How to Turn On and Enable Ray Tracing for Your Computer: A Comprehensive Guide

Realistic graphics and lighting are here with the implementation of ray tracing. Even with an RTX card or ray tracing-ready GPU, it can be a little complex for many people who are looking to enable ray tracing on their computer.

In this guide, we will walk you through step-by-step how to enable and turn on ray tracing on your computer.

Prerequisites

Hardware Requirements

• Graphics Card: NVIDIA RTX 2000 series or AMD Radeon RX 5000 series or higher. Learn more about RT Cores in Nvidia cards.
• System Memory: At least 16GB RAM for optimal performance. Ray tracing can have an impact on the system’s RAM.

Software Requirements

• Game or Application: Must support ray tracing. Check out this In-Depth Guide on Ray Tracing for more information.
• Graphics Drivers: Latest versions for your respective graphics card.

Detailed Steps

Step 1: Update Your Graphics Card Driver

For NVIDIA Users:

1. Open GeForce Experience: This application usually starts with Windows. If not, search for it in the Start menu.
2. Check for Updates: Navigate to the ‘Drivers’ tab and click on ‘Check for Updates’.
3. Download and Install: If an update is available, download and install it.

For AMD Users:

1. Open AMD Software Adrenalin Edition: Search for this application on your computer and open it.
2. Navigate to Updates: Usually found under the ‘System’ or ‘Updates’ tab.
3. Download and Install: Similar to NVIDIA, if an update is available, proceed to download and install it.

Step 2: Verify Game Compatibility

1. Official Game Website: Check the game’s official website for information on ray tracing support.
2. NVIDIA’s Ray Tracing Page: NVIDIA maintains a list of games that support their ray tracing technology.
3. AMD Support: For AMD users, the information might be available on the game’s system requirements page.

Step 3: Launch Your Game

Start your game as you normally would, either through a game launcher like Steam or a desktop shortcut.

Step 4: Access the In-Game Settings Menu

1. Pause the Game: Once the game has started, pause it to access the main menu.
2. Navigate to Settings: Look for a ‘Settings’ or ‘Options’ menu.

Step 5: Go to Graphics Settings

1. Find Graphics Tab: Within the settings menu, there should be a tab or section specifically for graphics settings.
2. Advanced Settings: Some games have an ‘Advanced’ section under graphics settings. Navigate there if applicable.

Step 6: Enable Ray Tracing

1. Locate Ray Tracing Option: Scroll through the graphics settings until you find the ray tracing options.
2. Choose Level of Detail: Some games allow you to choose the level of ray tracing effects. Higher levels will be more resource-intensive.
3. Apply Settings: Don’t forget to apply the changes.

Step 7: Test and Enjoy

1. Restart the Game: Some games require a restart for new graphics settings to take effect.
2. Test Gameplay: Play the game for a few minutes to ensure everything is working as expected.

Troubleshooting Tips

• Low FPS: If you experience a significant drop in frames per second (FPS), consider lowering the ray tracing settings or disabling other graphical features. Learn more about how Ray Tracing affects FPS.

Conclusion

As you can see, it is actually really easy to enable ray tracing on your computer, and the steps are pretty straight forward for any application or game you want to enable it on.

However, you should also remember that not all games support ray tracing software, and the games immersiveness will depend on how compatible they are with ray tracing, and what GPU brand they support.