Is RTX becoming standard?
First things first, this video is sponsored by NVIDIA and ZOTAC. Just want to make that nice and clear. Got it? Ok, lets get started. NVIDIA launched their RTX platform back in late 2018, and now it’s 2020, it kinda seems like ray tracing is becoming standard. Now before we dig too far into that claim, I want to explain what ray tracing is, for those that don’t know.
The TLDR is that ray tracing is a method of simulating lighting in a digital scene that dates back to the early 80s, but really became popular in applications like blender in the early to mid 2000s. Ray tracing basically simulates every single light ray that would leave a light source and track its motion through a scene, reflecting off objects, casting shadows or creating reflections and so on. It’s been widely used in 3D Modelling and movies for years, as it lets you create photo realistic images with really very accurate lighting.
Now the downside to tracking every single light ray from its source is that it takes ages. My 24 core threadripper system – even with GPU acceleration took DAYS to render this particle effect shot that’s only a few hundred frames long – which, by the way you can buy on a T-Shirt or hoodie just like this one, link in the description – so it’s not exactly great for real time content like games.
So, in comes NVIDIA in 2018, who said they’ve changed the game with their RTX platform, but how could they manage to simulate that many light rays in real time? Seems impossible, right? Well, they basically inverted it. Through DirectX RayTracing, or DXR, they simulated light rays in reverse, leaving the camera, then seeing where they would bounce and calculating the light sources those rays must have come from, and what colours they would have picked up along the way. Doing it that way saves an exponential amount of processing, meaning it’s much, much easier to do in real time.
Now, just because it’s easier, doesn’t make it, well, easy. The reason the RTX line of graphics cards, like this shiny ZOTAC RTX 2070 Super AMP edition for example, have dedicated hardware onboard is to be able to do that processing quick enough that you still have a playable experience while enjoying the visual benefits.
Those visual benefits can come in a few different flavours, and will depend on the game developer’s implementation of DXR, so here are a few examples. Of course we have one of the launch titles for RTX, Battlefield V. This has ray traced reflections that work best in the campaign missions to help immerse you in the world even more. Then there’s the new call of duty, modern warfare, a game I’ve been playing entirely too much of recently, which has RTX support, and again for some of the campaign missions is brilliant to have enabled. And then there is a brand new release, called Control. This too has great RTX support with some stunning visuals.
Then there is also the other side of RTX, NVIDIA’s DLSS or deep learning super sampling, their version of anti-aliasing. This also uses dedicated hardware on board to be able to sharpen your image, or even run at a higher resolution without much of a performance hit. That’s supported in a whole load of games, including some of the ones I’ve already mentioned.
But, to bring this back to the whole premise of the video, is RTX becoming standard? I kinda think so. See, the next generation of consoles from both sony and microsoft have announced hardware ray tracing support will be included, in an effort to help make games look more realistic, accurate and visually appealing. With the two big consoles having ray tracing support, we will undoubtedly see not only more titles supporting DXR, but also significant optimisations that will make it easier to run on all kinds of hardware, including the more attainable spec cards like the 2060 Super. We may also see more features being added too, or more heavy integration in games so more of the lighting becomes ray traced rather than say pre-calulated stuff.
While i think it might be a little while before we see true “budget” hardware that fully supports ray tracing in games, it’s certainly gaining popularity in a variety of ways, and will be interesting to see how the RTX platform develops over time, and what new titles get DXR support too.
With that said, I’d love to hear what you think about RTX in the comments below – do you think it’s becoming standard? Do you use RTX yourself and if so on which games? Let me know!
Video sponsored by NVIDIA & ZOTAC
Check out ZOTAC: https://techteamgb.co.uk/zotacrtx
NVIDIA RTX: https://techteamgb.co.uk/nvidiartx
————————————————————————————————-
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/techteamgb
Donations: https://streamlabs.com/techteamgb
OverclockersUK Affiliate link: http://techteamgb.co.uk/ocuk
Discord! https://discord.gg/NxFzaWy
————————————————————————————————-
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, using the link below or other Amazon affiliate links here. Amazon: http://techteamgb.co.uk/amazonaff
————————————————————————————————-
OTHER AFFILIATE LINKS:
StreamLabs OBS: http://techteamgb.co.uk/slobs
Private Internet Access (VPN): http://techteamgb.co.uk/PIA
HUMBLE BUNDLE: https://www.humblebundle.com/monthly?…
MERCH: http://techteamgb.co.uk/merch
WEB HOSTING: http://techteamgb.co.uk/domaincom
Check out our awesome website! http://techteamgb.co.uk
Bitcoin donations: 1PqsJeJsDbNEECjCKbQ2DsQxJWYqmTvt4E
————————————————————————————————-
If you are interested in contacting us, then please email: [email protected] and we will respond as soon as possible.
Disclaimer: TechteamGB assumes no liability for damage, misuse or misunderstanding of the information contained in this video. Use this information at your own risk. TechteamGB cannot guarantee any particular result from the information contained in this video, and all information was presented as correct as of filming. TechteamGB accepts no liability for information being proven incorrect after the creation of the video, and all information should be taken as opinion and guidance, not fact. This video was sponsored by NVIDA & ZOTAC, although TechteamGB does not accept monetary – or non-monetary – benefits to alter opinions or results.
