The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
The best Cyberpunk 2077 PC settings depend on your resolution, graphics card, processor and frame-time target. Start with the nearest official preset, choose an appropriate upscaler, then lower the settings that bottleneck your hardware instead of blindly reducing everything. Ray-traced lighting, reflections, volumetrics and crowd simulation usually cost more performance than texture quality, while frame generation should be enabled only after the game already renders a reasonably stable base frame rate.
This guide covers current 2.x options, including Update 2.3 and Patch 2.31, and gives you a repeatable way to find Cyberpunk 2077 settings without losing visual quality.
Official Cyberpunk 2077 PC targets
CD PROJEKT RED’s current requirements are targets, not guarantees for every scene. The company specifically warns that performance varies with hardware, software configuration, individual settings and output resolution. Night City’s busiest streets can therefore run differently from an indoor area even on the same system.
| Target | Resolution and preset | Processor | Graphics card | Memory | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum, raster | 1080p, Low, 30 FPS | Core i7-6700 or Ryzen 5 1600 | GTX 1060 6 GB, RX 580 8 GB or Arc A380 | 12 GB RAM | 70 GB SSD |
| Recommended, raster | 1080p, High, 60 FPS | Core i7-12700 or Ryzen 7 7800X3D | RTX 2060 Super, 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 | RTX 3080 or RX 7900 XTX | 20 GB RAM | 70 GB NVMe |
| RT Low | 1080p, 30 FPS | Not separately stated | RTX 2060, RX 6800 XT or Arc A750 class | 16 GB RAM | SSD |
| RT Ultra | 1080p, 60 FPS | Not separately stated | RTX 3080 Ti or RX 7900 XTX class | 20 GB RAM | NVMe |
| RT Overdrive | 2160p, 60 FPS | Not separately stated | RTX 4080 class | 24 GB RAM | 70 GB NVMe |
The Overdrive target was measured with DLSS Frame Generation enabled. The table does not promise that every RTX 4080-class system will hold 60 FPS in every location. An SSD is now part of the listed configurations; installing the game on a hard disk does not match the current baseline.
#1 Best Overall
- This product has been replaced by our latest generation. Please search for the SANDISK Optimus GX 7100 NVMe SSD
- HIGH-OCTANE GAMING. Experience speeds up to 7,250MB/s read and 6,900MB/s write (1-2TB models), with up to 35% faster performance than previous generation.
- PURPOSE-BUILT. Designed for serious on-the-go gamers, with a PCIe Gen4 interface and SANDISK’s next generation TLC 3D NAND.
- MORE TIME TO CLEAR THAT CHECKPOINT. Built with laptops and handheld gaming devices in mind, with up to 100% more power efficiency over the previous generation.
- DO MORE WITH DASHBOARD. Ensure your drive is optimized for prime performance with the downloadable WD_BLACK Dashboard (Windows only).
Set a sensible baseline before changing individual options
- Update the game and graphics driver. Update 2.3 (July 16, 2025) added AMD FSR 4 for compatible AMD GPUs, FSR 3.1 Frame Generation and Intel XeSS 2.0. Patch 2.31 (September 11, 2025) added a vignette toggle under Settings → Graphics → Basic and fixed several PC ray-traced-reflection and path-tracing issues.
- Choose the closest Quick Preset. Select Low, High, Ultra or a ray-tracing preset that matches your hardware. This gives you a known starting point; it is not the final answer for your particular monitor.
- Set output resolution first. Use your display’s native resolution when possible, then select an upscaler mode. Resolution changes affect nearly every GPU workload, so changing other options before this one makes results harder to interpret.
- Change one control at a time. Record the preset, resolution, upscaler mode and frame-rate result before making the next adjustment. A one-change test shows which option actually helped.
Choose resolution and upscaling before cutting image quality
1080p starting point
At 1080p, begin with the upscaler’s Quality mode when it is available. It preserves more fine detail than Balanced or Performance and is often enough when the target is 60 FPS. Inspect distant foliage, railings, hair, neon signs and moving text for shimmer or ghosting; a higher frame rate is not an improvement if the image is visibly unstable.
1440p starting point
Test Quality and Balanced at 1440p. Quality is the preferred first choice for a midrange or high-end GPU, while Balanced can provide additional headroom for ray-traced lighting or dense city scenes. Compare the same camera movement and the same busy street after each change.
4K starting point
At 2160p, Balanced or Performance may be necessary for demanding ray-traced modes, especially Overdrive. Use Performance only when the lower internal resolution remains acceptable at your viewing distance. Check small UI text, facial detail and fine geometry rather than judging a static screenshot.
DLSS, FSR and XeSS choices
DLSS is available on compatible GeForce RTX hardware. FSR and XeSS provide alternatives on supported hardware. CD PROJEKT RED’s FSR 3 implementation combines upscaling and frame generation, while the game retains FSR 2.1 so you can choose the quality and performance behavior you prefer. The support guidance also recommends current GPU drivers for FSR features.
