Frame drop since 1.6

[MrStarman]

SigilFey, greetings!
As I posted before, I have installed fully fresh (which means there wasn't any previous settings or any related files on the computer) and clean (without any mods) game on clean Windows. And yes, I've even started a new game (bc I forgot were I ended up my previous 1.52 game progress ). However, I have found 1.52 version, installed it alongside 1.6 (in a different location ofc) and it runs smoothly as it was when I played it back in May 2022. Both in benchmark and actual gameplay 1.52 shows >30%!!! better low, average and max framerate (I linked screenshot to one of my previous posts, sorry for russian language on it). Settings are the same. So I think the problem is not between the game files and my system config. And yes, I've tried to use different GPU drivers, and last ones, 516.94, shows the best possible results, both in 1.52, and in 1.6. Cleared settings, cleared shaders caсhe. Tried both Steam ang Gog versions. Nothing changes.
I have also noticed, that in 1.52 version changing from Ultra RT, to Medium or Psycho gives a noticeable difference in framerate - up to 10 fps, however in 1.6 difference may be barely noticeable - about 1-2 fps.
I think I'll no longer be trying to solve this, for now I'm pretty sure that it's a current patch problem and I will come back to it when the hotfix will be released. I searched for YouTube comments under performance comparison videos, reddit, steam and other discussions with these framerate issues after the patch 1.6, and there are lots of similar complaints, even on top configs with 3090TI and etc. Nevertheless, there are people who notice better or same framerate.
I also sent my specs, dxdiag file, all information about an issue and benchmarks comparison to CDPR Support. We'll see.
Huge thanks for replays and help anyway!

 

[DC9V]

Greetings,

Just wanted to chip in here, for those who are using specifically G Sync monitors. Try to disable vsync and also disable the maximum frame rates in game and GPU Control panel as well. You can either try either one as well but I decided to disable both. ( Including low latency too. )

If this works for you, the issue might be related to some settings for power plans.
(Either the CPU power plan configuration in Windows Settings or settings in apps like ASUS AI Suite)

Even when capping the frame rate at 60 FPS, the GPU usage should still be at 80% or higher, unless you're playing at settings that are much below the capability of your GPU.

Capping the frame rate at your monitor's refresh rate, while having V-sync disabled, has the benefit of reducing the temperature of your CPU during loading screens. In rare occasions it can also help with micro stutters / frame drops.

From my experience,
the only G-sync related setting in Nvidia Control Panel that could make a difference is when it's allowed for windowed mode.

 

[NochuWade]

Just wanted to add my 2c. My PC is Ryzen 3600, Vega 56 and 3800MHz DDR4. FPS values that follow were measured upon loading the same 1.52 save:

preset / build	1.52	1.6
low	72	37
medium	60	33
high	48	29

So basically on the low settings I was playing with (low/med) my FPS got cut in half.
GPU utilization actually shows near 99% on both builds but on 1.52 GPU power draw is 230W and on 1.6 only 180W.
The real culprit seems to be the CPU utilization which is only 30-40% on 1.6 and on 1.52 it's 50-60%. I can see how some players don't have this big of a FPS drop, probably because they got much faster CPUs which can still feed their GPUs well enough even with broken game.
Before anyone suggest it's the old save, I also tried starting a new game and FPS drop is the same.

TLDR: Something is very wrong with the newest build. Hope it gets patched soon.

P.S. Can't imagine all the players picking up the game after watching anime and getting this kind of first impression - game running way slower than it should.

 

[SigilFey]

