Performance Optimization + DLSS Enabler for ALL GPUs + FSR 3.1 Upgrade

Compiled information on the best settings for performance, upgrading to the latest FSR and enabling DLSS even on AMD GPUs for an FPS increase of up to 100%, depending on your hardware.

Introduction

I've compiled this guide just to detail all the settings that helped me out the most in my endeavour of making this game an immersive cinematic experience.

I've went from like 50-60fps in 1080p native to now stable 120fps with DLSS on Nvidia DLAA. Looks much sharper and more fluid than before. Quite crazy what software can do for a mid tier GPU from 2017. They said it can't be done, buy a new GPU, but here we are.

My System Specs:
-OS: Windows 10
-GPU: Sapphire AMD Vega 64 Nitro+ 8GB (comparable to an RTX 1080 or 2060), overclocked to the limit
-CPU: i9 -9900K, overclocked to 4.8gHz on all 8 cores
-RAM: 48GB HyperX 3466 mHz
-Mainboard: Gigabyte Z390 Designare



Please don't forget to LIKE if this guide was helpful for you. If you're happy with the results and feel generous leave a Steam points award. Commenting your experience will also be appreciated. Thank you and I really hope you find success with it.

DLSS Enabler for ALL GPUs

https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/757
This is the absolute game changer you wished for. Download the latest BETA version.

It should be noted that the Steam Overlay doesn't work anymore once you've applied this mod, but I included a workaround for you to continue taking screenshots down below.

"This all-in-one package allows the users of any DX12 compatible GPUs (from NVIDIA / AMD / Intel) to enable DLSS upscaler and DLSSG Frame Generation in most of the games implementing NVIDIA DLSS 2 / DLSS 3 features."

The latest Beta version includes optiscaler with an interactive overlay, so that if the ingame scaling and frame generation options are not working for you, you can use the overlay instead to customize it to your needs. This now even allows frame generation in games that didn't even support it yet.

(hit "insert" key during the game to open Optiscaler menu)

Installation:
Make sure you locate the right folder for the installation
The path should look something like this:
D:\Programs\Steam\steamapps\common\Cyberpunk 2077\bin\x64

SUGGESTION:

    
If you use the DLSS Enabler, I would highly recommend also applying the Ghosting Fix mentioned further down below for a polished experience, which in turn will require more mods with it to make it work, but the thing I'm mentioning this here is that it will require you to install the DLSS Enabler as dxgi.dll for it to work with the fix.
Otherwise this is the basic way to install it for all other games you want to use it on:

Have those things checked during the Installation if you have an NVIDIA GPU:


Have those things checked during the Installation if you have an AMD GPU:


If you are using the CYBER ENGINE TWEAKS mod, you need to install it as asi or dxgi or they will not both be compatible:


If you have an AMD: After installation find the "DisableNvidiaSignatureChecks.reg" file in that folder and run it. This might be required for some Nvidia cards too, I'm not sure.

That's it. You're done. Now it should work. You can modify it with the instructions from the readme file if you wish to. Usually it's not needed and works by default though.

Have NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency enabled ingame. On should be selected if you're CPU bound, On+ Boost if you're GPU bound. You can check that with a monitoring software to see how many ms CPU and GPU need to produce frames. Whichever is longer means that you're primarily bound to it. I mean it is different for every game, but you can also just roughly estimate it, if your CPU is generally newer and better than your GPU, just leave it on On. The fps differences can be very big. You can also just test both and keep the one on that gives you generally more FPS and feels more responsive.

PLEASE NOTE:

The lower your frame rate without frame generation, the higher your input lag and visual artifacting will be.

If you wanna cap your framerate, note that whatever you cap it to, frame generation will double it. So if you wanna have a locked 60fps, cap at 30fps in the game menu or cap at 60 to have it locked on 120. I'd advise you to cap higher though, because even if you just have a 60hz monitor and can't see the additional frames, it will still shorten and mitigate your input lag and ghosting considerably.

If you encounter screen tearing and need V-Sync, enable it in your graphics driver in Nvidia Control Panel or AMD Adrenaline. In the AMD Driver it's called Radeon Anti Lag and Radeon Enhanced Sync.
If that doesn't work, try the Vsync from the optiscaler overlay as well.

If you wanna adjust the settings in the optiscaler overlay, you should make sure to have them set to default or off in the ingame menu beforehand . So don't double apply anything like DLSS, FSR, frame limit and cap or resolution scalings, because it can cause errors and crashes. I personally don't touch any of it.
[/u] 

If you run into more complicated problems, I suggest combing through the forum posts on the nexusmods page to find out how people are combating certain abnormalities in mod behavior. I didn't have to do that yet though, it runs pretty well for me.

