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Our GPU test PC and gaming suite was updated in early 2022. We're now using a Core i9-12900K processor, MSI Pro Z690-A DDR4 WiFi motherboard, and DDR4-3600 memory (with XMP enabled). We also upgraded to Windows 11 to ensure we get the most out of Alder Lake. You can see the rest of the hardware in the boxout.
Our gaming tests consist of a "standard" suite of eight games without ray tracing enabled (even if the game supports it), and a separate "ray tracing" suite of six games that all use multiple RT effects. For this review, we'll be testing at 4K, 1440p, and 1080p at "ultra" settings — which generally means maxed out settings, except without SSAA if that's an option.
Besides the gaming tests, we also have a collection of professional and content creation benchmarks that can leverage the GPU. For all graphics cards, we use SPECviewperf 2020 v3 and Blender Benchmark 3.10. In addition to those, on Nvidia GPUs, we also run OTOY Octane and V-ray. Blender, Octane, and V-ray all focus on 3D rendering, but only Blender 3.10 currently provides GPU rendering acceleration on AMD's RX 6000 cards. SPECviewperf consists of a suite of professional applications, including CAD/CAM, medical, and 3D rendering.
We're using AMD's pre-launch drivers, which will basically be similar to the presumably upcoming 22.5.1 release. We noticed performance dropped quite a bit in Microsoft Flight Simulator this round, though it's not clear if that was due to the drivers or some game updates. Either way, in order to keep the charts sensible, we retested all the AMD GPUs with the latest drivers.
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