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Cyberpunk 2077 gets demanding when you raise resolution and turn on ray tracing—especially Ray Tracing: Overdrive, which uses path tracing. CD PROJEKT RED’s published targets range from 1080p Low at 30 FPS to 4K Overdrive at 60 FPS with DLSS Frame Generation enabled. Those are reference configurations from the developer’s internal testing, not a promise that every PC will achieve the same results.
Why Cyberpunk 2077 can be demanding
Overdrive uses path tracing
Ray tracing simulates light behavior to produce effects such as more realistic shadows, reflections, and lighting. Overdrive goes further: it uses path tracing to unify lighting information rather than combining conventional rendering with selected ray-traced effects. CD PROJEKT RED describes the mode as very GPU intensive. It can produce more precise reflections, micro-shadows, and lighting in dark tunnels and steam, but it is a substantially different workload from playing without ray tracing. CD PROJEKT RED’s Overdrive announcement and its feature explanation with NVIDIA describe the mode and its visual effects.
Overdrive began as a path-tracing technology preview in Patch 1.62. At launch, CD PROJEKT RED gave historical guidance recommending an RTX 4070 Ti or better, and an RTX 3090 for 1080p at 30 FPS. The developer later said Overdrive had exited preview status with Update 2.1. For a published target, the later system-requirements table is the more useful reference: 4K at 60 FPS with an RTX 4080 and DLSS Frame Generation enabled.
Resolution increases the GPU workload
The developer’s standard Ultra and Overdrive targets are both 2160p (4K), while its minimum and recommended non-ray-tracing targets are 1080p. Rendering a higher-resolution image means the GPU must process more pixels. Resolution therefore matters alongside graphics mode: a 4K target with path tracing is not comparable to a 1080p target without ray tracing.
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Frame rate and reconstruction features affect the target
The 4K Overdrive target’s 60 FPS figure assumes DLSS Frame Generation is switched on. It should not be read as a guarantee of 60 rendered frames per second without that feature. The game’s supported upscaling and frame-generation options have changed across updates, so check the game’s current settings and patch notes for the options available to your hardware.
CD PROJEKT RED’s published PC targets
The following configurations come from CD PROJEKT RED’s June 11, 2023 PC requirements update. The developer described the FPS figures as expected results from its internal testing and warned that performance may vary with hardware and software configuration, individual graphics settings, and output resolution. Treat these as reference targets, not guaranteed results or current buying recommendations.
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| Target | Resolution, preset and FPS | Processor | Graphics card | Memory and storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum, no ray tracing | 1080p, Low, 30 FPS | Core i7-6700 or Ryzen 5 1600 | GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB, Radeon RX 580 8 GB, or Intel Arc A380 | 12 GB RAM; 70 GB SSD |
| Recommended, no ray tracing | 1080p, High, 60 FPS | Core i7-12700 or Ryzen 7 7800X3D | GeForce RTX 2060 Super, Radeon RX 5700 XT, or Intel Arc A770 | 16 GB RAM; 70 GB SSD |
| Ultra, no ray tracing | 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 |
| Minimum ray tracing | 1080p, Ray Tracing Low, 30 FPS | Core i7-9700 or Ryzen 5 5600 | GeForce RTX 2060, Radeon RX 6800 XT, or Intel Arc A750 | 16 GB RAM; 70 GB SSD |
| Recommended ray tracing | 1080p, Ray Tracing Ultra, 60 FPS | Core i9-12900 or Ryzen 9 7900X | GeForce RTX 3080 Ti or Radeon RX 7900 XTX | 20 GB RAM; 70 GB NVMe |
| Ray Tracing: Overdrive | 2160p, 60 FPS; DLSS Frame Generation enabled | Core i9-12900 or Ryzen 9 7900X | GeForce RTX 4080; 16 GB VRAM | 24 GB RAM; 70 GB NVMe |
All listed tiers specify Windows 10 64-bit. The storage labels matter: the 2023 table lists an SSD for the lower tiers and NVMe for Ultra and higher ray-tracing tiers. Separately, Update 2.0 says an SSD is required and advises against HDDs—and SD cards on Steam Deck—because their lower bandwidth may prevent content from streaming properly. Storage compliance is not the same thing as a graphics upgrade. Update 2.0’s notes explain the storage change.
Which settings and PC parts matter?
Start with resolution and rendering mode
Compare your intended setup on two axes first: the output resolution and whether you plan to use no ray tracing, a ray-tracing preset, or Overdrive. The official targets show why a single “can my PC run it?” answer is incomplete: the developer publishes separate configurations for these visual targets.
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Account for CPU and crowd settings
Update 2.0 added an AMD SMT setting and made Crowd Density independently adjustable rather than tying it only to the quick preset. These options show that processor-related behavior and scene settings can matter, but the official notes do not quantify their FPS effects. A GPU comparison alone cannot establish performance on every system.
Check memory and storage against the target
System RAM, graphics memory, and storage are separate requirements. The Overdrive row, for example, specifies 24 GB of system RAM and 16 GB of VRAM, as well as NVMe storage. Compare each category with the target you want; meeting one does not compensate for falling short in another.
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What graphics options are available?
Support depends on the game update and graphics hardware. The patch notes provide a dated record of several options rather than a guarantee about later game or driver versions:
- NVIDIA DLSS: Update 2.0 introduced DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction; those notes say it requires an RTX card and Path Tracing to be enabled. Patch 2.21 added DLSS 4 support, including Multi Frame Generation for RTX 50 Series and faster single Frame Generation support for RTX 50 and 40 Series.
- AMD FSR and Intel XeSS: Patch 2.13 added FSR 3 with Frame Generation and Intel XeSS 1.3. It also allowed DLAA and DLSS Ray Reconstruction to be used together.
For exact availability on a particular system, check the options shown in the game and the notes for its installed version. The features above were announced in specific updates: Update 2.0, Patch 2.13, and Patch 2.21.
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How to judge performance on your own PC
- Choose the target first. Decide on resolution, graphics mode, and a frame-rate goal. Be specific about whether that goal assumes frame generation.
- Compare every requirement category. Match your CPU, graphics card and VRAM, system RAM, and storage to the closest official tier; do not treat a card name as the whole requirement.
- Use the built-in benchmark to compare settings. Patch 1.62 improved its result screen to show PC specs, driver version, and selected settings. Run it with a chosen configuration, then compare results after changing settings on your system. The benchmark helps you evaluate your own setup; it does not turn the publisher’s targets into guarantees for other PCs. Patch 1.62 notes describe the benchmark changes.
- Adjust one major variable at a time. If the result is not suitable, test a lower resolution, a less demanding rendering mode, or adjusted settings, then run the benchmark again. This makes it easier to see which compromise helps your particular PC.
For an actual hardware purchase decision, the 2023 table is not enough by itself: current independent benchmarks, prices, availability, power supply, and case compatibility are not established by those requirements.
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