Watch Dogs Legion screenshots 1

Watch Dogs Legion can finally run with constant 60fps on high-end CPUs


As we’ve already reported, Ubisoft released a brand new performance patch for the PC version of Watch Dogs Legion. And, we are happy to report, that owners of high-end CPUs can finally enjoy the game with silky smooth 60fps, even while driving.

In order to test this patch, we used an Intel i9 9900K with 16GB of DDR4 at 3800Mhz with an NVIDIA RTX 2080Ti, Windows 10 64-bit, and the latest version of the GeForce drivers.

Update 2.20 brings around an 8-9% performance increase in the built-in benchmark. Prior to this update on our custom Very High settings, we were getting a minimum of 81fps and an average of 109fps. Now we are getting a minimum of 98fps and an average of 118fps. Below you can find our custom Very High settings.

Watch Dogs DSOGaming Custom 4K/60fps Settings-1Watch Dogs DSOGaming Custom 4K/60fps Settings-2 Watch Dogs DSOGaming Custom 4K/60fps Settings-3Watch Dogs DSOGaming Custom 4K/60fps Settings-4

The good news here is that the game can run with constant 60fps at 3328×1872 with DLSS Quality and our custom Very High settings. Even while driving, our framerate never dropped below 62fps. The game now feels silky smooth, though there is still room for additional optimizations. For instance, the game is currently limited by your RAM frequency. That’s why most PC gamers have been witnessing an underwhelming performance. Below you can find some benchmarks between DDR4-2666Mhz, DDR4-3000Mhz, DDR4-3600Mhz and DDR4-3800Mhz. Do note that these benchmarks are from the pre-patch version.

Watch Dogs Legion RAM frequency benchmarks

Due to these RAM bottlenecks, it’s still hard to achieve constant 60fps with Ray Tracing, even on Medium settings. In this particular game, Ray Tracing brings an additional memory overhead, which further impacts overall performance. At 2560×1440 with DLSS Balanced and Medium Ray Tracing, we had some drops to 55fps while driving. Don’t get us wrong, the game is at least playable and enjoyable now with RT. However, and for getting a completely smooth gaming experience, we still suggest disabling Ray Tracing.

Overall, Watch Dogs Legion runs better than its initial version. However, we believe there is still room for improvement. So, here is hoping that Ubisoft will keep optimizing the game with future patches.