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Witcher 3 next gen PC performance thread

hlhbk

hlhbk

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,117
Considering what a big upgrade patch 4.0 is I figured we needed a dedicated PC performance thread for it. My experience is if I max everything out including ray tracing using quality DLSS at 1440p I am getting roughly 50 fps. I haven't played much but apparently the 3080 has some performance issues with VRAM being fully used.

Here's top hoping CDPR further optimizes the PC port. On another note apparently the game just detects if you have HDR turned on in Windows and then turns on HDR in game. Hopefully HDR settings are patched in later.

Please post your settings along with specs and experience.

My Specs are:

Intel 11600k
32 GB RAM
Nvidia RTX 3080
Win 11
NVME SSD
 
EatChildren

EatChildren

Wonder from Down Under
Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,029
12,700K
32GB DDR4
3080 10GB

4K @ DLSS Quality
Ultra+ Settings
RT everything
+config tweak to increase grass rendering distance

Pretty abysmal performance. It looks insanely impressive and is absolutely going to be a benchmark for RT performance for some time, giving how utterly comprehensive it is with this emergent tech, but yeah. Main takeaway from looking at my data is that the game eats up shitloads of VRAM. With the above settings I was regularly capping the 10GB limit resulting in a lot of stutter. I think a lot of people on ~10GB GPUs in a similar situation will get equally unimpressive results, which I'm not entirely convinced is the game/engine, so much as the higher quality textures and assets alongside the whole suit of RT guzzling as much VRAM as possible to draw the scenery and detail.

Would love to see what the VRAM usage is on a 4090.
 

Deleted member 29639

Banned
Nov 1, 2017
1,111
I've tried Afterburner, Fraps, and the Steam overlay and nothing will display so I'm not sure of my framerate. But even with a 4090 and 24 gigs of VRAM it's feeling very stuttery.
 
Chance Hale

Chance Hale

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,841
Colorado
Reminder the windows store has an hdr calibration app that sets up a profile in your display settings useful for games with no in-game settings
 

PorcoLighto

Member
Oct 25, 2017
765
5600x, 3080 10GB, 32GB DDR4. Installed the game before I went to bed, hoping it would auto update so I can check it out before work, but it only scheduled the update.
Downloading 50GBs as I write this, what disappointment.

Judging by the thread so far though, seems like the 3080 is gonna have a tough time.
 
Duxxy3

Duxxy3

Member
Oct 27, 2017
21,727
USA
Ryzen 5 5600
RTX 3070
16GB DDR4
2TB NVME

With RT enabled the game is unstable for me. Even when it does work the frame rate is dreadful. Wouldn't recommend RT for anybody that doesn't own a 4090. DX11 version with Ultra+ is probably the best case for me. That or regular Ultra.
 
Flandy

Flandy

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,445
Runs like absolute trash for me
i7 9700k
RTX 4090
16GB
I'm getting 40-50fps on the regular ultra preset(no RT) on DLSS quality at 5120x1440 when I was getting 110+ fps on Ultra in the regular version a few days ago. wtf did they do? Even at the lowest preset I'm still getting anywhere from 60-100fps which is worse than I got on the old build at Ultra
 

Sgs2008

Member
Mar 25, 2019
530
Flandy said:
Runs like absolute trash for me
i7 9700k
RTX 4090
16GB
I'm getting 40-50fps on the regular ultra preset(no RT) on DLSS quality at 5120x1440 when I was getting 110+ fps on Ultra in the regular version a few days ago. wtf did they do?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Likely cpu bottle necked im on a 11900k at 5ghz all core and a 4090, 32 gb ddr4 ram and im regularly seeing gpu usage down to 80% in the open world down to 60% in the cities. Fps drops as low as 40. This at 4k and maxed settings with dlss quality
 
MC_Leon6494

MC_Leon6494

Member
Sep 7, 2018
501
I had one crash while turning rt back on. Otherwise it's been relatively stable and performant for me.

Ultra+ settings no rt reflections
Ryzen 3700X
32 GB of RAM
RTX 2080
ultrawide 1080p w/ DLSS quality (i am running a second monitor too)

Maybe played an hour or so? Roughly 60fps with some minor hitching on scene transitions. Basically full GPU load. I tried ultrawide 1440p and it was significantly worse but still probably a decent 30fps experience. The new controller settings are sweet too.
 

rude

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,812
11700K
RTX 3080 10GB
16GB RAM

I only got to test RT for about 20 minutes until the DX12 version stopped loading and crashed on me. It currently won't run at all, not sure if anyone has a fix yet or if I have to wait on CDPR. Anyway, it is virtually unable to run at 60 at 4k with settings on a mix of High to Ultra & RT enabled, even with DLSS unless I put it on Ultra Performance which looks hideous.