Rank #2
- Ideal for high speed, low power storage
- Gen 4x4 NVMe PCle performance
- Up to 6,000MB/s read, 4,000MB/s write
- Includes Acronis cloning software
- 5-year limited warranty
Update 2.21 added DLSS 4 support. On GeForce RTX 50-series cards, Multi Frame Generation can create multiple displayed frames between rendered frames. The same update added selectable CNN and Transformer models for DLSS Ray Reconstruction, DLSS Super Resolution and DLAA; the Transformer model is described as improving stability, lighting and detail in motion. These choices are hardware- and version-dependent, so use only modes exposed by your installation.
GPU-limited systems: lower the expensive effects first
Use the in-game overlay or a monitoring tool while the benchmark runs. If GPU utilization is near full and lowering resolution or upscaler quality raises FPS, the GPU is the limiter. In that case, test the following controls in order:
- Ray-traced reflections. Reduce or disable them before touching texture quality. Reflections can be costly in the city’s wet streets, glass and neon-heavy scenes.
- Ray-traced lighting quality. Lowering this reduces the number and quality of lighting calculations while preserving much of the scene’s geometry and material detail.
- Volumetric fog and clouds. These effects can consume substantial GPU time, particularly outdoors and during weather or nighttime scenes.
- Screen-space reflections. If ray tracing is disabled, reducing this setting can still recover performance in reflective environments, with a visible reduction in reflection coverage or stability.
Change texture quality later. Textures primarily consume video memory rather than directly determining the number of frames per second. If your card has enough VRAM, keeping textures high often preserves sharper surfaces while reducing lighting or volumetric quality provides a larger performance gain. If VRAM is exhausted, however, texture streaming problems and hitching can appear; in that case step down one texture level and retest.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
CPU-limited systems: control crowds and simulation
If GPU utilization falls well below full load while frame rate remains low, especially in crowded districts, the processor may be limiting performance. Lower resolution will not fix a CPU bottleneck. Test Crowd Density first, then any CPU-related options exposed by your version.
Rank #3
- PCIe 4.0 Performance: Delivers up to 7,100 MB/s read and 6,000 MB/s write speeds for quicker game load times, bootups, and smooth multitasking
- Spacious 1TB SSD: Provides space for AAA games, apps, and media with standard Gen4 NVMe performance for casual gamers and home users
- Broad Compatibility: Works seamlessly with laptops, desktops, and select gaming consoles including ROG Ally X, Lenovo Legion Go, and AYANEO Kun. Also backward compatible with PCIe Gen3 systems for flexible upgrades
- Better Productivity: Up to 2x faster than previous Gen3 generation. Improve performance for real world tasks like booting Windows, starting applications like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, and working in applications like Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint
- Trusted Micron Quality: Built with advanced G8 NAND and thermal control for reliable Gen4 performance trusted by gamers and home users
Update 2.0 moved Crowd Density into the Graphics tab and added an AMD SMT control. Patch 2.13 moved HDD Mode, Hybrid CPU Utilization and SMT options into Utilities. The exact location therefore depends on your patch; use the current menu labels rather than an older guide’s path. Lower crowd density can reduce the number of pedestrians and vehicles simulated, which is most noticeable in the busiest areas but usually has less impact on material and lighting quality than lowering the whole preset.
Ray tracing and Overdrive require a separate performance plan
Ray Tracing: Overdrive is a path-traced mode above Ray Tracing: Ultra. CD PROJEKT RED introduced it as a technology-preview style option with path-traced rendering, so it has substantially higher hardware demands than raster presets. You can select it as a Quick Preset or enable Path Tracing (Technology Preview) in the Ray Tracing section under Settings → Graphics.
Use the official RT Low, RT Ultra and Overdrive targets as broad hardware boundaries, not as guarantees. A system near the RT Ultra class may handle 1080p ray tracing well but still require upscaling and frame generation for 4K Overdrive. Start with ray-traced lighting and reflections reduced before abandoning the mode entirely. If the base rendered frame rate is unstable, disable Overdrive or move to RT Ultra; generated frames cannot repair a consistently weak base render.
Recommended Free Tools
Frame generation: add smoothness after stabilizing the base frame rate
Frame generation increases the number of displayed frames by synthesizing intermediate images. It does not make the game’s underlying simulation or input response equivalent to a native high frame rate. Enable it only after ordinary rendering is reasonably stable at your chosen resolution and upscaler mode.
Rank #4
- HUGE SPEED BOOST: Get random read/write speeds that are 40%/55% faster than 980 PRO; Experience up to 1400K/1550K IOPS, while sequential read/write speeds up to 7,450/6,900 MB/s reach near the max performance of PCIe 4.0*
- BREAKTHROUGH POWER EFFICIENCY: Use less power and get more performance; Enjoy up to 50% improved performance per watt over 980 PRO, plus optimal power efficiency with max PCIe 4.0 performance**
- SMART THERMAL CONTROL: Samsung's own nickel-coated controller delivers effective thermal control; With its slim size, 990 PRO is a perfect fit for desktops and laptops that meet the PCI-SIG D8 standard***
- THE CHAMPION MAKER: Up to 65% improvement in random performance enables faster loads for an ultimate gaming experience on PS5 and DirectStorage PC games****
- SAMSUNG MAGICIAN SOFTWARE: Get the most out of your SSD with Samsung Magician's advanced yet intuitive optimization tools; Monitor drive health, protect valuable data, and receive important updates for your 990 PRO
- FSR 3.1 Frame Generation and Intel XeSS 2.0 arrived in Update 2.3, subject to compatible hardware and driver support.
- DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation is intended for GeForce RTX 50-series cards.
- With any method, watch for UI artifacts, disocclusion trails and added latency. A stable base rate with consistent frame times is preferable to a high displayed number produced from a stuttering render.
Benchmark every change instead of trusting universal FPS claims
There is no official universal percentage gain for changing an individual Cyberpunk 2077 setting. Results depend on the scene, hardware, software, resolution and other options. Use the built-in benchmark, then validate the result in a representative gameplay area.
- Launch the benchmark from the game’s graphics settings and run it with your baseline configuration.
- Record average FPS and, if your overlay provides it, 1% lows or frame-time consistency.
- Note GPU utilization, VRAM usage and whether the processor is fully loaded during the slowest section.
- Apply one setting change and run the benchmark again.
- Walk or drive through a dense city area with crowds, traffic, reflections and weather. Keep the same route and time of day for each comparison.
- Reject a change that improves the benchmark but introduces distracting shimmer, ghosting, texture pop-in or input delay in normal play.
Practical profiles for common goals
Best quality at 1080p
Use High or a carefully adjusted Ultra baseline, native 1080p or upscaler Quality, high textures if VRAM allows, and reduced ray-traced reflections or volumetrics only when the benchmark shows a problem. Keep Crowd Density high unless the processor is the limiter.
Cyberpunk 2077 settings for more FPS at 1440p
Start with upscaler Quality, move to Balanced if necessary, then reduce ray-traced lighting, reflections and volumetrics in that order. Keep textures high when VRAM is sufficient. If busy streets remain slow with low GPU utilization, lower Crowd Density and inspect CPU-related options under Utilities.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →4K ray tracing without excessive blur
Begin with RT Ultra rather than Overdrive, use an upscaler’s Balanced mode and test frame generation only after the base rate is stable. Move to Performance or Overdrive only when the resulting motion and fine detail remain acceptable. The RTX 4080-class Overdrive target is officially listed at 4K and 60 FPS with DLSS Frame Generation enabled, but that measurement should not be treated as a promise for every scene.
Best Value
- SPEED UP PROJECTS. Launch creator applications fast with uncompromising PCIe 4.0 read speeds up to 7,100MB/s,[2] (1TB and 2TB[1] models) and write speeds up to 6,700MB/s[2] (1TB[1]-4TB[1] models).
- CREATE AND STORE MORE. Make more room for your 4K videos and high-resolution images with capacities from 500GB[1] up to 4TB[1] on M.2 2280 built with our trusted 8th generation SANDISK BiCS QLC 3D CBA NAND.
- IT GOES WHERE YOU GO. With an all-new power efficient design, your drive delivers high performance with low power, giving you more time to be productive while on the go.
- UNCOMPROMISED RELIABILITY. With up to 1,200 TBW[3] (4TB[1] model) endurance rating, your drive is designed for creators.
- KEEP YOUR DRIVE UPDATED. Monitor your SSD’s performance and check for updates with the downloadable SANDISK Dashboard application.[5]
Common problems and fixes
High FPS but uneven motion
Check frame-time consistency and 1% lows rather than average FPS. Reduce the setting that causes spikes, cap the frame rate to a level the system can sustain, and test without frame generation to identify whether the base render is unstable.
Blurry or shimmering image
Move from Performance to Balanced or Quality, compare DLSS, FSR and XeSS where supported, and inspect foliage and signage while moving. A higher-quality upscaler mode may be a better trade than lowering textures or geometry.
Stutter when entering busy areas
Confirm the game is installed on an SSD, check VRAM use and lower textures if memory is saturated. Then test Crowd Density and CPU-related options. Run the benchmark after each change so storage, memory and processor effects are not confused.
Ray tracing looks broken after an update
Install the latest game patch and driver, reset the affected ray-tracing option, and retest. Patch 2.31 specifically addressed PC ray-traced-reflection and path-tracing issues, and also added the vignette toggle at Settings → Graphics → Basic.
Quick Recap
A repeatable final checklist
- Install the game on an SSD; use NVMe when your target configuration calls for it.
- Match the baseline to your resolution, GPU, CPU and desired frame-time target.
- Set resolution and upscaling before individual quality controls.
- For GPU limits, test ray-traced reflections, ray-traced lighting, volumetrics and screen-space reflections before textures.
- For CPU limits, test Crowd Density and the CPU options in the current menu locations.
- Enable frame generation only after stabilizing the base rendered frame rate.
- Run the built-in benchmark and a dense city route after every meaningful change.
- Keep the setting only if the measured gain is worthwhile and motion remains clean.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
