Witcher 3 Remastered PC Requirements: RTX 5080 Needed for Path Tracing

Think your current rig can handle The Witcher 3 Remastered with all the bells and whistles? You might want to sit down for this one. CD Projekt Red just dropped the full system requirements, and if you're eyeing path tracing, you'll need some seriously beefy hardware.

The good news: you don't need a brand-new GPU to run the game on Low at 30fps. An Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660, AMD Radeon RX 550 XT 8GB, or Intel Arc A580 will do the trick, paired with an Intel Core i5 8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600. That's pretty modest for a remaster.

But if you want the fancy path tracing at 60fps in 4K? You'll need an Intel Core i9 13900K or AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080. And even then, you'll have to run DLSS with frame generation to hit that 60fps target. CD Projekt Red didn't specify which upscaling level or frame gen type, so expect some fine-tuning.

Interestingly, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT isn't listed for path tracing. Likely because it struggles more with path tracing than equivalent Nvidia cards, and it's less powerful overall than the RTX 5080. Also, the 24GB VRAM requirement for the top tier might be tough for many, especially with the ongoing memory crisis.

At the lower end, the GTX 1660 launched seven years ago, so if you played the original Witcher 3 on your old rig, it probably won't run the remaster even on Low. But here's a sweet deal: if you own the original, you get the remaster for free. And the Complete Edition is half off if you don't. With a new expansion coming next year, it might be time for that replay.

So, is path tracing worth the upgrade? That depends on your taste and your wallet. What do you think—will you be picking up the remaster, or sticking with the original?