NVIDIA released the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 on October 11th, 2022. As I said back then, the RTX 4090 was the only GPU that I considered a 4K GPU. It was also a GPU I highly recommended getting, especially if you were gaming at both 1440p and 4K. So, it’s time now to see how that GPU ran all the games that came out these past two years.
For the following graphs, I used the framerates from our PC Performance Analysis articles. I won’t be linking to each one of them. If you are interested in any of them, you can find them in the PC Performance Analysis section.
I should also note that I only included our non-RT benchmarks. This means that games using Lumen are not included. As I’ve said numerous times, Lumen is a form of Ray Tracing. And, for those wondering, I never claimed that the RTX 4090 was capable of running RT games at Native 4K. You have to be nuts or an idiot to expect something like that, even for the RTX 4090. The only RT games I included are Ubisoft’s Avatar and Star Wars Outlaws. These games use a “lite” software-based RT solution that works on all GPUs.
Since October 2022, we have had 53 major titles. Now when I’m saying “major titles”, I mean those that we’ve covered. Also, since most fighting games are locked at 60fps, I did not include Tekken 8 or Mortal Kombat 1. Both of them have no trouble running at 4K/60fps on the RTX 4090.
Let’s start with the first graph. From these games, only A Plague Tale: Requiem, Dead Space Remake and The Callisto Protocol had minimum framerates around 60fps. A Plague Tale: Requiem was a graphical powerhouse when it came out. That game was released alongside the RTX 4090. So, right from the get-go, we had a game that could push NVIDIA’s high-end GPU. As for The Callisto Protocol and Dead Space Remake, those minimum framerates were due to the stuttering issues from which they suffered.
In the next graph, we see two games that dropped below 60fps. Those were The Last of Us Part I and Starfield. Both of them had some optimization issues at launch. Their latest versions run better these days on all available GPUs, and yes the RTX 4090 can actually run both of them with 60fps at 4K.
In the third graph, we see Cities Skylines 2 and Avatar dropping below 60fps. Regarding The Crew Motorfest, it is locked at 60fps. The RTX 4090 had no trouble at all running Ubisoft’s open-world racing game. As I’ve said, Avatar uses a “lite” RT solution so I can see why it drops below 60fps. As for Cities Skylines 2, that was THE worst optimized PC game of 2023. It was a broken mess, so no wonder it performed horribly.
In the final graph, we see Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown and Final Fantasy 16 dropping below 60fps. Alan Wake 2, which by mistake was not included in the charts, was also dropping below 60fps at Native 4K/Max Settings without RT. Both FF16 and Alan Wake 2 look gorgeous. So, in a way, the justify their GPU requirements. As for Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown, that game had optimization issues when it came out. It also did not justify its visuals.
What’s also interesting is the 4K performance of the RTX 4090 on UE5 games. The reason I’m saying this is because a lot of studios have switched to Unreal Engine 5, and most of them use Lumen and Nanite. Lumen is quite demanding but thanks to DLSS 3, the RTX 4090 can still push over 60fps at 4K. This is possible in some of the best-looking UE5 games, like Black Myth: Wukong, Hellblade 2 or Silent Hill 2 Remake. Hell, you can even enjoy Path Tracing at 4K with DLSS 3.
And that is that. Even to this date, the RTX 4090 has no trouble at all pushing high framerates at 4K. I know that NVIDIA is about to announce its RTX50 series but as I said two years ago, there is no reason to upgrade to it if you own an RTX 4090.
In July 2023, I said that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 was one of the best purchases you could make in 2022. And now, one year later, I stand by that statement. And things get even better if you game at 1440p. As said back then.
“However, the RTX 4090 won’t become obsolete when the RTX 5090 comes out. Given the power of the current-gen consoles, we can safely assume that the RTX 4090 will last you FOR A LONG TIME, especially if you game at 1440p/60fps.”
Realistically, the RTX 4090 may get you another four years of high-end gaming at 1440p. So, in total, we’re looking at 6 years. That’s on Ultra Settings with 60fps. And, if you use DLSS 3, you might extend that to one/two more years.
Let’s also not forget one crucial thing. While we may still get some games that will push the PC graphical boundaries, most of the upcoming games will have to run on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. These consoles are leagues below the RTX 4090. So, until the PS6 comes out, owners of the RTX 4090 will have nothing to worry about.
And believe me, I get it. Some may be jealous of the RTX 5080 or RTX 5090. But this is mostly a “FOMO” thing. If you have an RTX 4090, there is no reason at all to upgrade. Your GPU won’t become obsolete. You won’t be VRAM-limited. You’ll still be able to enjoy all the latest games with all their bells and whistles enabled. And you’ll still be able to get high framerates.
