The best Cyberpunk 2077 PC settings depend on your resolution, graphics card, processor and frame-time target. Start with the official hardware tier closest to your system, use upscaling before sacrificing textures, reduce expensive lighting and volumetric effects when the GPU is limiting, and verify every change with the built-in benchmark plus a dense city save. This approach improves performance while preserving the details that make Night City look convincing.
Start with the right performance target
CD PROJEKT RED warns that performance varies with hardware and software configuration, individual graphics settings and output resolution. The figures below are official targets rather than guarantees for every scene, driver or build. They are useful starting points for choosing a preset and deciding whether your goal is 30, 60 or a higher refresh-rate experience.
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| Target | Resolution and quality | Processor | Graphics card | Memory | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum, raster | 1080p, Low, 30 FPS | Core i7-6700 or Ryzen 5 1600 | GeForce GTX 1060 6GB, Radeon RX 580 8GB or Arc A380 | 12 GB RAM | 70 GB SSD |
| Recommended, raster | 1080p, High, 60 FPS | Core i7-12700 or Ryzen 7 7800X3D | GeForce RTX 2060 Super, Radeon RX 5700 XT or Arc A770 | 16 GB RAM | 70 GB SSD |
| Ultra, raster | 2160p, Ultra, 60 FPS | Core i9-12900 or Ryzen 9 7900X | GeForce RTX 3080 or Radeon RX 7900 XTX | 20 GB RAM | 70 GB NVMe |
| RT Low | 1080p, 30 FPS | Not separately stated | GeForce RTX 2060, Radeon RX 6800 XT or Arc A750 class | 16 GB RAM | SSD |
| RT Ultra | 1080p, 60 FPS | Not separately stated | GeForce RTX 3080 Ti or Radeon RX 7900 XTX class | 20 GB RAM | NVMe |
| RT Overdrive | 2160p, 60 FPS | Not separately stated | GeForce RTX 4080 class | 24 GB RAM | 70 GB NVMe |
The Overdrive target was measured with DLSS Frame Generation enabled. Ray-tracing rows also require considerably more graphics power than equivalent raster settings. An SSD is not optional in the current requirements table: install the game on an SSD, and use NVMe for the higher Ultra and Overdrive targets when possible.
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- Choose a baseline. Select the Quick Preset closest to your hardware tier. Restart the game if it requests one, then note your average frame rate, frame-time consistency, GPU utilization, VRAM use and any visible artifacts.
- Set output resolution first. Resolution changes the number of pixels every effect must process, so establish it before tuning individual options.
- Change one control at a time. Run the in-game benchmark after each meaningful change. A single run can show whether a setting helped, but a dense street scene with traffic, crowds and combat is needed to catch CPU and streaming slowdowns.
- Keep a short record. Write down the preset, upscaler mode, ray-tracing state, average FPS and the worst-feeling section of the benchmark. This prevents two changes from being credited for one improvement.
Choose resolution and upscaling before lowering image quality
1080p starting point
At 1080p, begin with the upscaler’s Quality mode when that mode is available. It renders internally below the output resolution and reconstructs the final image, usually preserving more detail than lowering several high-impact lighting settings. Inspect foliage, fences, hair, fine geometry and signage for shimmer or ghost trails before moving to Balanced.
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1440p starting point
Test both Quality and Balanced. Quality is the better first choice when your GPU has headroom; Balanced can stabilize frame time in busy districts or with ray tracing enabled. Compare the same camera movement and driving route, because a still screenshot hides temporal artifacts.
4K starting point
At 2160p, Balanced or Performance may be necessary for demanding ray-traced modes. Performance mode can look softer, especially on distant signage and thin wires, so use it only after checking whether reducing ray-traced lighting or volumetric effects meets your target with a cleaner reconstruction.
