Shadow of the Tomb Raider: RTX and DLSS Update - PC VGA Graphics card guide

Shadow of the Tomb Raider:PC graphics performance
Among the first dx12 games where dx12 actually does something?

** This article has been updated with GeForce RTX & DKLSS results on page 8 & 9 on the 19th of March 2019 **

We've been very busy with all kinds of embargo reviews lately, hence a review that was pending is this performance overview of Tomb Raider, 2018. We check out the all-new Shadow of the Tomb Raider for the PC and test it with many graphics card. We'll also look deeper into DX11 and DX12 performance as this game on the PC might actually be the very first PC game with a properly implemented DirectX 12 API. Probably the delay that was for the better as day-1 patches changed a thing or two, as well as the latest AMD and NVIDIA driver optimizations, are in full effect.

While we will be testing with the new GeForce RTX cards as well, the game, unfortunately, does not have Raytracing features enabled. Once that happens we are going to add an extra chapter in this review to update you guys on the performance effect of that on the new RTX cards. This PC version was optimized in cooperation with Nvidia, SotTR is part of the GameWorks program. Thus, in the game, things like HBAO+ ambient occlusion can be found again. As mentioned, Shadow of the Tomb Raider will also support raytracing on the new GeForce RTX graphics cards using Turing technology. Also, deep-learning AA, DLSS will be implemented but is not yet present.

Set shortly after the events of Rise of the Tomb Raider, its story follows Lara Croft as she ventures through Mesoamerica and South America to the legendary city Paititi, battling the paramilitary organization Trinity and racing to stop a Mayan apocalypse she has unleashed. Lara must traverse the environment and combat enemies with firearms and stealth as she explores semi-open hubs. In these hubs she can raid challenge tombs to unlock new rewards, complete side missions, and scavenge for resources which can be used to craft useful materials. Development began in 2015 following the completion of Rise of the Tomb Raider, lasting until July 2018. Shadow of the Tomb Raider was designed to conclude Lara's journey begun in the 2013 reboot, with a key theme being descent both through the jungle environment and into her personality. The setting and narrative was based on Mayan and Aztec mythologies, consulting historians to design the architecture and people of Paititi. The gameplay was adjusted based on both fan feedback and the wishes of Eidos Montréal, incorporating swimming and grappling while increasing difficulty tailoring. Camilla Luddington returned to provide voice and motion-capture work for Lara. Shadow of the Tomb Raider received generally positive reviews from critics, although some criticized that the series' gameplay had become stale and lacked innovation.

A lot has changed ever since the very first release .. then 

... and now

 
This article will cover benchmarks in the sense of frame times and average framerates, we'll look at all popular resolutions scaling from Full HD (1920x1080/1200), WQHD (2560x1440) and of course Ultra HD. UHDTV (2160p) is 3840 pixels wide by 2160 pixels tall (8.29 megapixels), which is four times as many pixels as 1920x1080 (2.07 megapixels). Next page, please.