Best Cyberpunk 2077 Settings for Performance and Visual Quality
Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most visually impressive games available today, but it can also be demanding on PC hardware. Finding the right balance between graphics quality and performance is key to enjoying Night City without sacrificing smooth gameplay.
Enable DLSS, FSR, or XeSS
The easiest way to gain extra FPS is by using upscaling technologies:
- NVIDIA RTX GPUs: DLSS
- AMD GPUs: FSR
- Intel GPUs: XeSS
For most systems, the Quality or Balanced preset provides the best mix of visuals and performance.
Turn Down the Most Demanding Settings
These options have the biggest impact on FPS:
- Ray Tracing
- Volumetric Fog
- Screen Space Reflections
- Crowd Density
- Shadow Quality
Reducing these settings can significantly improve performance with minimal visual loss.
Recommended Settings for Most PCs
- Texture Quality: High
- Crowd Density: Medium
- Shadow Quality: Medium
- Volumetric Fog: Medium
- Screen Space Reflections: Medium
- Ambient Occlusion: High
- Motion Blur: Off
- Film Grain: Off
- Chromatic Aberration: Off
- DLSS/FSR: Quality
Should You Use Ray Tracing?
Ray Tracing dramatically improves lighting and reflections, but it comes at a heavy FPS cost.
- High-end RTX 4070/5070 and above: Ray Tracing On
- Mid-range GPUs: Ray Tracing Low or Off
- Older GPUs: Keep Ray Tracing disabled for the best performance
Best Settings for Competitive FPS
If your goal is maximum performance:
- Ray Tracing: Off
- Crowd Density: Low
- Shadows: Low
- Volumetric Effects: Low
- DLSS/FSR: Balanced or Performance
This setup can provide a major FPS boost, especially in crowded areas of Night City.
Final Verdict
For most players, the best Cyberpunk 2077 experience comes from using DLSS or FSR, keeping textures on High, and lowering heavy settings like Ray Tracing and Volumetric Fog. This combination delivers excellent visuals while maintaining stable frame rates throughout Night City.