V-Ray GPU Adds Support for NVIDIA RTX. What”s the difference between gtx and rtx’

Which GPUs are worth buying? We’ve selected the best graphics cards available, updated with the latest graphics cards at the time of their release. Besides the overall performance champion, we replace the best value graphics card and the best cheap graphics card to guide your next upgrade.

GTX 1080 Ti vs RTX 2080: Which should you buy?

Comes with performance benchmark, value, and feature comparison.

After years of development, the new Turing Nvidia graphics cards are finally available: RTX 2080 and RTX 2080 Ti. While the RTX 2080 Ti offers a distinct performance advantage over the last-gen Pascal’s best cards (plus tons of new features), the RTX 2080’s broadly similar performance to the GTX 1080 Ti makes it a less obvious choice. Given that the RTX 2080 is often cheaper than the top 10 series card, does it make sense to buy the GTX 1080 Ti? As always, the answer is complicated, but this article aims to provide you with the information you need to make a decision one way or another.

First of all, we’re going to take a look at the new features offered by the Turing architecture to see if any of them can make a difference to the game. For example, DLSS – deep learning super-sampling – can provide significant performance gains in supported titles, while real-time ray tracing, which gives the new RTX cards their name, can justify an additional premium for high-end RTX cards. There are other considerations as well, such as improved shader models, improved connectors, and better streaming capabilities that may justify a purchase for early adopters, content creators, or owners of ultra-high definition displays.

After this brief feature discussion, we’ll show you a performance comparison between the RTX 2080 and the GTX 1080 Ti, letting you see how these two cards swap positions between games. Most of our testing was done in 4K, where the difference between graphics cards is most pronounced and high-end cards make sense, but we’ll also have results in 1080p and 1440p along with some general trends to keep in mind.

We’ll conclude with a few pricing and availability considerations which will of course also have a significant impact on your purchasing decision (or lack thereof). It’s also worth noting that we’ve covered many of the issues in this article in more detail in our GeForce RTX 2080 and 2080 Ti review, so it’s worth checking if you’re still undecided when all is said and done, or if you just want to learn more about these new cards. Without further ado, let’s move on to the comparison!

Is Nvidia’s new Turing gear worth the price?

RTX 2080 vs GTX 1080 Ti: feature comparison

Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS)

DLSS is one of the most exciting features of the new Turing architecture as it can dramatically increase FPS in games that support it – it can be a good way to compensate for real-time ray tracing performance degradation or to maximize the use of high refresh rate monitors. We’ve already created an in-depth discussion on DLSS, but essentially this new feature works by rendering a lower resolution image that is then scaled by an efficient deep learning algorithm that has been trained on tons of high resolution images from the game being played. This allows RTX equipment to deliver a final image that looks similar to a standard full-size image, using approximately 50 percent of the shading power,opening the door to a much higher frame rate.

From the benchmark below, you can see that enabling DLSS has the potential to provide significantly higher performance in supported games – although at the time of writing there is little other than demo software to test functionality. In the Final Fantasy 15 test demo, the RTX 2080 score is almost 40 percent higher, and we see similar advantages for the RTX 2080 Ti. Coupled with the significant difference in raw hardware performance between the two generations of cards, Final Fantasy 15 shows an 80 percent DLSS-enabled leap between the GTX 1080 and RTX 2080 – impressive stuff! However, while we are confident about the technology, we only used demo software to test it – we need more actual games to fully validate its testimonials. At the moment, the Final Fantasy 15 test test is the best way to go.

There is plenty to choose from when it comes to all of these Turing cards, offering a variety of clock speeds, cooling options, and lighting features. Some are better value than others, but the cheapest ones offer the best return on investment in terms of performance, as we’ll see below.

RTX support now in most V-Ray Next products

Now in 3ds Max, Maya, SketchUp, and Rhino you’ll find a new V-Ray GPU drop-down menu to choose from either the traditional CUDA engine or our new RTX engine, which uses RT cores in RTX GPUs. Your image results will be the same between the two without modifying any other settings or adjusting the scene – it should just work. Moving back and forth between the two engines only modifies which processors are used, so comparing them to see which is best suited for a particular scene requires minimal effort.

