Yes.

Here's how it works on Linux (which I am more familiar with, but I would imagine Windows handles things similarly):
* If the CPU tries to execute an instruction it doesn't understand (like the AVX instructions on a CPU that doesn't support it), a trap is triggered on the CPU, which is then handled by the kernel.
* The kernel handles the trap by sending the process a SIGILL (Illegal Instruction) signal. If it is not caught by the application, it will crash with the message "Illegal Instruction". (Note that this is not the same as a Segmentation Fault (SIGSEGV), which Windows calls a "general protection fault"; those indicate memory errors, not invalid instructions.)
* It is possible for a program to set a signal handler to handle the SIGILL instruction. What it does now, of course, depends. One approach would be to emulate the instruction; the handler would change the processor's state to what it would be had the instruction been executed. (Note that the handler would have to keep track of what would be in the AVX registers.) Another would be to modify the code (or, more likely, change a function pointer that's called in the code) in order to point to an alternate version of the function, one that's compiled without AVX instructions.
* Alternatively, the game could execute a CPUID instruction on startup, check the result to see if the AVX bit is set, and use that to determine which version of the function that needs AVX instructions gets called. (If the CPU doesn't support CPUID, then it's so old that it doesn't come even close to supporting long mode, and therefore there's no way a 64-bit OS, which is clearly listed as a requirement for this game, would run on it without emulation.)

One possible theory: The developers and testers don't have any CPUs that lack AVX support. This would explain why the game was released in this state, where it crashes on non-AVX CPUs, without it being caught in testing, and is why CDPR would not be able to fix it (you need a system to test the fix on).

As for why the AVX Fix mod exists, someone with the technological knowledge to make the mod happened to have a non-AVX CPU, ran into this crash, and decided to look into it and see if they could fix it.

(One thing of note: Any update to the game is likely to break this mod, so you might want to disable auto-updating if you need to use it, and wait until the mod gets an update (or CDPR provides their fix) before you update the game.)

I got an answer from support, they're working on it!!!
(seeing that someone made a fix that appears on nexus mods, it seems that it was just barely anything to do ;-)
Hopefully we'll be able to continue playing the game in the near future, until we run in the next bug of course...

Such an easy fix it seems. Should've been there from day one. Shame on the developers for this...

https://www.nexusmods.com/cyberpunk2077/mods/34?tab=description

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO_1R905s3s&feature=emb_title

There you go people. Not so hard.

I'm using an i5 3570K (it has AVX, according to CPU-Z) but my game STILL crashes as soon as I finish creating my character. Game loads for like 1-3 seconds then it crashes and shuts down my GPU driver.

Will this mod have any effect for me do you think?

No, you have a different issue, the AVX crash happens in specific parts of the game, in Nomad when you get to Night City, in Streetkid when you step our of the bar (idk for corpo)
You might give it a shot but it's unlikely to work...

https://www.3dmark.com/spy/3828116

Pretty happy with this.

What does the above score prove(?):

How the 990x old CPU at 4.6Ghz is scoring way better than the minimum requirement CPUs stated by CDPR to run the game. Even if the CPU score is just (a solid) 5000, it is still and impressive score for such a CPU and shows how usable it still is. In practice it's still faster than any last generation console CPU and can run modern games at high FPS no problem in 1440p or 1080p when paired with a good graphics card (980 or better), so why waste it?

Of course the results are a bit worse compared to a 1080Ti paired to a faster processor, nothing unexpected, but it still is a score that shows how the system is actually still pretty capable for ruining any modern game reasonably well in terms of raw performance capabilities (~high, ~1440p, ~45FPS+, no AA).


Oh, and I have this other PC too (...):

https://www.3dmark.com/spy/15406902

... but that doesn't mean people should waste money just to play a game when their processor is completely fine and fit for modern games and working great still. I wanted the game to work on all my computers flawlessly and thanks to the dedicated community and fixes to the game that modders employed now I and everyone else with good non AVX CPUs can. Win Win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SyLqFuf_SU

Just in case anyone missed it, this is the solution (either one will work):

https://www.nexusmods.com/cyberpunk2077/mods/34?tab=description

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO_1R905s3s&feature=emb_title

Compatibility is important. If it runs in a PS4Pro it should run better in anything equal or better than a 950 i7 at 4Ghz or higher (paired with a reasonably capable card, 980 or better), no excuses for it as I see it. What they did with Horizon and many other games is very nice, all developers should really struggle to make their games as compatible as possible, but give a better experience to those with more capable hardware, scaling the graphical beauty accordingly. Just my opinion, of course.

What matters is that we all have fun with our overclocking and games regardless of the hardware.

And now that we have a fix for the AVX problem in Cyberpunk 2077 more people can enjoy the game regardless of how old their processor is as long as it has four or more cores at 4Ghz or higher (and paired with a reasonably good video card), which is only fair. Everyone wins.

By the way, one thing to note regarding mods of this sort:
* This mod makes the CPU not (try to) execute AVX instructions.
* AVX instructions exist because they're more efficient at a specific task. Therefore, the parts of the game that use AVX will run better than they would without it. (There's no guarantee that the difference will be noticeable, however.)
* Hence, if the AVX instructions are disabled, the game will run slower than it would with them enabled. (Assuming that the CPU supports AVX, of course.)

Therefore, if you don't need this mod for the game to work properly, then it doesn't make sense to install it. So, only install this mod if you need it; if you don't, it will likely have a (not necessarily noticeable) negative performance impact on any part of the game that uses AVX instructions.

With that said, however, the mod still serves an important purpose, until CDPR provides a fix; it is much better for the game to run slightly slower during certain scenes than for it to not run at all.

(It might be interesting if someone with an AVX capable CPU would actually try running the game both with and without the fix, and see if there's any noticeable difference. There might very well not be.)

So, if you need this mod, by all means use it; if you do not, then it does not make sense for you to install it.

That CPU is ancient

Actually, if you had paid attention to computers development, you would realize that 10 year old processors are not actually slow!

Last 10 years or so, processor performance has essentially been running in place. Things like AVX do not change that, their effect when used is only relevant for benchmarks. That is why few game developers even bother with it and most so far have removed AVX from their games as counterproductive.

So shut up and learn.

It's unfair to require cpu instructions that make the game possible and run better?

You realize that clock speed isn't all there is right? There are ipc gsins, new instructions etc.

Also as of now your system is mid range gpu wise and low range cpu wise.

This is a game that pushes even the newest hardware to it's limits. It's a game that will push next year's hardware to it's limits... It's called future proofing. This game will still look amazing compared to new games 4 years from now.

UPGRADE

Next patch on 15th Dec. should fix it officially:

"Hello,

Thank you for contacting us and for your report.

Regarding support for CPUs that are not supporting AVX Instruction Set, we are working on it.

Regards,
Ashka"

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/312673-linus-torvalds-i-hope-avx512-dies-a-painful-death

Exactly, very well said. They already are stating for many people whom contacted them with the very same problem via e-mail they are working on an official fix to be released soon for the AVX problem. Sure, with a 4.4~4.6Ghz it scores way better than any of the processors they listed for minimum requirements on any non avx benchmark.

Exactly.

I'm using this mod and I can even tell you that whatever this guy did MUST be implemented in the nearest future patch ASAP!
I lost around 30% of CPU utilization (I was nearing 95% on all 12T before) and I'm now at around 65% utilization, the game definitely smoother and there is even an increase in average FPS in most zones!
This is truly magical "mod" for us non-AVX users.

So, in other words, the AVX version performs *worse* than the non-AVX version? That's rather interesting, if I understand what you're saying.