The wait is finally over as Cyberpunk 2077 has officially launched to the masses. One of the most anticipated games of the year, CP2077 is sure to make some PC hardware sweat. But how demanding is it really? We take a look at the PC performance benchmarks for Cyberpunk 2077...

First of all, in this PC performance benchmark article for Cyberpunk 2077, we benchmark a range of graphics cards going from the higher-end RTX 2080; the lower-end R9 380 - which is close to the minimum required GPU for 1080p resolution on Low graphics settings; as well as the mid-range GTX 1060 - which is the recommended GPU for 1080p High graphics settings; and finally, the GTX 970.

Then we go through the FPS test results of each graphics card running at 1080p, 1440p and 4K screen resolutions. From there we can see the performance of the minimum and recommended system requirement graphics cards and consider how well optimized Cyberpunk 2077 really is.

Unfortunately, Cyberpunk 2077 does not include an in-game benchmarking tool. So for these results below we walked around the city for a bit and taking in the sights. Since Cyperpunk seems to be more demanding outdoors than indoors, and most of the action you'll experience is indoors, we found this to be pretty representative of the experience you'll have in-game, in terms of performance.

As such, performance may vary compared to the numbers below, but most of the time you'll experience better performance when indoors or in areas with less stuff going on. These results below should then be seen as the most demanding moments in the majority of your experience whilst playing Cyberpunk.

Cyberpunk 2077 also includes DLSS and ray tracing graphics features, but we chose not to enable any of them in these benchmarks so that we could standardize the results across a variety of graphics cards. GTX 10 series GPUs will be able to use ray tracing effects, but only RTX GPUs will be able to take advantage of the DLSS technology available.

We will be updating this article with more variety of graphics cards when we can. The RTX 2080 results will be added shortly.

With that in mind, let's jump into the PC performance benchmarks for Cyberpunk 2077...

Cyberpunk 2077 PC Graphics Settings

Check your PC can run Cyberpunk 2077 system requirements

--------------------

Ray tracing off

Cyberpunk 2077 minimum system requirements - 1080p Low graphics settings

Cyberpunk 2077 recommended system requirements - 1080p High graphics settings

Cyberpunk 2077 recommended system requirements - 1440p Ultra graphics settings

Cyberpunk 2077 recommended system requirements - 4K Ultra graphics settings

Ray tracing on

Cyberpunk 2077 ray tracing system requirements - minimum

Cyberpunk 2077 ray tracing system requirements - High

Cyberpunk 2077 ray tracing system requirements - Ultra

--------------------

CLICK ANY IMAGE IN THIS PAGE TO EXPAND THE IMAGE

Cyberpunk 2077 RTX 2080 benchmarks and frames per second analysis performed on Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 | Intel i9-9900K | 16GB

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 in Cyberpunk 2077 @ 1080p

Cyberpunk 2077 Low Medium High Ultra
Average FPS 98.8 90.9 83 71.2
Min FPS 79.3 74.5 70.6 62.6
Max FPS 112.1 110.8 101 80.8
1% Low FPS 58.5 54.3 55.5 48.9
0.1% Low FPS 43 36.8 43 31.5

The FPS performance for the RTX 2080 in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p is pretty good, as this card is able to achieve above 60fps on Ultra graphics settings. Obviously this is underwhelming given the 2080's expected performance in most games, but in comparison to the other cards benched this performance is great.

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 in Cyberpunk 2077 @ 1440p

Cyberpunk 2077 Low Medium High Ultra
Average FPS 93.2 71.4 59.1 52.4
Min FPS 79.5 61.6 53 43.8
Max FPS 144.6 93.7 70.3 57.7
1% Low FPS 58.2 52 42 36.2
0.1% Low FPS 15.9 30.3 17.6 15.7

The RTX 2080's FPS performance in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p is also pretty good. Whilst it does not achieve 60fps at High graphics settings or above, this is still very much playable and comfortable to enjoy.