Which upscaler should you use?
| Technology | Hardware and availability | Practical guidance |
|---|---|---|
| DLSS Super Resolution | Compatible GeForce RTX hardware | Start with Quality, then test Balanced at 1440p or 4K if needed. Update 2.21 added selectable CNN and Transformer models for DLSS Super Resolution, Ray Reconstruction and DLAA. |
| AMD FSR 3.1 | Supported GPUs across multiple vendors | Combines upscaling with frame generation. The game retains FSR 2.1, so compare the two when motion stability or sharpness differs. Update GPU drivers as instructed by the developer. |
| Intel XeSS 2.0 | Supported hardware and game configurations | Use it as an alternative when DLSS is unavailable or FSR produces distracting ghosting. Check fine detail while panning. |
| DLAA | Compatible GeForce RTX hardware | Uses the DLSS reconstruction model without lowering internal resolution. It favors image quality over FPS and is appropriate only when you already have substantial performance headroom. |
Update 2.3 (July 16, 2025) added AMD FSR 4 support for compatible AMD GPUs, FSR 3.1 Frame Generation and Intel XeSS 2.0, along with more detailed DLSS preset guidance. Patch 2.31 (September 11, 2025) added a vignette toggle under Settings → Graphics → Basic. These labels apply to the current 2.x PC branch described here.
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Reduce the settings that cost the most GPU time
Ray-traced reflections and lighting
If the GPU is saturated, reduce ray-traced reflections first, then ray-traced lighting quality. Reflections are particularly expensive in wet streets and interiors full of glossy surfaces. Lighting quality affects the whole scene, so lowering it can deliver a larger frame-time improvement but may make shadows and indirect light less convincing. Make one change, run the benchmark, and keep the highest level that meets your target.
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Volumetric fog and clouds
Volumetric fog and cloud quality can be expensive in weather, haze and large outdoor views. Lower these before texture quality when VRAM is not the problem. The visual trade-off is most visible around neon lights, smoke and distant skylines; compare those areas rather than a clean interior.
Screen-space reflections
When ray tracing is disabled, screen-space reflections become a major source of reflective detail. Reducing them can help in scenes with many wet surfaces, although reflections will disappear sooner as objects leave the camera view. Keep textures high if your VRAM usage remains below the card’s limit.
Texture quality and VRAM
Texture quality primarily consumes VRAM rather than raw shader time. Lower it when the benchmark shows VRAM exhaustion, stuttering during rapid travel or delayed texture streaming. If VRAM is comfortable and frame time is GPU-bound for other reasons, retaining higher textures usually preserves more visual quality than retaining expensive lighting effects.
Adjust CPU-limited settings for crowds and simulation
A graphics card can be underused when the processor is busy preparing crowds, traffic and game simulation. If GPU utilization falls well below full load while frame time worsens in crowded districts, test CPU-related options instead of lowering resolution.
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Crowd Density
Update 2.0 moved Crowd Density into the Graphics tab. Lowering it reduces the number of simulated pedestrians and can improve consistency in market areas and central roads. The cost is a less populated city, so use the lowest setting that removes severe drops rather than automatically selecting Low.
SMT and hybrid-CPU controls
The game added an AMD SMT control in Update 2.0. Patch 2.13 moved HDD Mode, Hybrid CPU Utilization and SMT options into Settings → Gameplay → Utilities (the exact submenu can vary with the current interface). Test these controls only when CPU utilization and frame-time data indicate a processor bottleneck. A setting that helps one processor topology can hurt another.
Storage and streaming
Keep the installation on an SSD with adequate free space. HDD Mode is intended for slower storage behavior; changing it without measuring can increase streaming work or reduce asset quality. If traversal stutters persist on an SSD, close background disk-heavy applications, verify the installation and retest before lowering every graphics option.
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Ray Tracing: Ultra
Ray Tracing: Ultra is already a demanding 1080p target. Pair it with an upscaler and reduce reflections or lighting quality when the card cannot sustain your frame-time target. Do not compare an RT preset directly with a raster preset at the same nominal quality label; the rendering workloads are fundamentally different.
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Ray Tracing: Overdrive
Overdrive is the path-traced mode above Ray Tracing: Ultra. In the menus, select it as a Quick Preset or enable Path Tracing (Technology Preview) in the Ray Tracing section. It traces lighting effects across the scene and requires much stronger hardware than raster presets. The official 4K/60 target uses a GeForce RTX 4080-class card and DLSS Frame Generation, so a lower-tier card should begin at a lower resolution and with aggressive upscaling.
