put the settings - the CPU struggled. Had to wait YEARS before I could even play the game. Did I mind? Nope. Harware wasn't up to scratch, I didn't have any better, so I waited. Didn't go on ****ting on people with awesome rigs. Couldn't max out NFS Carbon, NFS Pro Street, Borderlands, couldn't even play NFS SHIFT at all back then. What did I do? Played what I could at low/medium settings, lol. That's PC gaming :D
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I can't stress it enough - I would not even be mad if there was a game that was so advanced that my 2080Tis would crap themselves beyond low settings. I'd be quite excited, in fact. I'd keep waiting for new hardware and seeing when the game can finally shine :D
That was my Hairworks/PhysX/Gameworks experience, usually. Might as well add RTX to that list - not bothered. I'd rather a feature be there for the future than be unavailable at all!
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I still can't play No Man's Sky. I will need a new rig before it is playable for me. I hate it, but I am not bashing on people that can play it. It's just the nature of the beast with PC gaming.
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Reading back what I said, I honestly don't know what my point was. It sounds more like incoherent rambling to me. It wasn't the greatest of days, it was 3 in the morning and I guess I had to wind out somewhere. I do agree with you lot, nor do I have a problem with not playing games I can't run. Before I bought this machine three years ago I had one from 2006, and it couldn't run anything past 2011, and I was fine with that and still am.
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It happens to the best of us :D
What's important here is that no harm is done and that logic and reasoning won! :)
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And this is exactly why nVidia had to make RTX cards. They can't do stuff like this without RTX cards and games being out there. Even if it is at huge price and performance penalty, testing in "the lab" and real world are two completely different things. And yes, this doesn't fix the price issue...
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..., but it does show that RTX can be viable. And improvements like that plus next generation RTX cards with hardware improvements are exactly what will make raytracing worth it. But regardless, I still stand by RTX20 series being early adopter thing and very expensive one.
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But it really shows why nVidia had to break whole chicken and egg problem. Without real world testing, RTX game,... improvements like this are not possible. And it has to start somewhere. I am not saying run out and buy RTX card now, but I am looking forward for tech to get better and AMD to compete in it.
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Well this seems to be a step in the right direction good job nvidia and dice
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Nvidia RTX Raytracing Frame Rates Improve up to 50% by removing up to 50% raytracing lool
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I wanted to read it 50% price cut, but i couldn't
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woohoo, way to go!
Keep this up and one day this GPU line-up might even end up being worth it ^^