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
Contact: Email
This reminds me of those tests that you tubers do like RX 580 IS IT GREAT IN 2024? And they test GTA V…
Only games from 2024 and at native 4k max settings should be tested to determine if the RTX 4090 is a great 4k GPU in 2024.
This, John please run Silent Hill 2 and Star Wars Outlaws in native 4K.
Someone didn't look at all at the graphs. Star Wars: Outlaws is already included at Native 4K (its launch version, not the latest which runs a bit better).
Damn, that's impressive. Outlaws is the heaviest game I tried so far in combination with SH2.
But I'm not really blown away by SH2 as it uses so many tricks to reach its visual fidelity.
Tricks like what? It is UE5 Lumen, which is inherently flawed, but it is the best of what's available for mass development now so no other choice.
If you want to see what a 5090 can REALLY do then run Alan Wake 2. Northlight engine is superbly optimised, you can get 4K 40fps with full path tracing and no frame gen or dlss for example, but enable DLSS Quality and Frame Gen and you will get over 100fps easily at 4K output res and it looks identical to "native" 4K DLAA.
When devs pay attention to optimisation and implementation of modern GFX tech, GPU hardware really shows off what it can do.
Unreal 6 is not how that is done sadly.
But DLSS, super sampling and fake frames cause latency
No they do not.
Super Sampling is when you render at a higher resolution, and then downscale it. Down sampling or sub sampling is when you render at a lower resolution, and then upscale it.
with FG in some games.
And stutters in most.
For those that do own the 4090, yes there isn't really a reason to get a 5090. But most PC enthusiast users "must" have the best CPU's/GPU's available on the market, and those people will upgrade for sure. Those users who own GPU's weaker than the 4090 and wish to upgrade, may consider the 5090 (obviously depending on the price it launches at).
i still use my 4790k with 16 gigs of ddr3 and i paired it with rtx 4070 super and works awesome after 13 years .
works awesome what? that's a big bottleneck in almost everything. you need to learn to let go of ancient sht and move on bud.
if it was not because of dlss and ray tracing a gtx 1080 ti wouldve been great even today .its great for rasterisation.and what have changed in cpu technology since my 4790k?nothing revolutionary happened. it still works great .i have no stutter and no bulsht and enough frames .maybe a better cpu gives me much more frames in cpu heavy games (which are rare )and just .a few more frarmes in other games .
I was running an i7 3770 4.5GHz until July this year. Most games from my steam library were still running over 60fps, but UE5 games were stuttering like hell, so I finally decided to upgrade my PC. The 7800X3D is quite a bit faster. On the i7 3770K I had like 55-65fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Paititi hub), now I get over 300fps.
Also keep in mind that those older generation Intel CPUs were hit the hardest by software mitigations for all those speculative execution side-channel attacks / leaks.
Even the AMD Zen 2 CPU cores of the Steam Deck are suffering a noticeable performance loss because of these, but at least on Linux users have the option of disabling them via the "mitigations=off" kernel command-line option.
No. My 4790K OC'd at 4.9 GHz with DDR3 2400 MHz CL10 RAM stuttered and skipped frames in open-world games made after 2018. I got a big uplift moving to 10600K in 2020. If you play at 60 fps, sure it's OK, but not for >100 fps gaming on 2018+ games
You're probably getting the same FPS as someone with a 3060 + a modern CPU.
Your 1% and 0.1% must be trash.
Upgrade that garbage.
I will wait for 5000 release to get a 4000 for 20 dollars.
Great GPU but ruined by that trash low quality power connector. Maybe next time use a plug made out of ceramic? obviously that cheap plastic garbage from alibaba ain't gonna cut it anymore
terrible value….ESPECIALLY since Framegen….
And that's it.
I know it isn't, but feels like a product placement. Also, it's like talking to 1% of the audience.
It is product placement, John gets paid by nVidia and free samples to promote.
I don't think so considering production and supply of 4090s stopped recently with RTX 60 being what NV want promoted…
He's blowing Nvidia because he's in the program where they give cards to sites and influencers. You can expect an uptick in Pro-Nvidia posts, John is getting well lubed up and ready for his next smashing.
And the hot mess on John's chin has just crusted over. Jensen is a gusher.
I bought my Zotac 4090 for £1600 back then just at the start of the mining boom, got lucky. I look at the card on Amazon right now and it's £2000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What in the hell.
Great card obviously, rinses through 4K gaming like butter.