Mileage varies

Now we said “your scene” because the benefits of RTX will vary depending on how your scene is structured and how “heavy” its shaders are. This benefit is actually unpredictable as accessing the RT cores uses the NVIDIA API layer, which sometimes replaces the way V-Ray processes your scene. As a result, your specific performance boost on RTX cards is a combination of dedicated ray tracing hardware and the API required to access it.

V-Ray GPU performance increase on RTX cards using public sample scenes.

The above results are taken from our website’s educational resources and show the increased performance when switching from CUDA (no CPU) to the RTX engine when using RTX GPUs. In these traditional scenes, no editing was done other than the RTX selection – and in some cases the transition to a V-Ray GPU. As you can see from the numbers, the benefits of RTX can vary greatly, with average acceleration being around 40% when averaged across all of our sample scenes.

We could have placed an emphasis on accelerations, which were many times faster in the scenes adapted to the hardware, but we thought it was better to tie the benefits to what you are likely to experience in your current job. We are planning a future “speed demons” blog article to explore scenes that are streamlined to get the most out of RTX. But for now: don’t worry about reworking the scenes – just try the new RTX engine as there’s no risk.

Nvidia claims that its new 3rd generation Tensor cores are 2.7 times stronger per core than the last generation, so while there are fewer of them, they are much more powerful. The same goes for the second-generation RT cores, which Nvidia claims are up to 1.7 times more efficient. We’ll see in our tests below.

Architecture

The architecture of the GPU is important and this includes how well the GPU will perform in the game. It covers things like clock speed, performance, and the overall look of the graphics.

When it comes to the architecture of the RTX and GTX series, the difference is surprisingly small. When looking at newer models, both use the Nvidia Turing architecture. This is made specifically for the newer Nvidia series and is the best architecture available at the moment.

Nvidia Turing provides significantly better performance compared to older Nvidia GPUs. It is generally quieter and cooler. It has 1.4x better energy efficiency compared to previous models and the supplied graphics are especially great.

While most GTX cards use the Nvidia Turing architecture, the older series like the 1060 uses Nvidia Pascal. While this architecture is good, it does not provide as good performance compared to the RTX series.

Overall, the RTX models have better cores and clock performance, allowing for better in-game performance than the GTX series. They also have Nvidia DLSS and ray tracing cores, which GTX does not.

There is an excellent Nvidia graphics card at every price point, and the Sub-200 $ mark is no different. At this price point, the Nvidia GTX 1650 is the clear winner, delivering great performance in both gaming and rendering on a budget.

Ray tracing and DLSS

While the RTX 2060 supports hardware ray tracing acceleration, other cards do as well, albeit with limited capacity. Thanks to the driver update from Nvidia, all GTX 16 and 10 series cards can render ray tracing in-game, but without hardware acceleration using RT cores, performance is not great, even on the latest generation of high-end cards such as the GTX 1080 Ti.

The problem with ray traced lighting effects is that it requires an excessive amount of GPU to render. This is why RT cores are required and they make such a difference to RTX cards; especially the high-end ones. If you want to play ray tracing games at a comfortable frame rate, the RTX 2060 is the only card you can opt for in this case, though it will still be limited to 1080p in most games. The GTX 16 series cards will let you see what ray tracing looks like, but won’t be able to play many ray traced games at anything close to your comfortable frame rate.

With that in mind, it’s a shame that deep learning super sampling (DLSS) support is limited to RTX graphics cards. It requires Tensor cores to run, and the GTX 1660, 1660 Super, and 1660 Ti just don’t have them, so they won’t be able to use DLSS. The RTX 2060 may and may give it an extra edge when it comes to ray tracing, although the very limited number of games supported make it a bit negligible. Moreover, our experience with the combination of both functions has not been great so far.

You get what you pay for

If $ 300- $ 350 is too expensive for you, the GTX 1660 Super is the best option in this group. 1660 Ti is only a worthwhile investment if you can find it at a comparable price. The level of performance is so close between the two cards that the Super, with typical savings of $ 50 to $ 100, is a much better buy. This almost invalidates the RX 590 from AMD, although we sometimes see a heavily discounted RX 590 making it an attractive alternative.