SigilFey, greetings!
As I posted before, I have installed fully fresh (which means there wasn't any previous settings or any related files on the computer) and clean (without any mods) game on clean Windows. And yes, I've even started a new game (bc I forgot were I ended up my previous 1.52 game progress ). However, I have found 1.52 version, installed it alongside 1.6 (in a different location ofc) and it runs smoothly as it was when I played it back in May 2022. Both in benchmark and actual gameplay 1.52 shows >30%!!! better low, average and max framerate (I linked screenshot to one of my previous posts, sorry for russian language on it). Settings are the same. So I think the problem is not between the game files and my system config. And yes, I've tried to use different GPU drivers, and last ones, 516.94, shows the best possible results, both in 1.52, and in 1.6. Cleared settings, cleared shaders caсhe. Tried both Steam ang Gog versions. Nothing changes.
I have also noticed, that in 1.52 version changing from Ultra RT, to Medium or Psycho gives a noticeable difference in framerate - up to 10 fps, however in 1.6 difference may be barely noticeable - about 1-2 fps.
I think I'll no longer be trying to solve this, for now I'm pretty sure that it's a current patch problem and I will come back to it when the hotfix will be released. I searched for YouTube comments under performance comparison videos, reddit, steam and other discussions with these framerate issues after the patch 1.6, and there are lots of similar complaints, even on top configs with 3090TI and etc. Nevertheless, there are people who notice better or same framerate.
I also sent my specs, dxdiag file, all information about an issue and benchmarks comparison to CDPR Support. We'll see.
Huge thanks for replays and help anyway!

Great! That's a very comprehensive explanation. That definitely sounds like there's a performance issue somewhere between the game, drivers, Windows, and perhaps other software. The trouble is, not everyone is seeing the slowdown. Some people see no major slowdown at all. Some are seeing it only until they reset settings and restart. Others seem to be plagued by it no matter what.

Now that you've sent it it, that's really all we can do...except fiddle and see what we find. Understandable if you're finished with it for now, but for anyone else in the same boat:

1.) What resolution do you run at?

2.) Any anti-virus, anti-malware, etc. running in the background?

3.) Where is the game installed (complete directory path)?

4.) What version of GPU drivers are you using, and where did you download them (direct DL of reference drivers vs. auto-updated via Geforce Experience vs. tweaked drivers from someplace like Guru3D, etc.)?

5.) Is anyone using an AMD GPU seeing this massive performance hit?

 

[MrStarman]

SigilFey, I can still share information for statistics or for Dev-team if they read forum) However, they already have my specs from the ticket I've sent...
1. 1920 x 1080, 2070s can't handle 1440p with RT. Also thanks Nvidia for gamechanging DLSS. Hope CDPR will implement FSR 2.1 for AMD users soon as well.
2. Default Windows Defender (last Win 11 build). Have tried closing all another running apps, including wich runs on background, and also Real-time Protection in Defender.
3. For Steam version C:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Cyberpunk 2077
GOG - C:\Games\GOG\Games\Cyberpunk 2077
But I didn't have two copies on the computer at the same time, even while i was doing my tests. And yes, I've cleaned all up when installing one copy after another, according CDPR Support's "How do I clean-install my game?" manual.
4. WHQL 516.94 Game-ready from official Nvidia site.

 

[Nomep4]

Just wanted to add my 2c. My PC is Ryzen 3600, Vega 56 and 3800MHz DDR4. FPS values that follow were measured upon loading the same 1.52 save:

preset / build	1.52	1.6
low	72	37
medium	60	33
high	48	29

So basically on the low settings I was playing with (low/med) my FPS got cut in half.
GPU utilization actually shows near 99% on both builds but on 1.52 GPU power draw is 230W and on 1.6 only 180W.
The real culprit seems to be the CPU utilization which is only 30-40% on 1.6 and on 1.52 it's 50-60%. I can see how some players don't have this big of a FPS drop, probably because they got much faster CPUs which can still feed their GPUs well enough even with broken game.
Before anyone suggest it's the old save, I also tried starting a new game and FPS drop is the same.

TLDR: Something is very wrong with the newest build. Hope it gets patched soon.

P.S. Can't imagine all the players picking up the game after watching anime and getting this kind of first impression - game running way slower than it should.

also ran into something like this, my pc i5 12400/rtx 3060/SSD, on patch 1.52 I could turn on RTX to medium + DLSS quality fps was somewhere around FPS 60 on average and 50-55 in the city, on Patch 1.6 now I have no more than 45 that in town that out

 

[batouyukinawa]

Yup, can confirm my current setting is cause frame dips. Before 1.6 I was getting pretty solid locked 60fps. Now I get dips constantly. Yes, something is definitely wrong here. 1.6 is overall running worse than 1.52 hands down.