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 in Cyberpunk 2077 @ 4K

Cyberpunk 2077 Low Medium High Ultra
Average FPS 45.1 33.5 26.1 21.5
Min FPS 37.7 28.7 21.4 19.4
Max FPS 52 172.9 34.9 23.9
1% Low FPS 34.1 26.4 20.4 18.3
0.1% Low FPS 21.7 21.2 19.2 17.5

Lastly, the RTX 2080's FPS performance at 4K resolution in Cyberpunk 2077 is okay. The good news is that 4K is certainly playable, albeit on Medium graphics settings. Anything higher starts to hinder your enjoyment we found as it becomes too stuttery and slow.

Overall, the RTX 2080 is perfectly suitable for playing Cyberpunk 2077 on Ultra graphics settings at both 1080p and 1440p resolutions. For 4K it is recommended to stay on Medium settings for the best experience.

 

Cyberpunk 2077 RTX 2060 benchmarks and frames per second analysis performed on Nvidia PNY GeForce RTX 2060 | Intel i7-5820K | 16GB

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 in Cyberpunk 2077 @ 1080p

Cyberpunk 2077 Low Medium High Ultra
Average FPS 68.9 68.1 62.3 52.2
Min FPS 59 63.1 55.1 45.6
Max FPS 72.7 76 69.7 51.2
1% Low FPS 48.6 48.6 46.1 41.2
0.1% Low FPS 27.2 29.7 15.9 35.3

The FPS performance of the RTX 2060 in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p resolution is pretty good (in terms of playable FPS). Going up to Ultra graphics settings here is perfectly fine and comfortable to play still. Interestingly, there seems to be a bottleneck happening on the Low graphics settings, and is most likely down to the CPU performance of this specific setup.

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 in Cyberpunk 2077 @ 1440p

Cyberpunk 2077 Low Medium High Ultra
Average FPS 62.6 49 38.6 32.7
Min FPS 56.5 44.6 34.7 29.6
Max FPS 72.9 57.6 43.9 37.2
1% Low FPS 47.4 39.9 32.1 27.5
0.1% Low FPS 34.9 16.9 22.9 25.3

At 1440p, the FPS performance of the RTX 2060 in Cyberpunk 2077 drops significantly, but is still playable even at Ultra graphics settings. If you want the most stable frame rate with room for some of the game's most demanding moments, High graphics settings would be a better choice.

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 in Cyberpunk 2077 @ 4K

Cyberpunk 2077 Low Medium High Ultra
Average FPS 31.5 23.3 17.6 14.9
Min FPS 27.9 21.3 16.3 13.8
Max FPS 36.7 27.1 20.3 16.9
1% Low FPS 26.6 20.4 15.6 12.9
0.1% Low FPS 22.5 19.6 10.3 8.3

Finally, at 4K resolution the FPS performance in Cyberpunk 2077 with the RTX 2060 is not great. Although it is still playable on Low graphics settings, anything above that feels too stuttery and uncomfortable to play.

Overall, the RTX 2060 is perfectly suitable for playing Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p and 1440p resolutions on Ultra graphics settings - though if you want a smoother experience at 1440p then drop down to High graphics settings. At 4K resolution it's recommended to stay on Low graphics settings and not go any higher.

--------------------

Cyberpunk 2077 GTX 1060 benchmarks and frames per second analysis performed on Nvidia MSI GeForce GTX 1060 | Intel i7-5820K | 16GB

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 in Cyberpunk 2077 @ 1080p

Cyberpunk 2077 Low Medium High Ultra
Average FPS 49.2 39.4 31.1 25.9
Min FPS 42.8 33.8 27 21.9
Max FPS 62.1 50 38.7 31.2
1% Low FPS 36.2 31.2 25.4 20.4
0.1% Low FPS 25.1 21.1 16.8 16

The FPS performance of the GTX 1060 at 1080p in Cyberpunk 2077 is okay, and is certainly still playable at High graphics settings although Ultra is not recommended. The GTX 1060 is also the recommended graphics card for 1080p High settings, therefore we can safely say this spec was targeting 30fps performance.

