[Hardware] Cyberpunk 2077 Bug Bulldozes AMD Ryzen: Here's a Fix, Tested

[Agent47]

 

 

Regardless of your processor or GPU, Cyberpunk 2077 can push your system to the limits. However, resourceful redditors have discovered that the game code significantly harms performance on some AMD processors, because it apparently checks to see if your CPU uses Team Red's 2011-era Bulldozer platform and, if not, limits the number of available threads. 

Fortunately, the same folks have also crafted a simple fix that can lead to big performance gains with some AMD Ryzen processors under specific conditions. We put the fix to the test with several Ryzen CPUs, including some of the best CPUs,  to determine which processors benefit and under what conditions. We logged up to a 23% gain in some Cyberpunk 2077 benchmarks, so the fix is definitely worthwhile if you're limited by the performance of your Ryzen CPU. We'll also outline how you can apply the fix yourself.

Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most hotly-anticipated games of all time, but it's absolutely punishing on your PC, especially if you want to play at heightened resolutions and fidelity (see our evaluation of Cyberpunk system requirements). As usual, the community has begun investigating the best settings for the game and searching for useful hacks. 

The biggest hack to emerge centers around Cyberpunk's apparent inability to use AMD Ryzen processors to the fullest. Instead of using all of the threads available to the processor, the game code only runs on physical cores in some circumstances. As a result, some threads are left unused, leaving potential performance on the table. These same problems don't appear to apply to Intel's processors, but we're also busy testing several Core models to make sure.

We're working on getting a better description of the problem from the game developers. For now, AMD's problem appears to stem from the GPUOpen software suite that Cyberpunk 2077 uses to detect the processor installed in the system. Apparently, this check determines whether or not the AMD chip is a Bulldozer model, and if it isn't, the software assigns the chip half the number of scheduler threads. That leads to the underutilization of some of AMD's processors.  

The fix is relatively simple, but as with any unsanctioned and unofficial fix, proceed at your own risk. Also, the fix doesn't work under all conditions. As we'll show below, you should be aware that some hardware configurations can actually lose performance as a result. Also, be aware that the fix tends to result in higher CPU utilization on Ryzen processors, even if the particular model doesn't benefit from the patch. 

How to Apply the Cyberpunk 2077 AMD 'Fix'
You can find detailed instructions on applying the fix in several locations; there's a PCGaminWiki listing, a video, and a reddit post with more info on applying the fix manually. New software that automatically applies the 'fix' is already in circulation, but always exercise caution with unverified software - there could be malware lurking.