 

[Caralampio]

I think a memory leak might be the culprit, because I start off without problems and as I play more and more I get the slowdowns. I don't get consistent bad performance, it usually is in the 50's range and sometimes even scales all the way up to 75 (my refresh rate). This happens almost exclusively when leaving menus, interfaces, vendors, inventory, access points, anything that is "out of the world". My game becomes molasses for about 10 seconds, then back to normal. Usually I can live with it, just count to ten for things to return, but in the middle of combat it can be a problem.

 

[Sunsibar]

I think a memory leak might be the culprit, because I start off without problems and as I play more and more I get the slowdowns.

It has been same for me too. First 2-3 hours of playing I have absolutely no problems. I can jump on and off menus and maps and everything works perfectly. Then the game eventually just goes wonky and just as mysteriously works perfectly again next time I start playing. No matter if I reset or change the settings, reinstall the game or what, it always seems to go like this.

I have sent my findings to support in hopes it would help them find and fix the problem.

 

[Bealdor]

It has been same for me too. First 2-3 hours of playing I have absolutely no problems. I can jump on and off menus and maps and everything works perfectly. Then the game eventually just goes wonky and just as mysteriously works perfectly again next time I start playing. No matter if I reset or change the settings, reinstall the game or what, it always seems to go like this.

I have sent my findings to support in hopes it would help them find and fix the problem.

Check your VRAM consumption via RTSS. I have the same issue with my RTX3080. After a while the VRAM is maxed out and performance takes a nosedive until I restart the game.

 

[Sunsibar]

Check your VRAM consumption via RTSS. I have the same issue with my RTX3080. After a while the VRAM is maxed out and performance takes a nosedive until I restart the game.

I saw this one in other thread today, went to check Tom's Diner immediately after starting the game and almost instantly got those FPS drops. Haven't tried it myself yet. Restarting the game sounds less trouble for me than starting to install and tweak with drivers (I'm lazy, yes).

 

[Notserious80]

I saw this one in other thread today, went to check Tom's Diner immediately after starting the game and almost instantly got those FPS drops. Haven't tried it myself yet. Restarting the game sounds less trouble for me than starting to install and tweak with drivers (I'm lazy, yes).

I used too use studio drivers since i needed them for my ai video program, they are often older driver numbers so lack "new game support" pretty often. They feel more stable tho so it can be worth it if the games you play arent new releases. What i find odd is if tehy help its a driver issue that seem too hit some people only.

 

[SigilFey]

I used too use studio drivers since i needed them for my ai video program, they are often older driver numbers so lack "new game support" pretty often. They feel more stable tho so it can be worth it if the games you play arent new releases. What i find odd is if tehy help its a driver issue that seem too hit some people only.

Drivers are coded to optimize certain features (based largely on the most popular titles at that time) to run well on a specific range of GPU architectures on specific operating system versions. Hence, a driver version that works really well for CP2077 on a GTX 1080 under Windows 10 might experience issues when running a GTX 1080 under Windows 11. A newer driver version may clear up issues in that game for the 1080 in Windows 11, but introduce graphical stutter in a totally different game that was working just fine before. At the same time, a 2080 running either game with either driver version experiences no issues whatsoever in either Windows 10 or 11.

The most recent version of a driver is not "the best". It's something configured for whatever the goals were at that time. Rule of thumb: if you're not experiencing problems, do not update anything. If you do experience issues, you may want to update, or if that doesn't work, try rolling back. Whenever I do have a reason to update, I normally hold onto older driver versions that I know worked well. Better to have them around if I find that an older game is having trouble with a newer driver version.

 

[Notserious80]

Drivers are coded to optimize certain features (based largely on the most popular titles at that time) to run well on a specific range of GPU architectures on specific operating system versions. Hence, a driver version that works really well for CP2077 on a GTX 1080 under Windows 10 might experience issues when running a GTX 1080 under Windows 11. A newer driver version may clear up issues in that game for the 1080 in Windows 11, but introduce graphical stutter in a totally different game that was working just fine before. At the same time, a 2080 running either game with either driver version experiences no issues whatsoever in either Windows 10 or 11.