If you wanna uninstall it, run the "unins000.exe" in the folder.

Patch 2.21 broke Frame Generation with the DLSS Enabler

For some people Update 2.21 broke the frame generation feature for AMD users. You can still use DLSS fine without frame generation. People with older Nvidias are apparently still running Frame Generation without problems. Team Red will have to wait for updates, I guess.

If you need the frame generation you will probably have to use FSR in the meantime OR the better alternative might be the Optiscaler Frame Generation. You should update your upscalers with the DLSS Swapper to the latest version beforehand though.

DLSS Swap for better visuals and performance

"DLSS Swapper is a tool that allows you to conveniently download, manage, and swap DLSS, FSR and XeSS dlls allowing you to upgrade or downgrade DLSS, FSR and XeSS version in a game without the game needing an update."

https://github.com/beeradmoore/dlss-swapper?tab=readme-ov-file



This is an insanely great tool, I am so impressed with it. It could not be easier and reverting the changes is also an inbuilt function.

DLSS3 Frame Generation swap for FSR3 Frame Gen (NVIDIA only)

Swapping the DLSS3 frame generation for FSR3 frame gen, still providing the same picture as DLSS, but more frames are generated from it. So the best of both worlds. Only works for NVIDIA.

https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/738?tab=description

FrameGen Ghosting 'Fix'

EDIT: This section might be unnecessary and outdated now. I suggest you first check the game now as it is and only apply when necessary.

The ghosting can get relatively bad when driving a car or motorcycle, so read up on this to mitigate that as best as possible:
https://www.nexusmods.com/cyberpunk2077/mods/13029?tab=posts

I highly recommend using this.

This will require you to install the DLSS Enabler as dxgi.dll though.

DLSS Enabler works in tandem with all the other mods mentioned in the download section that you need additionally:


Don't get discouraged by all the things it says and what's written there. As far as I've tried it you really only need to run these for it to work:

    
Cyber Engine Tweaks
    
Archive XL
    
RedScript
    
RED4ext
    
FrameGen Ghosting Fix
 

I instead disable the vignette through the CET overlay menu, but it's not really a requirement, I don't think.
You can just install them all with drag and drop to the right folders or with the vortex mod manager, which is much easier and does it by itself basically. If you have everything installed it should work by default without any further customization or adjustment of mod settings. So if you've never done so much modding, have faith, because it's really not complicated and just a few files that you need to sort to the right directories. It will pay off.

Make sure to have "enable mods" on in the CD Projekt Red Cyberpunk Launcher Menu.

Key takeaways: the lower your base fps, the worse the ghosting will be. Reach at least 40-45 base fps or 80-90 boosted with frame generation. The higher the better, but having more than +60 base fps to minimize it as best as possible. Since it's an ego shooter, it's especially annoying to play with input lag. So adjust and lower your settings accordingly to up your frames and minimize it.

I personally needed to have it at +100fps boosted to lower the input lag to a minimal and good playable level for me.

The setup that worked best for me so far:

• After some testing I think I like the resolution lower and DLSS preset on Nvidia DLAA. Looks better to me than Quality or Balanced with a higher resolution. 100-120fps with FG enabled is the sweet spot for minimal ghosting and input lag, I'd say. If you can't hit that number while already down to the balanced preset, go down to the next lower resolution, because I don't think the performance preset and below is worth using.
  I'm on 1080p, DLSS Nvidia DLAA preset with the sharpness turned to 50 and that kinda does it for me to get 120fps. For the Quality preset I'd put sharpness to 75 and for Balanced even to 90 maybe.
  
• everything in the optiscaler menu is default and untouched
  
• I have Vsync and anti lag enabled in my gpu driver

List of mods that I currently run in conjunction:

Improve DX12 Performance

It is a known thing that people do, more commonly known in multiplayer games where everybody's desperate for every fps they can get. Here another article explaining the same thing, so you don't have to take some random Youtuber's opinion at face value:
https://www.toolify.ai/hardware/unlock-the-full-potential-of-dx12-games-improve-performance-and-stability-2856272

I got around 8% of performance gain out of this. It will depend on your system though how much this does for you. It's said to improve FPS and resolve stutters some systems might experience with DX12. You can do this for all games you know that run on DX12.

Missing Steam Overlay Workaround For Screenshots

The steam overlay can stop working with these mods and I've found this to be a bit tragic, because I like to take screenshots and the best workaround I've found for now is to just take them through your GPU driver.

For AMD Adrenaline:


Here you can set your save folder for the screenshots.

Then you press the cogwheel in the upper right, go to "Hotkeys" and here you can set your keybind for a screenshot. I put mine to ALT + F1.



