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For the official 4K Path Tracing target, you need a GeForce RTX 5080. CD PROJEKT RED’s current requirements for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered specify 2160p (3840×2160) at 60 FPS with Frame Generation, using an RTX 5080. The publisher does not publish separate Path Tracing requirements for 1080p or 1440p, so recommendations for those resolutions are estimates rather than guaranteed minimums.
The same requirements table lists an RTX 2060 Super for 1080p/30 FPS ray tracing and an RTX 4080 for 1440p/60 FPS ray tracing. Those are conventional ray-tracing tiers, not Path Tracing tiers, and should not be treated as equivalent performance targets.
The official GPU requirements, at a glance
CD PROJEKT RED’s requirements for the Remastered release separate ordinary ray tracing from full Path Tracing. They also identify the upscaling and frame-generation conditions used when the publisher measured its targets.
| Rendering mode | Resolution and target | Upscaling or frame generation | Listed GPU |
|---|---|---|---|
| RT Minimum | 1080p at 30 FPS | DLSS, FSR or XeSS | GeForce RTX 2060 Super |
| RT Recommended | 1440p at 60 FPS | DLSS or FSR | GeForce RTX 4080 |
| Path Tracing | 2160p (3840×2160) at 60 FPS | Frame Generation enabled; automatic DLSS, FSR or XeSS upscaling used in the measurements | GeForce RTX 5080 |
These targets come from CD PROJEKT RED’s 2026 requirements for the Remastered version. The publisher says its expected FPS figures are based on QA tests, and warns that higher resolution significantly affects FPS. It also notes that occasional fluctuations can occur depending on the scene and gameplay. A listed GPU therefore describes a tested target under stated conditions, not a promise that every scene will hold the exact frame rate.
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Why Path Tracing needs more GPU power than RT
Ray tracing in the RT rows adds selected ray-traced effects to a largely rasterized renderer. Path Tracing uses a unified lighting system: lighting is rendered together with more rays and multiple bounces instead of combining a few ray-traced effects with rasterization. NVIDIA describes that approach as substantially more demanding because the GPU traces a larger share of the lighting workload.
That distinction explains why an RTX 2060 Super can appear in a 1080p RT minimum row while the Path Tracing row jumps to an RTX 5080 at 4K. The RT recommendations cannot be converted directly into Path Tracing requirements. An RTX 4080 meeting the publisher’s 1440p RT recommendation does not automatically qualify as an official 4K Path Tracing card.
What to use for 4K Path Tracing
RTX 5080 is the published reference
If your target is 4K Path Tracing at about 60 FPS, the RTX 5080 is the only separately published GPU reference. The target is measured at 2160p (3840×2160), with Frame Generation active and automatic upscaling. A GeForce RTX 5080 16GB graphics card is therefore the most defensible local-PC choice when you want to match the published configuration.
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The 16GB description identifies the commonly specified card configuration; it is not a statement that every Path Tracing workload has a universal 16GB requirement. Board manufacturers can differ in cooler, power limit and clock behavior, so model-board details and pricing should be checked for your market rather than treated as part of CD PROJEKT RED’s requirement.
Can an RTX 4080 run Path Tracing in 4K?
The publisher does not list the RTX 4080 for 4K Path Tracing. It appears in the 1440p/60 FPS RT Recommended row, which uses a different rendering mode. An RTX 4080 may be able to render the game at 4K with Path Tracing if you reduce the frame-rate expectation, use more aggressive reconstruction or adjust other settings, but that is an estimate and not a publisher-guaranteed 60 FPS result.
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If maintaining a stable 4K target matters more than native output, use the official RTX 5080 tier as your starting point and treat any lower card as a compromise requiring scene-by-scene testing.
What to use for 1440p Path Tracing
There is no official 1440p Path Tracing row. The RTX 5080 is the safest choice because it is the card CD PROJEKT RED names for the more demanding 4K Path Tracing target; at 1440p it should provide substantial GPU headroom relative to that reference, although the publisher does not promise a particular frame rate at this resolution.
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A lower-tier card may be viable at 1440p when you accept one or more of the following:
- A lower average or minimum FPS target than 60.