Yea im aware of this, thus why it can be hard too narrow down an issue. Diffrent setups and diffrent configs makes it even harder not to mention the problems with XMP and so on. This is why i always when installing drivers DDU in safemode and block windows update driver. It can also be a windows issue: https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/n...sues-after-windows-11-2022-(22h2)-update.html

The most recent version of a driver is not "the best". It's something configured for whatever the goals were at that time. Rule of thumb: if you're not experiencing problems, do not update anything. If you do experience issues, you may want to update, or if that doesn't work, try rolling back. Whenever I do have a reason to update, I normally hold onto older driver versions that I know worked well. Better to have them around if I find that an older game is having trouble with a newer driver version.

Yea i generally do that too, or download an older driver from a safe place. I try too stay fairly updated on the driver tho especially if theres new game support i need. Sadly theres allways some people that run into odd issues with pretty much every driver.

 

[SigilFey]

Yea im aware of this, thus why it can be hard too narrow down an issue. Diffrent setups and diffrent configs makes it even harder not to mention the problems with XMP and so on. This is why i always when installing drivers DDU in safemode and block windows update driver. It can also be a windows issue: https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/n...sues-after-windows-11-2022-(22h2)-update.html

I'm thinking that some of the weirdness people are seeing is going to be down to Windows Updates. The last few have given me some problems, but not with Cyberpunk in particular. (Not yet, at least.)

Running studio drivers or cards like the Quadro series are another bag of wallabies altogether, too. They're not really "game-ready" iterations of the tech. I wish you the best with that, but I've rarely ever worked with that stuff. Can't really speak to it.

Strangely, while technically my upper-end performance dropped a bit, my overall performance is a bit better. I'm even able to run the game with Ray Tracing set to Ultra, 1440p, using DLSS Max Quality. Solid 30 FPS. (I know the young people will start shouting "unplayable" at that, but I have no problem with 30 FPS gameplay. Most of my gaming life has been below 30 FPS...since 60 FPS+ didn't exist yet.) Using rasterization and lowering the resolution to 1080p with DLSS off, I still get a consistent 56 FPS in most spots.

I've yet to encounter any areas where the FPS plummets, but I'm also running on a pretty new installation of Windows and a brand new installation of the game. Started a new playthrough, as well. It's hard to say what, exactly, may be causing the big drops on some systems. It's clear that something about 1.6 created an issue for a lot of players.

 

[Notserious80]

Running studio drivers or cards like the Quadro series are another bag of wallabies altogether, too. They're not really "game-ready" iterations of the tech. I wish you the best with that, but I've rarely ever worked with that stuff. Can't really speak to it.

Sorry i should have been clearer. I used too run studio drivers back when i was messing around with ai video programs since it dident work on GRD. They hade (atleast) pretty much every thing the other drivers hade but it was generally a few iterations behind. You can run the drivers and pretty much any card even the geforce ones. its just a more stable driver for work pretty much, not focused on game performance.

I'm thinking that some of the weirdness people are seeing is going to be down to Windows Updates. The last few have given me some problems, but not with Cyberpunk in particular. (Not yet, at least.)

It is not impossible that its some windows update messing with it, i remember that odd issue with some win10 update that messed with stuff.

I've yet to encounter any areas where the FPS plummets, but I'm also running on a pretty new installation of Windows and a brand new installation of the game. Started a new playthrough, as well. It's hard to say what, exactly, may be causing the big drops on some systems. It's clear that something about 1.6 created an issue for a lot of players.

i saw some decrease in 1.5 like most did and since release i hade too lower the DLSS settings too keep around 60 fps. Havent tested 1.6 so dont know if its worse now. Im also inclined too suspect the older saves and config files keeping some odd setting or conflicting with something. Often when trying too find solutions it pops up time and time again. Or mods or something. Its sad but the engine seem pretty sensetive compared too alot of other engines. Ive also seen some people with under mini spec sadly with kinda complicates things even more

Edit: seems i was wrong, theres studio drivers too some cards not all and now they have a higher number then GRD.

 

[SigilFey]

Sorry i should have been clearer. I used too run studio drivers back when i was messing around with ai video programs since it dident work on GRD. They hade (atleast) pretty much every thing the other drivers hade but it was generally a few iterations behind. You can run the drivers and pretty much any card even the geforce ones. its just a more stable driver for work pretty much, not focused on game performance.