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 in Cyberpunk 2077 @ 1440p

Cyberpunk 2077 Low Medium High Ultra
Average FPS 32.1 24.6 19.1 16.2
Min FPS 25.2 20.8 17.1 14.4
Max FPS 40.9 30.8 23.8 19.4
1% Low FPS 25.8 20.4 16 13.5
0.1% Low FPS 15.4 13.8 9.9 9.7

At 1440p, the GTX 1060's FPS performance is not great. Although you can still comfortably play on Low graphics settings, anything higher is not recommended as the performance will negatively impact your enjoyment.

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 in Cyberpunk 2077 @ 4K

Cyberpunk 2077 Low Medium High Ultra
Average FPS 16.3 11.5 8.5 7.3
Min FPS 14.3 10.2 7.7 6.5
Max FPS 20.2 13.9 9.9 8.5
1% Low FPS 14 9.8 7.5 6.4
0.1% Low FPS 12.2 7.8 6.9 5.7

Finally, the FPS performance of the GTX at 4K resolution in Cyberpunk 2077 is not great at all. It's unsurprising as the 1060 is not a 4K card, but even on Low graphics settings the game is unplayable.

Looking over all the results above, the GTX 1060 is perfectly suitable for playing Cyberpunk 2077 up to High graphics settings at 1080p resolution. If you want to play Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p resolution with a GTX 1060, you should stick to Low graphics settings. And finally, 4K is not recommended at all with this GPU in CP2077.

--------------------

Cyberpunk 2077 R9 380 benchmarks and frames per second analysis performed on AMD MSI Radeon R9 380 | Intel i7-5820K | 16GB

Average FPS for AMD Radeon R9 380 in Cyberpunk 2077 @ 1080p

Cyberpunk 2077 Low Medium High Ultra
Average FPS 31 23.2 16.6 6.9
Min FPS 25.2 20.5 14.4 5.4
Max FPS 38.9 27.8 20.9 8.3
1% Low FPS 21.3 14.8 11 4.2
0.1% Low FPS 17 12 9.2 3.5

The FPS performance of the R9 380 at 1080p resolution in Cyberpunk 2077 is surprisingly okay. Unfortunately you'll have to play on Low graphics settings for decent performance, as anything higher is uncomfortable to play, but 31fps is still playable nonetheless.

Average FPS for AMD Radeon R9 380 in Cyberpunk 2077 @ 1440p

Cyberpunk 2077 Low Medium High Ultra
Average FPS 19.5 14.5 9.1 4.7
Min FPS 15.9 11.6 7.3 2.9
Max FPS 25.8 18.5 11.1 5.9
1% Low FPS 10.7 6.4 4.8 2.3
0.1% Low FPS 6.7 4.5 4 1.7

Unsurprisingly, the R9 380's FPS performance in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p is not good and is completely unplayable at any graphics settings due to the sub-20fps performance.

Overall, the R9 380 is able to play Cyberpunk 2077 at a comfortable frame rate at 1080p resolution, however you will need to stay on Low graphics settings and not go any higher.

--------------------

Conclusion

Looking at the results above we can see that Cyberpunk 2077 is an incredibly demanding game, but luckily can still be played with lower-end hardware on lower graphics settings and resolutions. Plus, whilst playing Cyberpunk 2077 at 60fps is desirable, it is still playable and comfortable to play at 30fps performance.

It is clear though that in order to play Cyberpunk 2077 at it's best you will need a powerful high-end/modern GPU like the RTX 30 series or Radeon RX 6000 series, even without ray tracing features enabled.

Alternatively, the use of DLSS can help boost performance quite considerably, but the feature is only available on RTX graphics cards currently. AMD's FidelityFX CAS on the other hand is available on more GPUs and can also improve performance as well.

Fortunately, Cyberpunk 2077 is still playable on lower-end hardware on lower graphics settings and resolutions. Additionally, CP2077 is still perfectly playable at 30fps with even a little room for performance to go either way.

If you compare these new results to yesterday's early performance graphs, you can see that performance has improved slightly, but not by much at all. Hopefully CD Projekt Red will be releasing more updates to improve performance shortly, but for now these are the kind of results we're getting.

Overall, Cyberpunk 2077 is an incredibly demanding game that will require some of the most powerful graphics cards at the moment to play at it's best on native resolution. However the game is still playable on lower-end hardware as long as you stick to lower graphics settings and lower resolutions.