Monday, November 23rd 2020
Cyberpunk 2077 System Requirements Lists Updated, Raytracing Unsupported on RX 6800 Series at Launch
CD Projekt RED released updated PC system requirements lists for "Cyberpunk 2077," which will hopefully release before the year 2077. There are a total of seven user experience grades, split into conventional raster 3D graphics, and with raytracing enabled. The bare minimum calls for at least a GeForce GTX 780 or Radeon RX 480; 8 GB of RAM, Core i3 "Sandy Bridge" or AMD FX "Bulldozer," and 64-bit Windows 7. The 1080 High grade needs at least a Core i7 "Haswell" or Ryzen 3 "Raven Ridge" processor, 12 GB of RAM, GTX 1060 6 GB or GTX 1660 Super or RX 590 graphics. The 1440p Ultra grade needs the same CPUs as 1080p High, but with steeper GPU requirements of at least an RTX 2060 or RX 5700 XT.
The highest sans-RT grade, 4K UHD Ultra, needs either the fastest i7-4790 "Haswell" or Ryzen 5 "Zen 2" processor, RTX 2080 Super or RTX 3070, or Radeon RX 6800 graphics. Things get interesting with the three lists for raytraced experience. 1080p Medium raytraced needs at least an RTX 2060; 1440p High raytraced needs an RTX 3070, and 4K UHD Ultra raytraced needs at least a Core i7 "Skylake" or Ryzen 5 "Zen 2" chip, and RTX 3080 graphics. All three raytraced presets need 16 GB of RAM. Storage requirements across the board are 70 GB, and CDPR recommends the use of an SSD. What's interesting here is that neither the RX 6800 nor RX 6800 XT make it to the raytraced list (despite the RX 6800 finding mention in the non-raytraced lists). PC Gamer reports that Cyberpunk 2077 will not enable raytracing on Radeon RX 6800 series at launch. CDPR, however, confirmed that it is working with AMD to optimize the game for RDNA2, and should enable raytracing "soon."
Sources:
Cyberpunk 2077 (Twitter), PC Gamer
The highest sans-RT grade, 4K UHD Ultra, needs either the fastest i7-4790 "Haswell" or Ryzen 5 "Zen 2" processor, RTX 2080 Super or RTX 3070, or Radeon RX 6800 graphics. Things get interesting with the three lists for raytraced experience. 1080p Medium raytraced needs at least an RTX 2060; 1440p High raytraced needs an RTX 3070, and 4K UHD Ultra raytraced needs at least a Core i7 "Skylake" or Ryzen 5 "Zen 2" chip, and RTX 3080 graphics. All three raytraced presets need 16 GB of RAM. Storage requirements across the board are 70 GB, and CDPR recommends the use of an SSD. What's interesting here is that neither the RX 6800 nor RX 6800 XT make it to the raytraced list (despite the RX 6800 finding mention in the non-raytraced lists). PC Gamer reports that Cyberpunk 2077 will not enable raytracing on Radeon RX 6800 series at launch. CDPR, however, confirmed that it is working with AMD to optimize the game for RDNA2, and should enable raytracing "soon."
103 Comments on Cyberpunk 2077 System Requirements Lists Updated, Raytracing Unsupported on RX 6800 Series at Launch
Oh no wait, that one has a green sticker, that can't be right.
That is to say that I don't disagree with you. There's no reason why it can't be done, as things are at this very moment. Right now, every DX12 game could technically do it and all that they have to do is 'enable' it. And yes, money and markets are definitely a big part. Nvidia obviously wants to have the first and last word, as always. But a big part of my argument is that... they actually can't. For the exact reasons you just mentioned. Unlike some of their other proprietary stuff, the nuts and bolts of their RTX isn't theirs at all. They just focused on building the hardware to utilize what was already there. You could make that case for their older ploys, too. But this is a little beyond those in scope imo.
Right now, it just so happens that Nvidia came around first with the hardware that could somewhat handle it, paired it up with DLSS, and packaged it up in a way that was convenient and lucrative for developers. Those devs can then ride that marketing up and get some fancy new tricks for their graphics pipeline that will at a minimum draw some extra buzz. And when their competitors do it, it ramps up more because it starts to look like you need RTX support somewhere on the box just to sell your game. That's not too hard to see, I think.
But it's not about if it runs. It will of course run on an AMD card, bear minimum. It could run on any card supporting DX12. But will it run well? Seems to be a bit more difficult.
My understanding of the deeper technical side isn't very good, but it seems like it's mostly an optimization game, both with the hardware and the implimetation in the games themselves. In other words: not magic. A lot of tech these days is marketing. But at the end of the day, Nvidia was first on the field for this with special hardware and shiny packaging. But if this stuff is going to have any longevity, that's not going to be able to dominate forever. I wouldn't bother mentioning hardware at all if I didn't think that was a part of it. It really doesn't seem like clever RTX marketing is the only reason RT is less of a thing with AMD cards, even if it's undeniably one of the big ones.
Again, they got there first, so devs look to them first. Simple matter of one is easier to deal with and pays nicely, while the other takes work to get running decently and offers little other incentive, hence it takes longer. Unless you're implying that getting it running acceptably on any hardware is really plug and play, requiring no considerations not already made for RTX. Feel free to correct me there, I don't know enough to say if its really that simple or not.
I don't think RT is enough in its current state for devs to really want to pursue DXR on its own. It's cumbersome. I think Nvidia probably saw that too and started wondering how to get devs to use it more. They saw an opportunity to position themselves a bit higher, took advantage of people's ignorance, and sweetened the pot for the guys who'd wear their new badge. Probably saw it as a good selling point, in lieu of nitty gritty performance gains.
Still, we might not even be talking about RT or DXR if not for RTX, love it or hate it. I personally don't love RTX, but I feel like I do have a decent grasp on why things are how they are right now. I just tend to see it as a necessary evil where one of two things happens. It could fade completely as a gimmick as DXR support (RTX or otherwise) as a whole wanes, and none of this really matters. Or that door opened by the RTX marketing and the push showing that RT actually is now viable eventually spurs enough interest to make it a widespread, staple feature, RTX card or not. If it is good and workable... and the ultimate impact is good, RT will see more use as hardware across the board continues to inch agonizingly upwards. It won't matter what it is called. Nvidia will probably always call it RTX. And I'm sure at some point AMD will jump into the branding game, too. And then one day the branding will be irrelevant because it's just another established method.
So this is another "patience is a virtue" moment.
And yes, RT performance will be abysmal like in everything else. That isn't a surprise.
XSX and PS5 devkits were probably available for some time now, seeing how at least XSX is confirmed as offering "some" raytracing features I don't think it's impossible for RDNA 2 to run RT on PC.
Watchdogs run like crap, COD runs better than Watchdogs but I shouldn't be seeing 60-90 fps on Low settings and Ultra at all.
Imagine on the launch day of one of the most anticipated games how good Nvidia products will look when the performance figures for AMD with RT are going to be a big "N/A".
From what i've read, exclusive AIB cards willl be out on 25th, with the rest of AIBs in mid-December.
There are offers on eBay for 6800XT reference design going for 1400€. :twitch:
Current release date: December 10
"6 months"