Pragmata - 34 GPU Performance Review

Pragmata — GPU performance review (summary)

High-level tech & features

• Engine & rendering
  • Built on Capcom’s RE Engine.
  • Supports hardware ray tracing and an optional path-tracing mode.
• Upscaling & frame tech
  • Supports NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR, and frame generation.
  • Path tracing enforces DLSS in this build (effectively NVIDIA-only).
  • When path tracing is enabled the game uses reconstruction/upscaling defaults (quality preset).
• VRAM behavior
  • Minimum/low settings: very modest VRAM use — under ~7 GB even at 4K (≈6 GB on low), so ~6 GB cards are generally OK on low settings.
  • Maximum quality preset: large VRAM use — around ~11 GB at 1080p and ~12 GB at 4K. 8 GB cards are acceptable in many cases but the max preset benefits from 16 GB.
  • Ray tracing adds only ~1.5 GB on top of base usage.
  • Path tracing can use up to a full 16 GB and may trigger stability/performance issues.

Performance & visual trade-offs

• Path tracing
  • Best visual fidelity but the largest performance penalty — roughly a ~75% frame-rate hit versus max settings with ray tracing off/on.
  • Can look “soft” in some scenes despite improved lighting and shadows.
• Performance presets
  • Stepping down presets progressively increases frame rates (up to ~+73% when going to minimum).
  • Below Balanced you lose shadow detail and lighting quality; hair and other fine detail degrade.
• General playable targets (examples from tests)
  • 1080p, max quality, no ray tracing: most modern midrange cards are playable (>60 FPS). The Intel Arc A770 was the only tested card failing to reach 60 FPS (but still >30 FPS).
  • Approximate midrange baselines: cards similar to RTX 3060 / RX 580 / RX 7600 can hit >60 FPS at 1080p max settings. About 100 FPS requires something like an RTX 4060 Ti or equivalent.
  • High-end cards: RTX 3090 Ti and current-gen high-end AMD/NVIDIA cards can exceed 144 FPS. Example peak results: RX 7900 XTX ≈ 203 FPS, RTX 5090 ≈ 271 FPS (1080p, max/no RT).
• Ray tracing enabled
  • 1080p with RT: most cards remain playable; RTX 3060 fell below 60 FPS in the reviewer’s tests. The Arc A770 crashed in one RT test (recovered later at higher res).
  • 1440p with RT: ~60 FPS requires roughly an RTX 3060 Ti / comparable AMD; ~100 FPS needs very powerful cards (examples: RTX 5070 / RX 7900 series).
  • 4K with RT: many entry cards fall below 30 FPS; ~60 FPS requires high-end cards (RTX 5070 / 4070 Ti / RX 7900 XT mentioned). RTX 4090 remained near ~100 FPS in some tests; top cards (RTX 5090 etc.) give the highest results but still drop when RT is enabled.
• Path tracing (practicality)
  • Very demanding; at higher resolutions it’s only viable on the very top NVIDIA GPUs in the reviewer’s tests. Example: at 4K path tracing only the RTX 5090 could deliver ~60 FPS; older cards like the RTX 3080 dropped to ~50 FPS.
• Upscaling + frame generation
  • Combining DLSS/FSR upscaling with frame generation yields large FPS gains and can push mid/high-end cards past 144 FPS.
  • Example: RTX 5090 at 4K — ~112 FPS native in one test, crosses 144 FPS with the Balanced preset, and approaches very high effective frame rates when DLSS + Frame Generation x4 is used.
  • AMD and Intel Arc cards use FSR in these tests where applicable (XCSS not supported for Intel here).
• Notable anomalies / bugs
  • An RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB sample performed worse than the 8 GB version and even worse than the non-Ti 5060 in some tests; the 5070 showed similar odd behavior. The reviewer suspects a game bug or driver issue.
  • Intel Arc A770 experienced a crash in one RT test (but recovered at 1440p with ~30 FPS).

Practical guidance (concise)

• For low/medium settings: 6–8 GB VRAM cards are generally fine (6 GB is acceptable on low settings).
• For max presets and comfortable headroom: aim for 12+ GB VRAM (many max presets use ~11–12 GB).
• For path tracing: plan for a 16 GB GPU and ideally a high-end NVIDIA card (DLSS requirement).
• Use upscaling (DLSS/FSR) + frame generation to reach high refresh rates (144 Hz+) on less-powerful GPUs.

Tests / review coverage included

• Benchmarks across multiple resolutions: 1080p, 1440p, 4K.
• Comparisons with and without ray tracing and path tracing, and across different performance presets.
• Tests of upscaling technologies (DLSS, FSR, reconstruction) and frame generation impacts.
• VRAM measurements per preset and feature combination.

GPUs / hardware explicitly mentioned

• NVIDIA: RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 / 5070 Ti, RTX 4090, RTX 4060 / 4060 Ti, RTX 3090 Ti, RTX 3080, RTX 3060, RTX 3060 Ti.
• AMD: RX 7900 XTX, RX 7900 XT, RX 7800 XT, RX 960 XT, RX 7600, RX 580, some “RX700” variants.
• Intel Arc: Arc A770, Arc B580 (referred to as Ark B580 in subtitles).

Source: the video’s hands-on benchmarking and analysis of Pragmata (benchmark presenter unnamed in the provided subtitles).