Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation (DX12)

A veteran from both our 2016 and 2017 game lists, Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation remains the DirectX 12 trailblazer, with developer Oxide Games tailoring and designing the Nitrous Engine around such low-level APIs. The game makes the most of DX12's key features, from asynchronous compute to multi-threaded work submission and high batch counts. And with full Vulkan support, Ashes provides a good common ground between the forward-looking APIs of today. Its built-in benchmark tool is still one of the most versatile ways of measuring in-game workloads in terms of output data, automation, and analysis; by offering such a tool publicly and as part-and-parcel of the game, it's an example that other developers should take note of.

Settings and methodology remain identical from its usage in the 2016 GPU suite. To note, we are utilizing the original Ashes Extreme graphical preset, which compares to the current one with MSAA dialed down from x4 to x2, as well as adjusting Texture Rank (MipsToRemove in settings.ini).

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation - 3840x2160 - Extreme QualityAshes of the Singularity: Escalation - 2560x1440 - Extreme QualityAshes of the Singularity: Escalation - 1920x1080 - Extreme Quality

For Ashes, the 20 series in general fare a little worse in their gains over the 10 series, with an advantage at 4K around 14 to 22%. Here, the Founders Edition power and clock tweaks are essential in avoiding any performance regression. For the RTX 2070, Founders Edition specs ensure that it is close enough to virtually tie the GTX 1080 and RX Vega 64, as opposed to lagging behind. The situation is largely similar to the RTX 2080 FE, which needs the tweaks to stay neck-and-neck to the 1080 Ti.

In other words, this scenario is exactly what the RTX 2070 needs to avoid, where it is slightly slower against both GTX 1080 and RX Vega 64. The card is already coming in with a price premium so it's important to firmly faster.

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation - 99th Percentile - 3840x2160 - Extreme QualityAshes of the Singularity: Escalation - 99th Percentile - 2560x1440 - Extreme QualityAshes of the Singularity: Escalation - 99th Percentile - 1920x1080 - Extreme Quality

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  • thestryker - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link

    I feel much the same as you, and honestly I'd bet most people who buy the upper-mid range feel the same way. I also have a GTX 970 and as I told a couple of my friends while laughing at the new RTX pricing "this makes it so much easier to wait for 2020 to see if Intel can compete". I stick by that statement and barring a pricing revolution or my 970 dying here's to 2020.
  • Lazlo Panaflex - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link

    @thestryker, same here. I got a 970 a couple years ago, and won't be upgrading any time soon. I'm sure it'll run Doom Eternal just fine...thanks Vulcan ;-)
  • Targon - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link

    New consoles have been hitting $600 at release, and then come down after a year or two. So, $600 for a new card is still in that range of being the price of an entire console. When I see $700+, that is when I really question how much faster the card is to justify the higher price.
  • cfenton - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link

    The most expensive console launch recently was the Xbox One X at $500. The PS4 and PS4 Pro were $400 at launch.
  • eva02langley - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link

    The thing is that MS, Sony or Nintendo can sell their consoles at a lost because they are going to get it back on software... a GPU doesn`t work this way.

    @cfenton, 599$? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOHqG1nc_tw
  • wr3zzz - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link

    Count me the same as well. With AAA developers no long pushing technology beyond console envelops, instead of a new GPU every other gen I am likely going with just one GPU (980) for this entire current console cycle.
  • colonelclaw - Thursday, October 18, 2018 - link

    Completely agree. For the cost of the most expensive games console you should at least get the most powerful gfx card. Have Nvidia forgotten that you basically need to spend the same amount again to get a working computer? $500 for a 'mid-range' card is utter lunacy.
  • adlep - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link

    Used, 2nd hand market price breakdown for both 1070ti and 1080 are going to be a major headache for Nvidia. I bought my MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X for the "buy it now price" of $320.00 and 1070ti cards go for less than $300.00 on the 2nd hand market such us ebay, facebook marketplace, and FS/FT sections of AT Forum.
  • The_Assimilator - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link

    1080 Ti as well - the fastest cards from the previous gen usually get the largest % discount.
  • brunis.dk - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link

    i get dizzy from turning my head to read the labels. i loved that you made the AMD bar in the compute benches red, helps me identify red team. maybe make a repeating bg with barely discernible logo's. Just saw i dont get dizzy, help an old man out :) If you need help with the web dev, let me know.

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