Summary of "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).