The Witcher 3 Best Settings for GTX 1660 Super at 1080p
The Witcher 3 is ten years old, was gorgeous the day it shipped, and still holds up — which is exactly why the GTX 1660 Super is a sweet spot for it. The catch is the next-gen update: the options menu now dangles ray tracing in front of a card that was never built for it. This guide is about ignoring that temptation gracefully. It builds a 1080p preset around the classic rendering path, points the frame budget at foliage, water and shadows, and explains why swamp Velen — not sun-drenched Toussaint — is the place to judge your settings.
Who This Preset Is For
- GTX 1660 Super (6 GB) playing at 1920×1080.
- Players who want the " painterly open world" look, not the tech-demo ray-traced one.
- Anyone who tried ray tracing once, saw the frame rate, and wants a plan B that still looks great.
- People who play long sessions and value consistency over peaks.
The Ray Tracing Question, Answered for This Card
The next-gen update added ray-traced global illumination and reflections, and they genuinely transform interiors and wet streets — on cards with ray tracing hardware. The 1660 Super runs them the slow way, in software, and the cost is not worth paying: you would sacrifice the entire High preset for a handful of prettier puddles. Our call: ray tracing off, permanently, at this tier. The standard path with Screen Space Reflections and the game's excellent post-processing still produces one of the best-looking open worlds on PC. No guilt required.
DLSS is likewise off the table (NVIDIA hardware requirement), so if you ever need upscaling headroom here, the menu's FSR option is the fallback — Quality mode only, and only after you have trimmed the preset honestly. At 1080p without ray tracing, most 1660 Super owners will not need it at all.
Recommended Settings
| Setting | Recommended | Why (subjective) |
|---|---|---|
| Ray Tracing | Off | Software ray tracing on this card costs more than the entire rest of the preset returns. The classic path is the intended experience here. |
| Upscaling | Native; FSR Quality only if needed | DLSS is not available on GTX cards. Reach for FSR Quality as the last resort, not the default. See is FSR worth it at 1080p. |
| Texture Quality | High | 6 GB VRAM handles High textures at 1080p; Ultra can push past comfortable in busy areas. High is the sweet spot. |
| Foliage Visibility Range | High | The single most " Witcher 3-looking" slider — it decides how far the grass and scrubland draw. Worth defending in the budget. |
| Grass Density | Medium–High | Thick grass in Velen swamps is where frames go to die. Medium keeps meadows full-looking. |
| Shadow Quality | Medium–High | Shadows sell forests. Medium is acceptable; High is the taste upgrade if frames allow. |
| Water Quality | High | The sea, rivers and Skellige waves are signature vistas. Water is worth its cost here. |
| Screen Space Reflections | On | Cheap believability on wet cobblestones and rivers once ray tracing is off. |
| Hairworks | Off or Geralt-only | The famous frame eater. Lovely on a dire wolf's mane; the rest of the world does not miss it. Taste call, budget first. |
| Detail Level | High | Small-object draw distance — clutter in Novigrad. High keeps streets lived-in. |
| Blur effects (Motion Blur / DoF / CA) | Off / taste / Off | DoF is cinematic in cutscenes; motion blur and chromatic aberration smear a game that is already soft-leaning. See our blur guide. |
Judging the Result Properly
Calibrate in swamp Velen in the rain, galloping along a road with trees whipping past — that is the heaviest organic loadout the game offers. Then check Novigrad's central market for the city test and open Skellige coastline for the water test. If the swamp holds, the rest of the game is a victory lap. Toussaint, for all its beauty, is a flattering place to take screenshots and a terrible place to calibrate.
- Hairworks is the single biggest lever after ray tracing. If you are short on frames, this is the honest first cut, not shadows or textures.
- VRAM pressure shows up as hitches, not a lower frame counter. If long sessions start stuttering, drop Texture Quality one tier before anything else. See what texture quality actually does.
- Defend Foliage Visibility Range. Cutting it to gain frames makes Velen look empty, which changes the game's mood more than any other option.
Quick Tips (In-Game Options Only)
- Start from the High preset, then cut Hairworks and check the swamp before touching anything else.
- Judge the image while riding at speed, not standing still — TAA softness and foliage shimmer read differently in motion.
- If distant grass shimmer bothers you, that is anti-aliasing, not foliage; see our AA comparison.
- Dark scenes in caves and at night read best after a brightness calibration; see our gamma guide.
Disclaimer: All settings recommendations are subjective preference guides only. Results may vary based on individual hardware, game patch version, driver releases and personal visual taste. This is not a guaranteed universal fix. We do not provide any system modification instructions and take no responsibility for any changes you make inside your game. Always adjust game settings gradually to suit your own preference.
FAQ
Can a GTX 1660 Super run The Witcher 3 well at 1080p?
Yes — a mostly High preset with ray tracing and Hairworks off is very achievable at 1080p. The classic rendering path is exactly what this card was built for.
Is ray tracing worth trying on this card?
We would skip it. Without ray tracing hardware the cost is severe, and the standard lighting path still carries the game's look. Spend the frames on foliage, water and shadows instead.
What is Hairworks and should it be on?
It is the optional fur/hair simulation layer. It looks striking on beasts, and it is the single most expensive non-ray-tracing option in the menu. Most budget-card players leave it off or restrict it to Geralt's hair.