Recently, with updates, this game has become a bit more CPU intensive, almost double actually of what it was a year ago. Now, I need to toggle settings and lower the CPU load somehow, so what can I change in my settings that impacts CPU use the most? Thank you

Reducing the number of NPCs (pedestrians, vehicles) should help your CPU when moving around.

In the menu, go to Gameplay and reduce "Crowd Density". Hope it helps.

Lowered Crowd Density from High to Low, and set Cascading shadows to low, and now the CPU is back to how it was last year with them on high. Almost. But it's ok. If you have any other ideas, pass them on. Thank you

I have something on the topic of optimization here:
https://www.gog.com/forum/cyberpunk_2077/recommended_settings

The short version would be to reduce all shadows to reduce the load on your GPU, and make sure the game is installed on a SSD - preferably separate from the OS - to get the best loading times and balance the system load overall.
And I am personally playing with both DLSS and RT disabled.

Don't know what the new vs. old system requirements is, but I can't say I have noticed any dfference between patch 1.03 and 1.6. Has been too many reports of issues with anything above 1.6, so I'm sticking to that until the expansion release.

Yeah, have it on my SSD with my OS , cause I have only one. :D Thanks, I think I've done what can be done for now. Let's see what the expansion does.

P.s> I also forgot to mention that the weather is 40`C and my PC has a much better time running this game in the winter :D haha.

Well, the thing is I have a custom built PC. It's reasonable, It has Cyberpunk's recommended settings basically. What's a bit of a problem, is that the PSU will start clicking (probably the fan) when I have my GPU and CPU running very high at the same time. My main problem is not the CPU and GPU cooling, but the PSU cooling. I will probably try to de-dust the whole system, cause I haven't done it in some time, and if I have too, I'll try to replace the PSU (even though it works perfectly when I don't overtask my whole system, I made sure that it was strong enough to power all the components at the same time, even asked a technician, but it's fan is starting to show it's age , 7 y). For the moment, there's not much I can do, until the temperatures fall, probably in 2 weeks. But yeah, it's solved for now. Thanks

Which PSU model do you have? And was the clicking sound always there, or did it come recently / later? The clicking noise under high load could be the fan, as you say, as the PSU spins it faster to cool itself and the bearings starting to dry. Especially if the noise only comes under high load, and given the age you said. It could also be electrical clicking, in which case I would recommend replacing the unit as soon as possible. I can't say which it could be without hearing the exact noise.

Fan bearings usually give a faster "ticking" sound if they're starting to fail. Electrical clicking is often intermittent and louder clicks.

I build my own PCs, and I also go overkill on the PSU, so good decision you made there. I was initially planning on a Corsair AX850 with my current build, but got a nice deal on a HX1200 so went with that instead. System has been running almost nonstop since June 2020 without any issues.

Some models I can recommend when you're buying a new one:
Corsair AX / HX (RM-series if you're on a budget)
Seasonic Prime
EVGA Supernova T2

If your PC specs is around the game's "recommended" specs - from the sound of it, I'm guessing a GTX 1080 - I'd say a 850 Watt woud be a nice wattage for your PC. It's what I had in my old PC (Corsair AX850), active 2013-2019, and I had no issues with it together with my, at the time, GTX 1080 and Intel i7 3770K.

I guess I don't have an ideal system. :D I have a GTX 1660 (originally a 750ti, but I upgraded that in 2020) and an intel i7 as well. My whole system runs on a PSU VP600p (600W). I guess the clicking sound, under heavy load, started years ago, and it's still working. I might replace it if I need to, the model is about 50 euros new. My problem is that, I have a compact PC housing, being about 80% of a normal sized one, called Cooler Master. And I can't fit a 850W PSU inside (or couldn't at the time, there might be smaller ones now?). I wonder if I could have an external PSU?

Anyways, wanted to tell you that the temperatures dropped to 22-25C, with winds and rain storms, so my PC is working perfectly (no more clicking sound when playing Cyberpunk at least), just need to put on socks now :P

So you have an Antec VP600p PSU?
https://www.antec.com/product/power/vp600p-plus

No offense, but I consider that to be a really low-end unit, given the specifications listed by Antec. And the unit isn't even moduar, so you're wasting (apparently precious) case space with any excess cables.

But given the physical dimensions listed (150 x 86 x 140 mm), it is a standard ATX PSU, and not the smaller SFX or SFX-L design. My Corsair HX1200 got the same height and width, but is longer, at 150 x 86 x 200 mm.

But in that case (literally, but no pun intended), you may want to look at the Corsair CX650M:
https://www.corsair.com/us/en/p/psu/cp-9020103-na/cx-series-cx650m-650-watt-80-plus-bronze-certified-modular-atx-psu-cp-9020103-na

The 650 Watt unit specifically is listed at 150 x 86 x 140 mm. The CXM 750 Watt unit is 160 mm long, but if you can fit 160 mm, there are other, much better units available.

You want RGB; there's the Corsair CF750F (comes in white or black, with an RGB-fan):
https://www.corsair.com/us/en/p/psu/cp-9020227-na/cx-series-cx750f-rgb-white-750-watt-80-plus-bronze-certified-fully-modular-rgb-white-psu-cp-9020227-na

Quality wise, neither are PSUs I would want in my PC personally (as I got plenty of space for any PSU in my Be Quiet Silent Base 802), but I got a CX-750F hotwired externally on a shelf, to power the 12V LEDs I have installed around in my room. :)

You can have an external PSU, but that wouldn't look very nice. If the looks doesn't mean that much to you, you can get any PSU you want, and just put the cables through your PSU mounting space.

That's some great advice honestly. :D I do have length available and a bit of height, only width is very cramped, I just need the fan to point down (the PC case has a filtered opening on the bottom). I'll keep these in mind, they're double the price, but it's still worth the money, if it means I can utilise the PC to its full potential.