It is not impossible that its some windows update messing with it, i remember that odd issue with some win10 update that messed with stuff.

i saw some decrease in 1.5 like most did and since release i hade too lower the DLSS settings too keep around 60 fps. Havent tested 1.6 so dont know if its worse now. Im also inclined too suspect the older saves and config files keeping some odd setting or conflicting with something. Often when trying too find solutions it pops up time and time again. Or mods or something. Its sad but the engine seem pretty sensetive compared too alot of other engines. Ive also seen some people with under mini spec sadly with kinda complicates things even more

Edit: seems i was wrong, theres studio drivers too some cards not all and now they have a higher number then GRD.

I imagine this one is going to be hard to nail down. On my end, thus far on the new playthrough, everything is smooth and consistent. I will get a bit of jitter when looking at very complex scenes, but that's more because the details are cranked all the way up and it's only 30 FPS. I'm not seeing any "FPS sinks", so to speak. No stuttering or hitching.

So...that means that it's not being directly caused by anything the game is doing. It's the game interacting with something on a lot of systems. I was fully expecting, when this all started, that it would be a matter of people's saved games not cooperating perfectly with the patch, and that the clean installation along with beginning a new playthrough would be totally smooth. Seems not. This is a good one.

My best guess is that it will come down to either a driver issue, a Windows issue, or some obscure problem with the way the patch installs. As is always the case, if there's a direct problem with the code itself, then everyone on the planet will experience the exact same issue in the exact same place. Since the game does run universally smoothly for some, it means we're looking for that damned needle. And this is a big haystack.

 

[Zebedee77]

Whatever the underlying issue is, as it's still not as it was for me with 1.5, can say that turning off Resizable Bar has had a huge impact on me noticing it in general gameplay. Also seems to have doubled the minimum fps recorded by the benchmark.

For my problem, it's been resolved by the Nvidia Geforce Experience Beta build put out to turn off the debugging tool Microsoft left on for the most recent Win 11 builds. Proper updates will no doubt follow pretty quickly.

 

[MindDoser]

What's going on with 1.6? I just reinstalled game after months, and there's like 15-25% performance loss? I'm with 11900k/2080ti/64Gb Ram, and i never had any problem before 1.6. Even back at release-to-1.4, while i had an 9700k/2060 Super, i was able to play 1440p (Non RT), maxed out nearly, with lot's of mods, and i barely had any frame drops. So, i asked a friend that he's upgraded recently with 12900k/3090, and he responded performance loss around 10-15%. Asked another friend with R5900x/AMD 6700xt, and guess what: Same performance loss too. I changed 4 different driver versions, same. Rolled back recent windows 11 updates, same. Game installed on Samsung 970p Gen 4 NVME M2. Cpu temp, not even 45c. Gpu temp, never over 55c. Playing Battlefield 2042,The Witcher 3,RDR2,ME:A,The Division 2, GR:Breakpoint, everything normal/stable. Loading Cyberpunk, and it's a mess (again). So, what's going on CDPR? Who's fault this time's mess? Windows updates? Nvidia? AMD? 1.5 was great, both stability/performance, and as you can see on the following video, performance loss at 1.6 it's taking a hit of 10-12% vs 1.5:

Did even CDPR testing/checking around before release updates? Or they think everyone's with an RTX 3090ti?

 

[MrStarman]

Patch 1.6 made my game literally unplayable. 3800x, 2070s, 32gb, evo970plus. I had ~66fps in 1.52 (1080p, DF optimized settings + Ultra RT without sun shadows, DLSS Balanced) and now my framerate with exact same settings dropped to ~42!!! average fps. Thought that may be on my side, but i already reinstalled Windows, tried 3 different driver versions, nothing helped. Last thing that i made is compared this two versions, 1.52 and 1.6, so all I can do is just wait for hotfix, bc i know, that my rig could handle Cyberpunk 2077 with good settings at 60+ fps.

Well, I've tried one of the latest Nvidia insider driver 525.14 and the game runs much better with it, comparison with previous test on 516.94 included (again, sorry for russian language). Not as good as on patch 1.52, but close. It's strange bc I've already tried to install previous WHQL drivers (516.59, 512.95 and even 472.84) and performance was the same or worse than 516.94...