Latest Benchmarks Expose Path Tracing Bottleneck Across GeForce RTX Lineup

GPU benchmark testing lab
Photo by Alex Konokh

The Witcher 3 Remastered is arriving soon with a bold visual upgrade featuring path tracing support, but early performance testing has revealed an uncomfortable truth for high-end GeForce buyers: even Nvidia’s most powerful consumer GPUs are hitting a hard performance wall. Recent benchmark testing shows that the RTX 5090, Nvidia’s flagship graphics card, maxes out at just 62 frames per second when running the game at 1080p with path tracing enabled and DLSS upscaling active. That’s significantly lower than what enthusiasts would expect from a card at this price point and performance tier.

What makes this result even more troubling is that the RTX 5080 performs identically, achieving the same 62fps average. The RTX 5070 Ti comes in just 1fps behind. This behavior suggests the issue isn’t a GPU limitation but rather a fundamental bottleneck in how the game’s path tracing implementation currently runs. At 4K resolution, the RTX 5090 only marginally improves to 59fps with DLSS Performance upscaling enabled, which barely qualifies as a playable experience for buyers investing in premium hardware.

CPU Utilization and Optimization Concerns

Hardware reviewers conducting the testing noted that the bottleneck appears to stem from factors beyond raw GPU horsepower. The test system featured a Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, yet it was only operating at around 35 percent load during path tracing gameplay, with no CPU cores maxed out. This indicates the game isn’t fully utilizing available processing power, suggesting that future driver updates and game patches may unlock additional performance. In less demanding areas of the game world outside busy city zones, frame rates do climb to approximately 80fps, but the RTX 5080 still matches the 5090’s performance, confirming the ceiling persists regardless of scene complexity.

For buyers trying to decide whether investing in a premium GeForce card is worthwhile for path tracing gaming, this is a critical consideration. Performance headroom that should come with higher-tier GPUs simply isn’t materializing right now.

Visual Quality Falls Short of Expectations

Beyond the performance issues, the path tracing implementation itself appears visually underwhelming. Reviewers noted that character rendering looks washed out and over-exposed compared to the standard ray tracing Ultra preset. The path tracing mode introduces a warmer color cast with excessive red and orange tones, and in several direct comparisons, it actually looks worse than traditional ray tracing. Shadow definition improves slightly, but the overall aesthetic doesn’t justify the massive performance sacrifice, making it a questionable feature for most players.

This creates a dilemma for buyers: path tracing sounded revolutionary on paper, but the actual implementation doesn’t deliver either the performance or the visual improvements that justify using it. The RT Ultra preset without path tracing appears to be the sweet spot for visual quality without devastating frame rates.

GeForce Still Wins Against AMD Competition

While Nvidia’s own cards struggle with path tracing, they maintain an advantage over AMD’s current offerings. The Radeon RX 9070 XT averages only 43fps at 1080p and drops to just 23fps at 4K under identical test conditions. Nvidia’s path tracing implementation, despite its ceiling, remains more functional than AMD’s current capabilities. This competitive gap means GeForce buyers at least have working path tracing support, even if performance is disappointing.

At the standard Medium preset, the game runs substantially better across all hardware, with even modest cards like the Intel Arc B580 hitting 102fps and the RTX 5060 reaching 85fps at 1440p. GeForce RTX 5090 warranty coverage remains critical to understand before purchasing a flagship card for future gaming.

What This Means for Shoppers Right Now

If you’re planning to buy a GeForce card specifically for path tracing performance, wait for optimizations. Neither the initial game implementation nor current drivers have fully unlocked the potential of these GPUs. The performance ceiling at 60fps affects the entire RTX 50 series lineup, suggesting a software limitation rather than a hardware problem. Subsequent driver releases and game patches will likely improve this situation significantly.

For buyers interested in strong 1440p and 4K gaming without path tracing, GeForce continues expanding its streaming game library with fresh titles and improved streaming options. The RT Ultra preset runs reasonably well on most current GeForce cards and delivers excellent visuals without the current optimization problems.

Expect performance gains within weeks rather than months as Nvidia and CD Projekt Red release targeted optimizations. Until then, GeForce buyers shouldn’t purchase based on path tracing performance alone. The technology is here, but it’s not ready for prime time.