Nvidia's RTX 2060 Was Never Fast Enough for Ray Tracing

Nvidia's RTX 2060 struggles with ray tracing even at 1080p, failing to meet the original expectations.

: Nvidia's RTX 2060, launched as the most affordable ray tracing GPU, struggled to deliver satisfactory performance in ray tracing even shortly after its release. When tested across modern games, it notably underperformed, especially at 1440p, the resolution it was initially designed for. Despite being marketed heavily for its ray tracing capabilities, it frequently fails to sustain playable frame rates, especially in newer titles. The RTX 2060's performance highlights the need for significant improvements in future mid-range GPUs.

The NVIDIA RTX 2060, intended as a mid-range graphics card supporting ray tracing, has not demonstrated the capabilities expected of it. Originally marketed at $350 for 1440p gaming, it was already presenting only slight improvements over the GTX 1070, and eventually failed to deliver the promised 'ray tracing future.' Despite benefiting some from the improved DLSS technology, its 6GB VRAM has proven insufficient for many modern titles.

Testing the RTX 2060 in 36 modern games, its consistent shortcomings in sustaining playable frame rates with ray tracing are noticeable. For instance, it struggled to maintain acceptable performance levels even at 1080p settings in games like Doom Eternal and Cyberpunk 2077, pointing out that mid-range cards age to be seen as entry-level over time.

As we advance towards a new GPU generation, there's a growing demand and expectation for significant improvements in ray tracing capabilities for all product levels. Consumers are increasingly expecting mid-range GPUs in the $350–450 range to support ray tracing without compromise, especially given the passage of six years since the RTX 2060's debut. The call is strong for entry-level and mid-range GPUs to considerably improve, thereby enabling gamers to experience more sophisticated and visually dynamic ray tracing effects without sacrificing visual quality or performance.

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