I am playing it like the PS5 quality mode

[TequilaSunset]

So after tinkering with RT on and off I like the look of RT much better, I can tell the difference in lighting quality and the game looks much better. Pity it cannot play at a constant 60fps even with DLSS on and I kept getting frame drops in towns and cities that got annoying after a while. I prefer better graphics so I set the FPS to 30 on RivaTuner and play with the controller. My 3080 feels like a glorified PS5 now, but at least I no need to worry about frame drops at 30fps. Yes I still play games at 30fps like the recent GOW on PS4. Till CDprojekt fix this I am alright with 30fps for now.

The marketing for next-gen highly emphasize Ray-Tracing and it is quite disappointing when it doesn't work on high end cards.

[Steel]

I have a 3060 Ti and I managed to lock at 40 FPS. If your monitor has freesync/gsync (it damn well should with a 3080) then try going for that.
40 FPS is EXPONENTIALLY better than 30 when properly synced.

[Steel]

My settings on a 3060 ti and i5 12400f for 40 FPS RT:

Resolution: 1440p
Fullscreen Mode
Vsync: Off
Max framerate: Unlimited(set to 40 FPS In the Nvidia control panel for the game only)

Ray Tracing GI: On
RT Reflections: Off
RT Shadows: Off
RT Ambient Occlusion: On

Anti-aliasing: DLSS Balanced (with a 3080 go for Quality)
Sharpening: Low
Bloom and that entire section is personal taste
HairWorks: Off

Background characters: High
Shadow Quality: Ultra
Terrain Quality: Ultra
Water Quality: Ultra
Foliage Visibility Range: High
Grass Density: Ultra
Texture Quality: High (VRAM limitation, set to Ultra+ on a 3080)
Detail Level: Ultra

These settings on an overclocked 3060 ti give me a constant 40 FPS with the exception of Novigrad.

[Kickfister]

Originally posted by Steel:

I have a 3060 Ti and I managed to lock at 40 FPS. If your monitor has freesync/gsync (it damn well should with a 3080) then try going for that.
40 FPS is EXPONENTIALLY better than 30 when properly synced.

If you set the framerate cap to 40 in the game's config file, you'll get much lower input lag. Really wish they'd add a framerate slider or something in the game but yeah it's worth doing.

[Steel]

Originally posted by OopyDoopy:

Originally posted by Steel:

I have a 3060 Ti and I managed to lock at 40 FPS. If your monitor has freesync/gsync (it damn well should with a 3080) then try going for that.
40 FPS is EXPONENTIALLY better than 30 when properly synced.

If you set the framerate cap to 40 in the game's config file, you'll get much lower input lag. Really wish they'd add a framerate slider or something in the game but yeah it's worth doing.

Ohhh, thanks for the tip! I'll look into that immediately.
I agree, it's weird how it goes straight from 30 to 60, when the vast majority of people without RTX 40 cards will want to cap somewhere BETWEEN those if they want RT. 60 FPS with RT is just too demanding, it scales very badly to higher framerates, likely because of CPU overhead too.

[TequilaSunset]

My settings is everything at Ultra+, with all RT options on. I am getting a constant 30fps and can enjoy the game with the next-gen graphics. Used to sink hundred of hours on the PS4 version so used to 30fps. if I set it to 40fps and it dips a bit in the cities can be annoying so I rather avoid it.

The joke is Red Dead Redemption 2 runs better than this game and look as good at max without RT, than Witcher 3 with RT.

[Kickfister]

Originally posted by Steel:

Originally posted by OopyDoopy:

If you set the framerate cap to 40 in the game's config file, you'll get much lower input lag. Really wish they'd add a framerate slider or something in the game but yeah it's worth doing.

Ohhh, thanks for the tip! I'll look into that immediately.
I agree, it's weird how it goes straight from 30 to 60, when the vast majority of people without RTX 40 cards will want to cap somewhere BETWEEN those if they want RT. 60 FPS with RT is just too demanding, it scales very badly to higher framerates, likely because of CPU overhead too.