" And now, one year later, I stand by that statement."
you were wrong then,you are wrong now.
regarding rtx 5090, I think people need to see some benchmarks first, then they can make a decision.
it may be crap it may be good who knows for sure before it's release.
A card worth 2000€ that cannot even achieve stable 60FPS on 4K in games released a year later.
A card that everyone keeps saying is a 4K powerhouse, honestly there is no value whasoever in the RTX 4090.
I payed less than half and I'm getting stable 60FPS at 1440p in games released this year, without fake frames and upscalling, that is what a call value.
The RTX4090 was and still is a monster, but the price was a big step up even from the RTX4080, and it's not like the RTX4090 is two times faster.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b857d74b7f2121b20e700e462e96b659107a78121acc4950e1d89dfbea29fbc6.png
Also I cant understand that obsession about 4K native. With the help of DLSS even something like the RTX3080 can already achieve 4K like image quality. People think they are losing quality by using DLSS, but that's not the case. DLSS can often look better than native TAA (especially the latest DLSS version, which you can download and use in DLSS-supported games).
Personally, I always use DLSS because I like to play with the best picture quality possible, and DLSS balance + DLDSR2.25x absolutely destroys TAA native while offering the same performance.
Even 4K DLSS performance offers 4K like image quality.
https://i.ibb.co/N1vNYyc/b1-Win64-Shipping-2024-09-01-00-06-20-759.jpg https://i.ibb.co/NZjzRHF/b1-Win64-Shipping-2024-09-01-00-07-05-687.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/g39CcfC/b1-Win64-Shipping-2024-09-01-00-30-46-747.jpg https://i.ibb.co/v3rwYNy/b1-Win64-Shipping-2024-09-01-00-25-53-709.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/3BdHdgN/b1-Win64-Shipping-2024-08-30-12-52-30-605.jpg
For the price it costs. It should be.
Most people don't understand what a 'Halo product', especially in tech, is.
It's an aspirational product often positioned above regular flagship tier, made specifically as a statement to generate stronger market and consumer awareness and perception for a brand, with an exaggerated mark-up, features and capabilities, while in consequence relegating value.
Is it a powerful and technically impressive product? Yes, of course.
Is it good value in terms of performance per $ compared to the rest of the lineup? Of course not, not in that way, and never was meant to be.
But, as taught in business school, value is subjective, so unless you're going for that measure of perf/$, it doesn't mean that someone won't see some value in it, for example just as the company making it, whether on a technical or emotional angle that justifies acquiring it, of if you have a specific requirement or desire, like running games at native resolution at 4K. For that specific customer, it will hold its own personal measurement of value, even if its price is relatively too high, meaning the perf/$ value is unfavorable.
That's it.
I'm actually glad bc those of us on the low end of the rtx cards still can get decent perf at appropriate settings that have not been upped by newer more powerful cards coming out. Most sensible is always to get whats in your budget but the waste goes up as you go higher up, diminishing returns.
I couldn't see getting this card just for games, what a waste, only if you had a lot of other uses for it too, maybe business type stuff or whatever needs a mega card. Most of what I've read is that 1440p at higher fps is the sweet spot and it's too bad nvidia just went for 4k and not done a 1440p mid term cards the last few years, but I guess dlss and other tricks like FG kinda made it feasible in a way.
4070 Ti at 1440p performs roughly the same as 4090 at 4K. So there was always a much cheaper option for 1440p gaming. Later they released 4070 Super and Ti Super – even better options in terms of value.
Most people don't understand what a 'Halo product', especially in tech, is.
It's an aspirational product often positioned above regular flagship tier, made specifically as a statement to generate stronger market and consumer awareness and perception for a brand, with an exaggerated mark-up, features and capabilities, while in consequence relegating value.
Is it a powerful and technically impressive product? Yes, of course.
Is it good value in terms of performance per $ compared to the rest of the lineup? Of course not, not in that way, and never was meant to be.
But, as taught in business school, value is subjective, so unless you're going for that measure of perf/$, it doesn't mean that someone won't see some value in it, for example just as the company making it, whether on a technical or emotional angle that justifies acquiring it, of if you have a specific requirement or desire, like running games at native resolution at 4K. For that specific customer, it will hold its own personal measurement of value, even if its price is relatively too high, meaning the perf/$ value is unfavorable.
That's it.
I think this is probably a good indication that game developers are specifically targeting the RTX 4090 for 2160p at max settings.
love my RTX 4090 playing everything i love in 1440p 120fps in the highest settings.
Suck Jensen's green throbber harder, John, he still can't feel the back of your tonsils.
My 4090 is waiting patiently to be replaced by the 5090. Two years = too long.