DX11 performs "well" with most things on Ultra+, anywhere between 60-90fps at native 4K. Major stuttering issues though.

I'd prefer to play on DX12 where I can enable DLSS on the Ultra+ preset though, but unfortunately that version does not load at all as previously stated. Don't know what to do to make it work.
 
Gonzito

Gonzito

Banned
Apr 5, 2022
2,162
Spain
Rtx2080ti and I9 9900k here, the performance is shit. I can't even keep 30fps at 2k with raytracing and dlss
 
Flandy

Flandy

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,445
Sgs2008 said:
Likely cpu bottle necked im on a 11900k at 5ghz all core and a 4090, 32 gb ddr4 ram and im regularly seeing gpu usage down to 80% in the open world down to 60% in the cities. Fps drops as low as 40. This at 4k and maxed settings with dlss quality
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I don't understand how they could have increased the CPU requirement so much that it more than halved my performance. I know my 9700k is a bit of a bottleneck compared to the 4090 but this is nuts lol
 
ergoakari

ergoakari

Member
Oct 28, 2017
428
Canada
3070 TI
5800X
32GB RAM

I can get about 40-50 FPS @1400p with RT AO/Reflections but shadows _off_ and DLSS Performance, but out in the open it can go down to 35-45ish.
game looks pretty good with RT off though, and that's well over 100fps
 
RankFTW

RankFTW

Member
Oct 28, 2017
717
Scotland
Playing on a 3080 + 9900k 5Ghz at 3440x1440.

All settings maxed and DLSS on Balanced. Getting between 40 to 70 fps depending on where I am.
 
dreamfall

dreamfall

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,960
So something weird keeps happening - I wonder if it's related to extended time playing. RT Ultra just trying things out, framerate fluctuations anywhere from 30ish to 87ish FPS 3080FE/5900X/32GB. It's fine, and then when a major story cut or transition plays out - it's as if the dialogue track skips, and then animations from the scene slow to crawl. Almost like the frametimes jumped out of sync? I don't know how to describe it - I know this is just a test to see if I can set my system on fire, but I'm wondering why this happens - usually after a solid 30 minutes or so? Is it VRAM related or am I tripping?

Oh this is DLSS Balanced, 3440x1440 UW.
 
gabdeg

gabdeg

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,962
🐝
One way to check FPS would be to enable logging on HWinfo and then check the graph via GenericLogViewer.
 
SilentEagle

SilentEagle

Member
Jan 9, 2021
5,657
As long as I can get 1440P 60FPS without RT on my RTX 3060. I'll be fine. But the problem is time. My backlog is getting bigger.
 
Grug

Grug

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,645
Sounds very poorly optimised.

Really, an inability to give steady 60FPS at 1440P on a 3080 with DLSS and no ray tracing is pretty lame.
 
Powerofthecloud

Powerofthecloud

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,427
Flandy said:
Runs like absolute trash for me
i7 9700k
RTX 4090
16GB
I'm getting 40-50fps on the regular ultra preset(no RT) on DLSS quality at 5120x1440 when I was getting 110+ fps on Ultra in the regular version a few days ago. wtf did they do? Even at the lowest preset I'm still getting anywhere from 60-100fps which is worse than I got on the old build at Ultra
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

You have the newest drivers right? I have the same PC build as you exactly and getting much better numbers highest 4k ultra +. Something doesn't sound right.
Sgs2008 said:
Likely cpu bottle necked im on a 11900k at 5ghz all core and a 4090, 32 gb ddr4 ram and im regularly seeing gpu usage down to 80% in the open world down to 60% in the cities. Fps drops as low as 40. This at 4k and maxed settings with dlss quality
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's absolutely a CPU bottleneck. It uses like one or two cores it seems I'm on 9700k and it's like 10-15% CPU usage.
 
Rickyrozay2o9

Rickyrozay2o9

Member
Dec 11, 2017
4,353
Flandy said:
I don't understand how they could have increased the CPU requirement so much that it more than halved my performance. I know my 9700k is a bit of a bottleneck compared to the 4090 but this is nuts lol
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
if you're playing at the higher resolutions which you clearly are I can't imagine the 9700k would be way behind any of the top tier cpus but I could be wrong. Game most likely isn't utilizing cpu cores correctly in general. I'll need to test it for myself though.
 
Flandy

Flandy

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,445
Powerofthecloud said:
You have the newest drivers right? I have the same PC build as you exactly and getting much better numbers highest 4k ultra +. Something doesn't sound right.