For Nvidia:
This was the next best video I've found for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-w7novAS_4

Optimized Graphics Settings

Here you can see an in depth comparison of every single setting. Credit to BenchmarKing.

Contact Shadow	ON
Anisotropy	16
Local Shadow Mesh Quality	High
Local Shadow Quality	Medium
Cascaded Shadows Range	Medium
Cascaded Shadows Resolution	Medium or High. Difference between the two can be quite noticeable when upscalers are enabled.
Distant Shadows Resolution	High
Volumetric Fog Resolution	Medium
Volumetric Cloud Quality	Medium
Screen Space Reflections	Medium or High. Difference between the two can be quite noticeable when upscalers are enabled.
Ambient Occlusion	Low or Medium
Mirror Quality	High
Level Of Detail	High
Crowd Density	Medium or Low. You'll have to test it out, it's a taxing setting.
Ray Tracing	Very demanding setting, but if you want to enable it, prioritize Ray Traced Reflections over other Ray Tracing Effects

If this was in any way helpful for you, I'd appreciate a thumbs up! :)

If you liked it, disliked it, whatever you may feel, please leave a rating. If it helped you out and you're happy with the results, leave a Steam points award. Comments are also appreciated.

Optiscaler Frame Generation as an alternative

Optiscaler Frame Generation as an alternative
The latest DLSS Enabler Beta version includes Optiscaler with an interactive overlay.

(hit "insert" key during the game to open Optiscaler menu).

Now check the "Frame Generation" and "Hud Fix" boxes.

How well this works is entirely dependent on your system, but also if you've updated your DLSS to the latest version.

Straighten out frame timings for a smoother experience

https://www.msi.com/Landing/afterburner/graphics-cards

If you cap to your refresh rate and given that your average fps never dips below that, you will have the lowest input latency with no screen tearing and no need for any additional features like V-Sync, Radeon Enhanced Sync / NVIDIA Fast Sync, Radeon Anti Lag / NVIDIA Low Latency (NULL).
A lot of those will in fact make it worse, if combined unfavorably and cause more stutters and have higher input latency, than just capping your Framerate with RTSS. It is hard to believe, since they all sound so good and you'd think everything's cross compatible, but no. There's no one size fits all answer, but I'd say turn everything else off to start off with, cap your FPS with RTSS and then go from there.

[0p3r4t10n CHAOS]

I've read a little bit in the forum and I coudln't find a conclusive answer. What GPU do you have and what other mods do you have installed?

[k o k o]

I'm having error. It says:

auto upscaler backend failed to load:
dlss-enabler-upscaler.dll is corrupted

(code:2)

DLSS enabler cannot start...

[0p3r4t10n CHAOS]

I'm assuming it's AMD related.

Just when I wanted to come back to Cyberpunk and start the DLC, I had spent a few days trying to optimize my game and modding it to perfection. I was literally so happy with everything that evening, but when the next morning rolled around everything was in shambles with the new update xD it's actually quite comical how bad that timing was.

[Miyuki]

Maybe the problem really is in your video card, because on my 1660 super everything is fine.

Is this a problem only with AMD cards? We need as many people as possible to write, so it will be clearer

[0p3r4t10n CHAOS]

Ah well, I thought you maybe meant you had made some additional mods on these upscalers, but if it's only updated the versions, I've also tried that now and it makes zero difference for me unfortunately. Maybe it's an issue with my specific card, but it's literally unplayable in DLSS mode now for me, it 1-2fps. I'll have to wait for an update and play in FSR for now, I guess. Looks terrible in comparison though.

[Miyuki]

I won’t lie, I don’t remember where I downloaded it from(most likely I downloaded all the DLLs from nexusmods, but this is not certain), but I can upload what I have onto Google Drive.

or

In the Google search enter - dlss new version, the first site is techpowerup, then I hope you’ll figure it out for yourself

[0p3r4t10n CHAOS]

yeah, I mean where did you take the updated DLLs from?

[Miyuki]

I'm using DLSS Enabler 3.03.000.0 + as I wrote earlier, I also updated the upscalers themselves by updating DLL files

works on versions 2.21


I can show you on discord, how the game works on my computer.

[0p3r4t10n CHAOS]

what exactly are you using? With patch 2.21 I can't get the DLSS Enabler to work like before, both the new and old setting for DLSS are stuttery and not working as before. On 2.20 it was literally perfect with the FrameGen Ghosting Fix.

[Miyuki]

I forgot to say that after installing DLSS Enabler, I also updated this same DLSS(by replacing the DLL file), and in the same way and just in case, I also updated FSR, XeSS.