Yep, it's insanely CPU bound for no good reason. I suspect they'll fix that with future updates, as it doesn't even *use* that much CPU (and there's speculation that the d3d11on12.dll they make use of is a big source of the optimization issues on that front, but I've also seen engineers say that it isn't necessarily a problem so idk what to believe).

But yeah even even on my rig with a 5800x and a 3080, I've deemed a 40 fps cap to be the best compromise between consistency and fluidity at 1440p ultrawide with quality DLSS (balanced looks really bad on foliage imo).

[Kickfister]

Originally posted by TequilaSunset:

My settings is everything at Ultra+, with all RT options on. I am getting a constant 30fps and can enjoy the game with the next-gen graphics. Used to sink hundred of hours on the PS4 version so used to 30fps. if I set it to 40fps and it dips a bit in the cities can be annoying so I rather avoid it.

The joke is Red Dead Redemption 2 runs better than this game and look as good at max without RT, than Witcher 3 with RT.

The RT in this game looks truly incredible, arguably the best looking RT out there ignoring the path traced games. However, the actual quality of the materials in the game is sub-par compared to modern games so the ray tracing struggles to shine as bright as it can (no pun intended). Still a beautiful game but yeah I can understand people believing a lot of other games look better for the performance you get.

[Steel]

Originally posted by TequilaSunset:

My settings is everything at Ultra+, with all RT options on. I am getting a constant 30fps and can enjoy the game with the next-gen graphics. Used to sink hundred of hours on the PS4 version so used to 30fps. if I set it to 40fps and it dips a bit in the cities can be annoying so I rather avoid it.

The joke is Red Dead Redemption 2 runs better than this game and look as good at max without RT, than Witcher 3 with RT.

The difference is that RDR2 is a world class PC port, like really really good, and MADE with modern technology in mind. With TW3 they had to retrofit stuff like RT and DX12 into a very old engine not built for any of it. It's no wonder it runs like crap.

And I also agree that the RTGI in this game is amazing. Once proper comparison videos come out people will change their tune about it not adding much. It's tricky because most of the game is in exteriors, where you won't see the difference much aside from the shading in the trees.
However in interiors, the difference can be downright magical.

I took a few screenshots but this is my favorite comparison
https://imgur.com/a/d3OUfIO

Notice how without RT the light entering the corridor actually ceases to exist as soon as it comes into contact with the shadows cast by the pillars. But with RT, it bounces off the surface and keeps going through the ENTIRE corridor, realistically illuminating it with diffusion.

The entire image is just more vivid and deep too. The lighting bouncing off everything brings color to the entire environment, and not in an artificial way. Looks incredible honestly.

[TequilaSunset]

Wow what a difference in the screenshots! Yes when people said they cannot tell the difference maybe their settings are wrong? I tried changing to DX11 and can tell something is off about the lighting and cannot stand the game looking so dull without RT. Agree it is one of the best implementation, I will give points to Metro Exodus too but Metro runs far better.

[Steel]

Originally posted by TequilaSunset:

Wow what a difference in the screenshots! Yes when people said they cannot tell the difference maybe their settings are wrong? I tried changing to DX11 and can tell something is off about the lighting and cannot stand the game looking so dull without RT. Agree it is one of the best implementation, I will give points to Metro Exodus too but Metro runs far better.

The thing about the GI is that it applies very differently depending on the scene/environment. In some places you get a very small difference, in others, like the scene I posted, you get actually transformative results.
It could be the case that they are just testing in an area that doesn't make the RT shine as well as it can. That area I posted, at that time of day, is probably a best case scenario for showcasing the RT.

I should take more screenshots but there's like a 10% chance of the game crashing when toggling RT on and off so I can't do it too much lol.

[pambapuma]

I can get everything running with all RT features and high settings @ a smooth 90fps, just have to play in a tiny 720p window, which is fine because it looks phenomenal!