- More aggressive DLSS, FSR or XeSS reconstruction instead of a high-resolution input.
- Frame Generation, with the associated latency and image-quality trade-offs.
- Reduced Ultra+ settings or less demanding lighting options.
Because no exact 1440p Path Tracing GPU is published, it would be misleading to name an RTX 4080, RTX 4070-class card or another model as an official requirement. The RTX 4080’s documented status is 1440p/60 RT, not 1440p/60 Path Tracing.
Why 1440p results can differ between systems
Path Tracing load changes with the scene, weather, lighting, crowds and camera view. The publisher explicitly cautions that frame rates can fluctuate during gameplay. Two systems with the same GPU can therefore show different lows even when their headline average looks similar. Your selected upscaler, input resolution, Frame Generation setting and Ultra+ options also alter the workload.
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What to use for 1080p Path Tracing
CD PROJEKT RED does not publish a 1080p Path Tracing GPU. At 1080p, the lower pixel count reduces GPU work compared with 1440p or 4K, but that does not produce a reliable model-specific minimum. Path Tracing still increases lighting work, and a busy Novigrad street or another complex scene can behave differently from a quiet interior.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11An RTX 5080 is likely to have considerable GPU headroom at 1080p, so buying one solely for a 1080p display may be unnecessary unless you also want higher refresh rates, heavier settings or an upgrade path. The limiting component can shift to the CPU once the GPU is no longer saturated. Processor performance, background tasks, game settings and scene complexity can then determine frame time even though the resolution is low.
For a 1080p build, choose according to your actual target:
- For experimentation with Path Tracing and a moderate frame-rate goal, begin below the RTX 5080 tier and test with an upscaler enabled.
- For the highest possible settings and a high-refresh display, a faster GPU provides more headroom, but no official 1080p Path Tracing guarantee exists.
- For predictable 30 FPS ray tracing rather than full Path Tracing, the published RT Minimum is an RTX 2060 Super with DLSS, FSR or XeSS.
Do you need DLSS, FSR or XeSS?
The official Path Tracing measurement is not a native-rendering benchmark. CD PROJEKT RED says its measurements used automatic DLSS, FSR or XeSS upscaling, and Frame Generation was enabled for the listed targets. Consequently, the RTX 5080/4K/60 figure describes reconstructed output under those conditions.
NVIDIA DLSS 4.5
The Remastered release adds NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 with Ray Reconstruction. DLSS reconstructs the displayed image from a lower internal resolution; Ray Reconstruction is intended to improve the appearance of ray-traced detail. If you disable DLSS, the published 4K target no longer describes your configuration, and performance will generally be lower than the tested result.
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AMD FSR 4
The release adds AMD FSR 4, including Frame Generation and Anti-Lag 2 on supported Radeon RX 7000-series and newer GPUs. Support depends on the GPU generation and the game’s available options, so verify that your particular Radeon card exposes the required features.
Intel XeSS 2.0
Intel XeSS 2.0 is also included, with Frame Generation and Low Latency. As with the other technologies, the visual result and performance depend on the selected quality mode and the hardware that can accelerate the feature.
What Frame Generation changes
Frame Generation creates additional displayed frames between conventionally rendered frames. It can raise the displayed FPS counter, but it does not reduce the time required to render the underlying frames in the same way that lowering resolution does. Input response is tied primarily to the generated base frames, so a high displayed number should not be interpreted as identical to the same number of fully rendered frames.
For that reason, use Frame Generation after establishing a reasonable base frame rate with your GPU and settings. If the underlying frame rate is unstable, generated frames can make uneven pacing or artifacts more noticeable. The publisher’s 4K Path Tracing target includes Frame Generation, so disabling it means you are pursuing a stricter and more demanding goal than the official table.
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Native 4K versus reconstructed 4K
“4K” in the requirements table means a 3840×2160 output target, not necessarily a 3840×2160 internal render. Automatic DLSS, FSR or XeSS can render internally at a lower resolution and reconstruct the final image. This is why the upscaling condition belongs beside the GPU and FPS figures.