While the GTX 1660 is a good choice, we wouldn’t put it at the top of our list. We believe that for the same price, AMD offers great performance. That said, the GTX 1660 has improved significantly over the previous GTX 1060 model. The RX 580 and RX 590 are viable alternatives. In some cases, they can also be significantly cheaper, especially when you consider AMD’s amazing game packs. This is where availability and packaging options can enter into or terminate the contract. Packages are almost always a smarter option (and a better deal) than standalone cards. Note that availability (and retail) can also affect the equation and affect prices. If you’re looking for something a bit cheaper with a similar speed, check out the RX 5500 XT.

We don’t recommend spring factory overclock these days. Factory overclocked items and stock items now function the same, so overclocked items can no longer boast the superiority they had in previous generations. The price difference between the factory overclocked products and the 1660 Super is too close to be worth it.

Overall, the RTX 2060 is the best buy of the three because of its impressive capabilities. It also received the most five-star reviews. It’s the type of high-quality product you’ll have to pay a lot for, and we know it can be out of your reach if you’re on a shoestring budget. It continues to blow Turing’s competition out of the water and provide significantly better value for money. Over time, the RTX 2060 is worth investing in – even if you have to spend some time purchasing it.

Well, neither RTX nor GTX are abbreviations of any kind and have no specific meaning per se. Instead, they are there simply for the sake of branding.

Flipping the Cooling Script: Fan Changes

Another immediately obvious difference between the three cards is their cooling style. While both the GeForce RTX 2080 and GeForce RTX 2080 Super use the traditional dual-fan setup, where cool air is drawn in from one side of the card and hot air is exhausted from the backplate and around the card, the RTX 3080 is a design for itself.

The new PCB design, with the 12-pin power connector, and even the fan layout are unique to the RTX 3080 Founders Edition, and are parts of a reworked cooling system unlike anything we’ve seen before. It looks like almost half of the card is devoted solely to the heat sink and fan, while all components are squashed right next to the rear exhaust, which is powered air by another fan underneath the circuit board.

However, despite this new cooling, in our tests the card is still around 10 degrees warmer than the RTX 2080, but only 1 degree warmer than the RTX 2080 Super. This only applies to Founders Edition cards. Third party designs do not necessarily take the over / under approach of the RTX 3080 fan. Each will be their own pet.

Benchmarking: The RTX 3080 Delivers a TKO

Okay, pretty grim chatter about ports and specs details. Let’s move on to the show!

What exactly did all these changes from RTX 2080, to RTX 2080 Super, to RTX 3080, mean when we test them all? Here’s what the eight major AAA games looked like.

Summarizing the above graph in one word? Wow. Crushing numbers (especially so many in sequence) tell the whole story better than I do. Simply put, the RTX 3080 shows a staggering performance boost, especially at 4K resolution. There is no situation here where the RTX 3080 will not drop out of the other end of the test, looking far superior to any card that Nvidia has released before.

Then we looked at less demanding multiplayer titles.

As you can see, the biggest profits are again in the 4K game. For a full comparison of the RTX 3080 with the dozen Turing cards, Nvidia “Pascal” and the AMD Radeon “Navi” and “Vega”, see our full GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition review.

These cores were originally introduced in 2017 in the Nvidia Volta GPUs, but no gaming GPUs were based on this architecture. The Tensor cores present in Turing GPUs are actually second-generation Tensor cores.

Best Nvidia Graphics Card under 200$

There is an excellent Nvidia graphics card at every price point, and the Sub-200 $ mark is no different. At this price point, the Nvidia GTX 1650 is the clear winner, delivering great performance in both gaming and rendering on a budget.

The GTX 1650 has 4 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, clocking at 2 GHz on a 128-bit bus and a bandwidth of 128 GB / s. This card is only 75W so it runs very quietly and stays nice and cool.

896 CUDA cores decently accelerate gaming and rendering, and the chip, which clocked at 1485 MHz Base and 1860 MHz Boost, will provide a smooth experience on a budget.

Benchmark List Performance Metrics

The performance indicators in the list cover different areas:

Nvidia graphics cards have a lot of technical features like shaders, CUDA cores, memory size and speed, core speed, overclocking, just to name a few.

The list may be longer, but what I want to introduce to you here is a quick and easy overview of Nvidia graphics cards in order of performance in the two most common use cases on this page.

Rendering and games.

I took the average performance of currently popular game benchmarks like Futuremark and gave it points based on the test score.

To find the most powerful Nvidia graphics cards in rendering, I took the average of the three most popular GPU rendering engines: Redshift, Octane, and Vray-RT and allocated points based on performance.