Patch 2.31 fixed PC ray-traced-reflection and path-tracing issues. If an RT scene looks unexpectedly broken after changing drivers or patches, first return to the current preset, restart the game and retest before judging image quality.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Enable frame generation only after the base frame rate is stable
Frame generation creates additional displayed frames between conventionally rendered frames. It can make camera motion appear smoother, but it does not replace a sufficiently fast base render or eliminate input latency. Enable it only after the game feels responsive with frame generation off and the benchmark’s frame time is reasonably consistent.
- DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation: available for GeForce RTX 50-series cards. Update 2.21 also introduced selectable CNN and Transformer models; the Transformer model is described as improving stability, lighting and detail in motion.
- FSR 3.1 Frame Generation: added in Update 2.3. FSR 3 combines image upscaling and frame generation, while FSR 2.1 remains available for players who prefer its quality or latency behavior.
- XeSS 2.0: also added in Update 2.3 for supported configurations.
After enabling frame generation, check for HUD artifacts, doubled silhouettes, shimmering wires and increased controller or mouse delay. If the base frame rate is low or uneven, disable frame generation and lower the internal resolution or expensive lighting settings first.
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Practical starting profiles
| System situation | Resolution and reconstruction | Ray tracing | First settings to reduce | What to protect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry-level 1080p raster | 1080p, Quality upscaling if available | Off or RT Low only after testing | Crowd Density, volumetrics, reflections | Textures if VRAM allows |
| Mainstream 1440p | Quality first; Balanced if needed | Selective RT reflections or lighting | RT reflections, volumetric fog/clouds, screen-space reflections | Texture quality and readable distant detail |
| High-end 4K raster | Quality or Balanced | Optional | Volumetrics and reflections during heavy scenes | Ultra textures and lighting where frame time permits |
| RT Ultra or Overdrive | Balanced or Performance may be required | Ultra or Path Tracing | RT lighting, RT reflections, volumetrics | A stable base frame rate before frame generation |
These are starting profiles, not universal FPS promises. The official requirements do not publish a fixed percentage gain for changing any individual option.
Benchmark every change in a representative scene
- Run the built-in benchmark with your chosen resolution, upscaler and ray-tracing state.
- Record average FPS and, if your overlay provides it, 1% lows or equivalent frame-time statistics.
- Watch GPU utilization, VRAM consumption and CPU utilization. A fully loaded GPU points toward resolution, reconstruction or graphics-effect changes; a lightly loaded GPU with poor city-center frame time points toward CPU and crowd settings.
- Load a dense city area with traffic, pedestrians, weather and reflective surfaces. Drive the same route for several minutes and repeat the camera movements used in your benchmark notes.
- Inspect foliage, hair, wires, signage, moving vehicles and neon reflections for shimmer, ghosting or unstable edges. Keep the highest-quality option that remains responsive and artifact-free.
Troubleshoot common problems
Performance drops only in crowded districts
Lower Crowd Density one step and retest CPU utilization. If the GPU was not fully loaded, investigate SMT, Hybrid CPU Utilization and background processes rather than immediately lowering resolution.
Stutter during driving or fast travel
Confirm the game is installed on an SSD, check free space and close disk-intensive applications. Then compare texture quality and VRAM use. A VRAM or streaming limit can feel like a graphics bottleneck even when average FPS looks acceptable.
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Shimmering foliage or ghost trails
Move from Performance to Balanced or Quality upscaling, compare DLSS, FSR and XeSS where supported, and inspect the same moving scene. Disable frame generation temporarily to determine whether the artifact comes from reconstruction or generated frames.
Ray tracing looks broken after an update
Use the current patch, reset to a standard RT preset, restart the game and rerun the benchmark. Patch 2.31 addressed PC ray-traced-reflection and path-tracing issues, so a clean retest is more useful than compensating by lowering unrelated settings.
Frame generation feels laggy
Check the base frame rate with frame generation disabled. If input feels delayed or inconsistent, lower RT effects or internal resolution until the native rendered frames are stable, then decide whether the smoother presentation is worth enabling frame generation.
Recommended order for a final tune
Set the output resolution, choose Quality/Balanced/Performance reconstruction, and select the ray-tracing mode. Next adjust RT reflections and lighting, volumetrics, and screen-space reflections according to GPU headroom. Tune textures only for VRAM pressure. Finally address Crowd Density and utility CPU controls if the processor is limiting, then test frame generation. This order preserves visual quality because it targets the settings with the largest measurable cost before touching texture detail or resolution more than necessary.
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