There's a new ray tracing benchmark in town and it paints an all-too-familiar picture of today's GPUs

HardwareGraphics CardsThere’s a new ray tracing benchmark in town and it paints an all-too-familiar picture of today’s GPUsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Basemark Oy)

A screenshot of the Ultra test in GPUScore�s Breaking Limit ray tracing benchmark tool

If you want to test the ray tracing performance of a graphics card, you’ve got a few options. Most reviewers, including ourselves, will use the likes ofCyberpunk 2077for ray-heavy workloads orF1 22andFar Cry 6for something a bit lighter. And you’ve got 3DMark’s synthetic Port Royal, which is almost entirely ray traced. Now there’sa new test on the market from Basemark, which claims to be the world’s first “true cross-platform benchmark for ray tracing devices.”

There are two versions of the main test: Ultra and Cross-platform. The differences lie in the rendering resolution (4K vs 1080p), the number of shadow casting lights (49 vs 11), and the VRAM usage (6 vs 2.1 GB). The Ultra test also uses ray traced global illumination and full-scale reflections. Lastly, there are two upscaling versions of the main test, usingDLSS 2andFSR 2, to show how much of a performance increase the technologies offer.

However, there are some games that use ray tracing, such as Far Cry 6, where AMD GPUs cope perfectly well—it just depends on how intense the ray tracing actually is, compared to the overall level of traditional rendering. In the case of Breaking Limit Ultra, all of the shadows, reflections, and lighting are ray traced, hence why the RTX 4070 ran the tests better than the RX 7800 XT.

However, ray tracing doesn’t just require specialised hardware units to accelerate BVH traversals and ray-triangle intersection calculations. It also needs a GPU that’s really good at handling compute shaders—the forte of Ada Lovelace and RDNA 3 chips—and Breaking Limit uses alotof compute shaders. I ran a GPU profiling analysis on the RTX 4080 Super during the Ultra test and at one point, 95% of all the shader units were flat out, running compute.

TheRX 6750 XTandArc A770are considerably less capable than the other graphics cards, in this aspect. That said, the latter does have a peak FP32 throughput 48% higher than the former.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

So why did the RDNA 2 chip get pretty much the same results as the more potent Alchemist GPU? The answer almost certainly lies in the drivers and the shader compiler, so Intel may choose to release a new set that improves how well its GPUs run in Breaking Limit.

(Image credit: Basemark Oy)

A screenshot of the Ultra test in GPUScore’s Breaking Limit ray tracing benchmark tool

Whether Intel actually decides to do that or not may come down to one question. Will Breaking Limit take over fromPort RoyalorSpeed Wayas being the synthetic ray tracing test of choice?

For PC Gamers, probably not and for a simple reason—it just doesn’t look all that great. I don’t think I’m being unfair here, as the entire benchmark is less than 1 GB to download. There’s little chance of it being a visual tour-de-force with that amount of assets, even though it’s quite a short benchmark.

However, it is well-made and the interface is nicer to navigate and use than 3DMark’s, in my opinion. As a means to examine how well completely different platforms handle a common ray tracing test, there’s little else to choose from on the market. And it certainly gives GPUs a darn good thrashing, which any ray tracing test should do.

Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.

Best CPU for gamingBest gaming motherboardBest graphics cardBest SSD for gaming

Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.

TOPICSHardware

TOPICS

More about graphics cardsIs the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.It’s time for me to admit that AI-accelerated frame generation might actually be the way of the future and that’s a good thingLatestWatching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delightSee more latest►

More about graphics cards

Is the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.It’s time for me to admit that AI-accelerated frame generation might actually be the way of the future and that’s a good thing

Nvidia RTX 5070 graphics card

Is the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.

Nvidia RTX 5090 Founders Edition rendered on a green background.

It’s time for me to admit that AI-accelerated frame generation might actually be the way of the future and that’s a good thing

LatestWatching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delightSee more latest►

Latest

Watching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delight

null

Watching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delight

See more latest►

Most PopularThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilLords of the Fallen publisher embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its gamesEpic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’If you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo videoSquare Enix launches new anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners from abusive fansThe Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcementsPath of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better lootPalestinian developer raises more than $200,000 to make Dreams on a Pillow, a game about the horrors of the 1948 NakbaPiranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod sceneSorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault

Most Popular

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

Lords of the Fallen publisher embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its games

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’

If you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo video

Square Enix launches new anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners from abusive fans

The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements

Path of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better loot

Palestinian developer raises more than $200,000 to make Dreams on a Pillow, a game about the horrors of the 1948 Nakba

Piranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’

Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod scene

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals