Control RTX/Raytracing PC Analysis
Introduction – Is Control Raytracing’s Killer App? Â
The era of raytraced hybrid graphics will soon be upon us, combining the powers of rasterisation with raytracing hardware to great a “best of both worlds” approach to GPU rendering.Â
While Nvidia is the first to market with GPU-based raytracing acceleration, AMD promises to bring forth similar features with its next-generation RDNA graphics lineup. This means that both major GPU vendors plan to push real-time raytracing. In addition to this, both Sony and Microsoft plan to add support for raytracing to their next-generation consoles platforms, thanks to their use of AMD’s next-generation graphics tech.
Control is one of the first PC games to make use of raytracing, and at the time of writing the game has the most comprehensive support for it of any gaming title. At launch, Control supports Ray Traced Reflections, Ray Traced Transparent Reflections, Ray Traced Indirect Diffuse Lighting and Ray Traced Contact Shadows. As it stands, Control is the posterchild of real-time raytraced graphics, at least in the world of gaming.  Â
Remedy, the creators of Control, have integrated support for Microsoft’s DirectX Raytracing (DXR) API into the company’s Northlight Engine. This is what has allowed the company to bring raytracing into Control, with the only downside being the game’s lack of raytracing support in its DirectX 11 mode.Â
In this analysis, we will be looking at how raytracing and Nvidia’s DLSS technology impacts Control’s visuals, while also looking at the performance impact of these features.Â
Expect a full PC performance analysis of Control in the coming days. We did not receive a copy of Control before launch and OC3D acquired its own copy of Control to create this article.Â
– Update – We have now released our full Control PC Performance Analysis and Optimisation Guide
(RTX Off VS RTX On)
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GPU drivers
When testing Control, we used Nvidia’s Geforce 436.15 driver. This driver contains game-specific optimisations for Control.Â
Testing Methodology
To test the RTX features within Control, we used out standard game test systems alongside Nvidia’s RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition and RTX 2060 Founders Edition GPUs
Game Test Rig
Intel i7 6850K @4.0 GHz
ASUS X99 Strix
Corsair Vengeance LP 4x8GB DDR4 3200MHz
Corsair HX1200i
Corsair H110i GT
Windows 10 x64 “May 2019 Update
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Keyboard & Mouse
To control this setup, we will be using Corsair Strafe RGB keyboard with Cherry MX Silent keys alongside a Corsair M65 RGB mouse, matching the general theme of this RGB illuminated system. Â
Cherry MX Silent Keys are ideal for gaming, coming with similar characteristics as Cherry MX Red keys, but with quieter operation. This comparative silence will help keep players immersed in their games, without the distracting clicks that are present in other Cherry key switches. Â
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