The Phantom Liberty expansion for Cyperpunk 2077 will be released in the next few days, but some people have already got their hands on it… In particular, TechpowerUp has given us a sneak preview of the performance they’ve achieved on the title. Will your configuration be sufficient to play it in rasterization? With Ray Tracing? With Path Tracing (you’re not ready)?
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, PLS on Path Tracing!
As far as memory usage is concerned, this expansion is relatively conservative, since it will be possible to play at 1440p ultra with an 8 GB graphics card… At least, without the problems associated with a lack of VRAM, i.e. stuterring, etc. On the other hand, as soon as ray tracing is activated, memory consumption rises to 9.8 GB in 1080p, and exceeds 10.1 GB in path tracing. The worst will be in path tracing with DLSS3 Frame generation in 2160p, where VRAM consumption exceeds 18.3 GB. Even an RTX 4080 will see its memory completely saturated!
In terms of performance itself, in 1440p rasterization, overall, to reach 60 fps, you’ll need a solid graphics card. In fact, this limit is only achievable with the RX 7700 XT, a €500 card all the same. Below that, the RTX 4060 and 4060 Ti deliver 38 and 50 FPS respectively, while the RX 7600 is at 41 FPS. Finally, we have the little Intel Arc A770 with 44.7 FPS, enough to rival the RTX 4060 and RX 7600… Not bad!
Still in 1440p, but with ray tracing this time… Clearly, AMD is in the doldrums. As you can see, the Red cards are seriously lagging behind the competition. The RX 7900 XTX, for example, struggles to keep up with the RTX 3080, while the RX 7900 XT is just ahead of the RTX 3070 Ti. Even then, performance isn’t extraordinary, hovering around 30 fps. Nevertheless, while NVIDIA cards fare better, in absolute terms, the situation is hardly any better, since to reach 60 fps, you’ll have to turn to the RTX 4090, so….
Finally, with path tracing enabled, it’s clearly a butcher’s shop, there’s no other word for it. With this “über ray tracing ” active, even the RTX 4090 can’t keep up with 60 fps: our colleagues report 47 fps… In 1080p! If you have an RTX 4080, you’ll only be running at 44 fps, while smaller series like the RTX 4060 Ti (16 GB) and 4060 are at 20 FPS and 14.5 FPS. As for AMD, it’s best not to look, since the big RX 7900s are running at around 11-12 FPS. Ouch!
Fortunately, ray-tracing technologies are optional, so you can still enjoy the game without them. All the more so as Cyberpunk 2077 looks great without ray tracing and path tracing- phew!
Here’s TechpowerUp’s performance test!
