The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update Is Extremely GPU Intensive On PC

Expert Verified By

You Need GeForce RTX 4090 For Stable 4k/60FPS Experience!

The next generation update for The Witcher 3 is finally here and will only be available on current-gen consoles and PC. The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update is free for anyone who owns a copy of the game on Microsoft Xbox Series X|S, Sony PlayStation 5, and PC.

The updated version of the game runs quite well on current-gen consoles, but the same cannot be said about the PC platform. On PC, The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update is quite GPU intensive, as shown in a youtube video below.

The YouTuber MxBenchmarkPC runs the game on a Gigabyte RTX 4080 EAGLE OC 16GB coupled with Intel Core-i7 10700F on 4K resolution, DLSS 2.0 enabled, and Ray Tracing set to Ultra+ settings.

The YouTuber got an average of 49FPS with these demanding settings. The Ultra RT present in The Witcher 3 next-gen update includes four Ray Tracing options. These Ray Tracing effects are known as;

  • Ray Tracing Global Illumination
  • Ray Traced Reflection
  • Ray Traced Shadows
  • Ray Traced Ambien Occlusion

While on regular Ray Tracing setting with Ray Tracing Global Illumination options, the Youtuber could only get an average of 54 FPS.

If we talk about GeForce RTX 3080, another YouTuber-tested game at 4k resolution with Ultra RT preset, the experience is pretty bad as the game runs at sub 25 FPS without upscaling, and even with Ultra Performance DLSS, you are looking at 40 FPS on average. You need a GeForce RTX 4090 if you want a stable 4k/60FPS experience on The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update.

The Witcher 3 is a pretty old game and should run smoothly on budget RT cards like the GeForce RTX 2060. But it looks like optimization for RTX cards was not on the agenda of CD Project Red, considering the GeForce RTX 2060 can achieve an almost 60 FPS experience in a title like Control with all Ray Tracing effects set to medium at FHD resolution.

What are your thoughts on the performance of Witcher 3 next-gen on current PC hardware?

Was our article helpful? 👨‍💻

Thank you! Please share your positive feedback. 🔋

How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔

Gear Up For Latest News

Get exclusive gaming & tech news before it drops. Sign up today!

Join Our Community

Still having issues? Join the Tech4Gamers Forum for expert help and community support!

Latest News

Join Our Community

104,000FansLike
32,122FollowersFollow

Trending

Crimson Desert Predicted To ‘Easily Be The Second Best-Selling Game of the Year’

Forbes predicts that Crimson Desert will be the second best-selling game of 2026 and will only trail behind GTA 6 in sales.

Arc Raiders Studio Backtracks On AI Use, Replaces AI-Generated Lines With Voices Of Real Actors

Embark Studios CEO Patrick Soderlund explains that the studio has re-recorded some of the lines after launch with real voice actors.

Starfield Composer Says Gamers Weren’t Ready for the RPG, Calls It a Future Classic

Starfield composer Inon Zur claims that players were just not ready for the experience, claiming it will become legendary one day.

‘Woke’ Medieval Game 1348: Ex Voto Launches to Only 427 Players on Steam

The contentious medieval game, 1348: Ex Voto, has failed to catch a mainstream audience after launch. It has also been rated poorly on Steam.

NVIDIA Reportedly Nitpicks Suppliers and Criticizes Minor Issues to Secure AI Chip Deals

A new report reveals that Nvidia resorts to unusual criticism against suppliers in order to secure preferable AI chip deals with them.