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There is no single best preset for The Witcher 3 on PC. The right one depends on your GPU, your output resolution and the frame rate you want. What does hold for everyone is a priority order. Get smooth performance first with ray tracing and path tracing off. Add ray-traced lighting if you have headroom. Treat path tracing as a deliberate, expensive image-quality choice, and judge it in motion.
This guide covers The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered, which CD PROJEKT RED says launched on September 29, 2026 as a free upgrade for existing owners within the same platform ecosystem. It changes rendering, lighting and PC feature support, so advice written for the older 4.04 version may not match the current menus or performance.
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Pick a starting profile
These are starting points, not benchmark promises. CD PROJEKT RED states that performance varies by system, scene, graphics settings and output resolution. No model-by-model frame rates are given here because none can be backed up for the current build.
| Goal | Ray tracing / path tracing | Upscaling and frame generation | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smooth, consistent play | Off | Only if you miss your frame-rate target at native resolution | Lower the most demanding settings, or the output resolution, before you give up on stability |
| Balanced image quality | Ray-traced lighting if your GPU has headroom | Use your GPU vendor’s upscaler as needed | The earlier next-gen PC update added a ray-traced global illumination performance mode that favors frame rate over range and precision. Look for an equivalent control in your installed build. |
| Maximum visual effects | Path tracing | Upscaling plus frame generation where supported | Check image stability and input feel in motion, not in a static screenshot |
For context, CD PROJEKT RED’s own QA targets for the ray-tracing minimum, ray-tracing recommended and path-tracing configurations all used DLSS, FSR or XeSS set to Auto. The path-tracing configuration also used frame generation. Its other configurations ran at native resolution. If you see a published frame rate for a ray-traced setup, check whether it assumed upscaling.
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Output resolution comes first
CD PROJEKT RED’s PC requirements page says plainly: “Higher resolution will significantly affect FPS.” Resolution is the biggest lever you have. If a setup misses its target, dropping from 4K to 1440p, or using an upscaler, will usually do more than trimming several minor options. The studio also says its expected frame rates come from QA tests and can fluctuate by scene and gameplay, so test in demanding places such as dense city areas and foliage-heavy countryside, not just a quiet interior.
What the Remastered version adds on PC
Rendering and lighting
- Native DirectX 12 rendering with multithreading.
- Improved shading and tone mapping, plus updated lighting.
- GTAO, offered as an additional screen-space ambient occlusion option.
- Ray-traced local shadows, plus updated screen-space reflections and shadows.
- Path tracing on PC.
Upscaling and frame generation by GPU vendor
| Vendor | Listed technologies | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA | DLSS 4.5 with Ray Reconstruction | Ray Reconstruction is relevant when you use ray tracing or path tracing |
| AMD | FSR 4 with Frame Generation, and Anti-Lag 2 | FSR 4 is listed for Radeon RX 7000 Series and newer. On unsupported GPUs the game uses FSR 2 instead. |
| Intel | XeSS 2.0 with Frame Generation and Low Latency | Not stated: which Intel GPUs support each feature |
The earlier next-gen update introduced ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion, optional ray-traced reflections and shadows on compatible hardware, Ultra+ settings, FSR 2.1 and DLSS 3. Older guides built around those options are a useful reference, but the Remastered feature list is the one that applies now.
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Should you turn ray tracing on?
Ray tracing is worth trying only after the game already runs well without it. Compare it directly against your non-RT result in the same location. If the gain is hard to see during play and the frame rate drops noticeably, leave it off. If your GPU has room to spare, ray-traced lighting is the most sensible first step. Path tracing is a bigger jump in cost and is best treated as an enthusiast option. It makes the most sense paired with an upscaler, and with frame generation if your hardware supports it.
A tuning routine that works on any system
- Set your display’s native resolution and start with ray tracing and path tracing off.
- Load a save in a demanding area and walk or ride through it for a few minutes. Note the frame rate, and note stutter or hitching as well as the average.
- If you are below your target, turn on your vendor’s upscaler (see the table above) at a quality-leaning mode before you lower individual effects.
- If you have headroom, enable ray-traced lighting, or a lighter performance-oriented GI mode if your build offers one, and repeat the same test route.
- Only then try path tracing, with upscaling and frame generation if available. Judge image stability and responsiveness while moving the camera and fighting.
- If it still stutters or feels sluggish, step back one level. Consistent frame times usually feel better than a higher but erratic average.
Frame generation adds frames but does not make the game respond faster, and it can behave differently from one system to another. Anti-Lag 2 (AMD) and Low Latency (Intel) are listed alongside their frame generation options. Whether these feel right is something you have to judge on your own setup.
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If an option is missing or lighting looks wrong
Patch 5.00b, released October 1, 2026, fixed an issue where DLSS was unavailable in the Xbox Play Anywhere PC version. It also adjusted lighting, including some interiors that appeared too dark. That fix is specific to that edition, so do not assume the same problem affects every storefront version. If a feature is missing or the lighting looks off:
- Confirm the game is fully updated to the latest patch.
- Update your graphics driver, since DLSS, FSR and XeSS support depends on it.
- Check that your GPU is on the supported list. For example, FSR 4 needs a Radeon RX 7000 Series or newer card, and older cards get FSR 2.
- Make sure you are running Remastered, not the legacy 4.04 version, whose menus and rendering differ.
When settings are not enough
If you cannot reach your preferred resolution, frame rate and ray-tracing level even with upscaling, the limit is your hardware. A GPU upgrade is one option. Choose one based on current independent benchmarks at your resolution, because the official material establishes feature support but does not rank any card.
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