What you ultimately get from this list is an Nvidia graphics card comparison.

Technically, this makes it the cheaper of the two options, but not in a way that anyone can guarantee other than the trust you have between yourself and a random person selling GPUs on the internet.

GeForce 20 vs. GeForce 16

First of all, we should note that the 20 series and 16 series, the latest RTX and GTX GPUs, are based on the same Turing GPU microarchitecture that Nvidia originally introduced in 2018.

However, despite the fact that both series are based on the same architecture, the 20 series took first place. And when it launched in 2018, Nvidia wanted to focus on the advanced features that the new architecture could offer. The lineup consisted of high-end and high-end GPUs that could demonstrate these features, and were the first GPUs to feature the newly introduced RTX designation.

Meanwhile, the 16 series came a year later as Nvidia also had to offer more cost-effective solutions for those who couldn’t afford to spend $ 400 or more on a graphics card. These GPUs, however, lacked the above-mentioned advanced features and thus retained the old GTX designation.

That said, GTX GPUs are actually weaker than RTX GPUs these days, but that is by design. The new RTX designation was introduced mainly for marketing purposes, so that the new GPUs would be seen as a big step forward, as something really new, and the RTX designation itself was inspired by the most marketable new feature introduced in the GeForce 20 series: real-time ray tracing.

Now real-time ray tracing is possible thanks to RT cores, which are currently only found in the 20 series and absent from the 16 series. Moreover, there are also tensor cores that provide AI acceleration and in games increase ray tracing performance and enable deep learning Super Sampling.

If we remove these two key features from the image, the GTX Series 16 GPUs and the RTX 20 Series GPUs aren’t really different. Of course, the more expensive RTX GPUs have more transistors, more cores, better memory, and more, allowing them to offer better overall performance than their cheaper GTX counterparts. However, they don’t necessarily offer better value for your money.

That aside, what are these new features, and is it worth buying an RTX graphics processor?

What Are RT Cores?

As mentioned above, RT cores, short for ray tracing cores, are GPU cores designed exclusively for real-time ray tracing.

What ray tracing does in video game graphics is it allows for much more realistic lighting and reflections. As the name suggests, this is achieved by tracing the paths of virtual light rays, which allows the GPU to perform a much more realistic simulation of the interaction of light with its surroundings.

Ray tracing is still possible even on GPUs without RT cores, but in this case the performance is downright dire, even on older flagship GPUs like the GTX 1080 Ti.

Speaking of performance, real-time ray tracing offers a really big performance penalty, even when used with RTX GPUs, which inevitably leads to the question – is ray tracing even worth it?

As of April 2020, just over twenty ray-traced titles are available, with only a few being new AAA games.

Despite ray tracing being the most popular feature of the RTX 20-series GPUs, the Turing architecture also introduced another important new feature to the mainstream GeForce lineup – enhanced deep learning capabilities made possible by specialized tensor cores.

These cores were originally introduced in 2017 in the Nvidia Volta GPUs, but no gaming GPUs were based on this architecture. The Tensor cores present in Turing GPUs are actually second-generation Tensor cores.

Now when it comes to games, deep learning currently has one major use: Super Sampling Deep Learning or DLSS for short, which is a completely new method of anti-aliasing.

How exactly does DLSS work, and is it better than conventional anti-aliasing methods?

What DLSS does is use deep learning models to generate detail and scale the image to a higher resolution, making it sharper and reducing aliasing in the process. The aforementioned deep learning models are built on Nvidia supercomputers and then executed by your GPU’s Tensor cores.

That said, DLSS provides a clearer image, but is also less hardware-intensive than most other anti-aliasing methods. Moreover, it can also noticeably improve performance when ray tracing is on, which is a good thing considering how much ray tracing can be with a performance puncture.

Overall, the RTX designation was introduced by Nvidia mainly for marketing purposes, making their Turing 20-series GPUs look like a bigger upgrade than they really are.

Granted, they bring in two major new features that will be crucial in the years to come, but when it comes to raw performance, they don’t overtake the older Pascal-based GPUs that had similar prices.

With all that in mind, we wouldn’t say RTX GPUs are worth buying just for ray tracing and DLSS, and dollar performance should always come first, especially if you want the best value for your money.