IO Interactive released the Path Tracing Patch for 007 First Light, bringing full ray-traced lighting to the title. This update matters because it shifts the performance baseline for high-end gaming PCs. Players using NVIDIA RTX 50-series cards now face specific frame rate realities in this demanding mode.
Benchmarks reveal RTX 5080 falls short of developer claims in new patch
We tested the patch on a system equipped with an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D processor and 32GB of DDR5 memory running at 6000MHz. The hardware configuration also included Windows 10 64-bit and the GeForce 616.92 driver. These components provide the baseline for the performance data we gathered.
- Tested GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- Tested CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
- Tested RAM: 32GB DDR5 6000MHz
- Tested OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- Tested Driver: GeForce 616.92
Benchmarks reveal that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 struggles with native path tracing at 1440p. The card runs at approximately 30 FPS at 1440p Path Tracing High without upscaling. This result contradicts developer claims that the RTX 5080 could sustain 60 FPS at that resolution and setting.
DLSS Quality helps the RTX 5080 reach an average of 43 FPS at 1440p. At 4K resolution, the RTX 5080 drops to 14-15 FPS natively. Enabling DLSS Performance improves that range to 33-38 FPS. The RTX 5090 performs better, averaging 52 FPS at 1440p with DLSS Quality and 61 FPS at 4K with DLSS Performance.
We noticed missing ambient occlusion and shadows on grass in the Path Tracing mode during the first level. We do not know if this visual discrepancy is a bug or an intentional design choice. The developer has not confirmed the status of this graphical issue.
When we covered the last 007 First Light update, several of the same balance and stability themes came up. This patch continues that trend by introducing new graphical features alongside performance challenges. The update is now available for players to test on their systems.