It's absolutely a CPU bottleneck. It uses like one or two cores it seems I'm on 9700k and it's like 10-15% CPU usage.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It appears I am not. Will try updating and report back
 
Laur

Laur

Member
Oct 27, 2017
366
How are you guys getting an FPS overlay working? RTSS and steams inbuilt one doesnt show for me.
 
gabdeg

gabdeg

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,962
🐝
www.pcgameshardware.de

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen-Update: Wo bleibt der PCGH-Test?

Die Technik-Götter sind gegen uns: PCGH kann das Next-Gen-Update von The Witcher 3 noch nicht testen. Was bedeutet das?
www.pcgameshardware.de www.pcgameshardware.de

PCGH.de is saying that the version that went live is not as stable as the preview version they saw. Let's hope it means a patch is coming.

Edit: Didn't check the timestamp, this is talking about the pre-release version. The version that went live already was patched.
 
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D O T

D O T

Member
Jan 1, 2021
4,162
directx12 got a really bad performance in the open world, 40s fps without raytracing and dlss/fsr does nothing at all.

switching to dx11 and everything is smooth 60fps now, definitely need a patch.
 
GavinUK86

GavinUK86

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,737
shit performance with a r5 2600 and rtx 2060 super. switched to dx11 and turned on good aa and ultra+ and it's a solid 60fps and just looks nicer. don't need rtx for this one. close camera takes some getting used to but I've just finished the netflix gear quest and I quite like it now. rtss doesn't want to work in dx12 anyway. had to use gfe for stats. thankfully everything works as it should in dx11.
 

Deleted member 29639

Banned
Nov 1, 2017
1,111
GeForce Experience framerate counter finally worked. I made it to the Nilfgaardian garrison. My specs:

4090
13900K
64GB DDR5 RAM
Windows 11
Game installed on a 4TB NVMe

With maxed out settings (save Hairworks using 2x AA instead of 8x) I'm usually getting 70-80 fps, with the occasional boost around 85 and dip to 65. It still feels stuttery but reads as stable. I'm sure Novigrad will drop below 60.

With DLSS3 frame generation I was seeing anywhere from 100-120.
 
darthbob

darthbob

One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 20, 2017
2,015
Does RTX affect more on the CPU side or GPU side?

Just skimming the thread, but as an nvidia 3080 owner and an AMD 3800X, this doesn't seem too promising ;_;
 
SpacemanZero

SpacemanZero

Member
May 13, 2020
37
RTX3090 - newest Nvidia GPU Drivers
Ryzen 5 3600
16 GB DD4 RAM
Windows 10

With 4K/DLSS Balanced, Ultra+ settings and maximum RT I can get a stable enough 60 to 70 fps in White Orchard. I've noticed that it uses more than 12 GB VRAM so that's probably one of the reasons why RTX3080 is struggling with max settings.

The game looks drop dead gorgeous. I'm expecting heavy performance loss when I get to Novigrad, but hopefully some optimization guides are out by then. Can't do without RT now that I've seen it in action on this game, absolutely stunning.
 
Abrasion Test

Abrasion Test

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,765
On a 3080ti with Ultra+ and RT. My FPS is pretty mediocre at 30-50 but the RT effects are too nice to turn off. Some dated character models aside this is once again one of the best looking games out there.
 
Flandy

Flandy

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,445
Hairworks + RT seems to mess with Geralts hair pretty bad. You need to be near a light source like a candle or fireplace to see it though. More noticeable indoors
image.png
image.png


Powerofthecloud said:
You have the newest drivers right? I have the same PC build as you exactly and getting much better numbers highest 4k ultra +. Something doesn't sound right.

It's absolutely a CPU bottleneck. It uses like one or two cores it seems I'm on 9700k and it's like 10-15% CPU usage.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Updated and performance seems more or less the same?
 
sirap

sirap

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,210
South East Asia
Mahonay said:
BRO. What is that GPU/CPU combo. Not shit your CPU is bottlenecking you lol. What you doin.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I'm one out of the dozens who bought it purely for compute tasks lol. I don't think it's done more than 20 minutes of gaming since I got it at launch. Want to know what's worse? I'm feeding the ol' Ryzen 2166mhz ram.
 
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Qudi

Qudi

Member
Jul 26, 2018
5,320
Flandy said:
Hairworks + RT seems to mess with Geralts hair pretty bad. You need to be near a light source like a candle or fireplace to see it though. More noticeable indoors
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Turning it off and on again fixed the issue for me. Still not sure if i like hairworks in general tho.
 

Raigor

Member
May 14, 2020
15,146
RT kills the performance too much on my RTX 3070.

I'll settle for Ultra+ and wait for DF optimized settings.
 
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