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If you insist on native 3840×2160 rendering with Path Tracing and no Frame Generation, CD PROJEKT RED provides no separate GPU requirement in the published tiers. Expect a substantially heavier workload and do not use the RTX 5080/60 figure as a native-rendering guarantee.
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| Your goal | Most defensible starting point | What the evidence supports |
|---|---|---|
| 4K Path Tracing near 60 FPS | GeForce RTX 5080 | Official 2160p/60 Path Tracing row with Frame Generation and automatic upscaling |
| 1440p Path Tracing | RTX 5080 for maximum headroom; lower tiers only as estimates | No official 1440p Path Tracing row |
| 1080p Path Tracing | Select by tested frame-rate goal and CPU capability | No official 1080p Path Tracing row; CPU and scene limits matter more readily |
| 1440p/60 conventional RT | GeForce RTX 4080 | Official RT Recommended row with DLSS or FSR |
| 1080p/30 conventional RT | GeForce RTX 2060 Super | Official RT Minimum row with DLSS, FSR or XeSS |
How to configure the Remastered version
- Confirm the edition. The Remastered release launched on 29 September 2026 and changed the system requirements. Do not apply the older game’s requirements to this version.
- Choose the rendering mode. Enable Path Tracing only when you specifically want the full lighting mode. If you choose standard RT, use the separate RT rows as your reference.
- Select an upscaler. Start with the supported DLSS, FSR or XeSS quality mode that gives a stable base frame rate. The official measurements used automatic upscaling rather than a guaranteed native render.
- Set Frame Generation deliberately. Enable it when you are targeting the published 4K Path Tracing configuration. Disable it when you want to measure conventionally rendered frames or minimize generated-frame artifacts.
- Test demanding scenes. Walk through busy settlements, outdoor areas and scenes with complex lighting. Watch frame-time consistency, not only the average FPS counter, because the publisher warns that scene-dependent fluctuations occur.
- Adjust one variable at a time. Lower the upscaler quality, reduce Ultra+ options or change the Path Tracing setting, then retest. This shows whether the bottleneck is GPU load, CPU load or frame pacing.
Common problems and fixes
The FPS is below the advertised target
First check that you are comparing like with like. The official 4K Path Tracing figure assumes automatic upscaling and Frame Generation. Native rendering, a disabled upscaler or disabled Frame Generation is a different workload. If your configuration matches the published conditions, test a less demanding scene and check for driver or game updates before drawing a conclusion from one location.
The GPU is not fully utilized at 1080p
Low GPU utilization at 1080p can indicate a CPU or frame-time limit rather than a graphics-card problem. Close background workloads, check CPU utilization and test a higher resolution or heavier graphics setting. If FPS barely changes when you raise resolution, the processor or game thread is probably limiting performance.
Frame Generation feels delayed or uneven
Establish a stable base frame rate first, then compare Frame Generation on and off. Use the game’s Low Latency or Anti-Lag option when supported by your GPU and software stack, and judge responsiveness in addition to the displayed FPS.
Path Tracing looks noisy or loses detail
Try a different upscaler quality setting or Ray Reconstruction option where available. Reconstruction trades internal resolution for performance, so a faster mode can introduce more shimmer or softness even when the output resolution remains 4K.
Cloud alternative when your local GPU is insufficient
A cloud gaming plan such as GeForce NOW Ultimate can provide access to a remote high-end system instead of requiring an RTX 5080 locally. Availability, catalog support, streaming quality and plan terms vary by region and can change, so verify current service availability where you live. A cloud session also depends on network latency and bandwidth; it is not equivalent to owning a local GPU for offline play.
Quick Recap
Bottom line for each resolution
- 4K Path Tracing: use the GeForce RTX 5080 as the official reference for 60 FPS with Frame Generation and automatic upscaling.
- 1440p Path Tracing: the RTX 5080 offers the clearest margin, while any lower-card recommendation remains an estimate because no 1440p Path Tracing row is published.
- 1080p Path Tracing: there is no official GPU minimum; lower GPU load can expose CPU and scene limits, so choose from measured testing and your desired frame rate.
- Standard RT: keep the RTX 2060 Super and RTX 4080 figures in their own RT tiers; they are not Path Tracing equivalents.
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