How To Enable Ray Tracing | GPU, Game & Developer Setup

Ray tracing works on RTX 20+, RX 6000+, and Intel Arc GPUs. Run the game in DirectX 12 mode, then toggle it under Advanced Graphics settings.

Most high-end GPUs from the last five years support ray tracing, but the option to turn it on is buried inside each game’s Advanced Graphics menu — and it only appears when the game runs in DirectX 12 mode. Getting it working takes three things: compatible hardware, the right graphics API, and a single in-game toggle. The steps below cover exactly how to enable ray tracing on PC, from verifying your GPU to flipping the switches in games like Minecraft and Cyberpunk 2077.

What Hardware Do You Need For Ray Tracing?

Ray tracing demands dedicated hardware acceleration for playable frame rates. The GPUs that support it fall into two tiers: full acceleration with dedicated RT cores, and fallback support that runs on standard shader cores with much lower performance.

NVIDIA RTX 20-series and newer (including the 30 and 40 series) offer full hardware-accelerated ray tracing via dedicated RT cores. GTX 10 and 16-series cards can technically run ray-traced effects as a shader-based fallback, but the performance hit makes most games unplayable at anything above 720p with low settings. AMD Radeon RX 6000 and 7000 series GPUs provide full support through their own ray accelerators. Intel Arc A-series GPUs (A580, A750, A770) also support ray tracing natively. On the CPU side, a modern multi-core processor like an Intel Core i5 6th-gen or newer — or an AMD Ryzen equivalent — handles the backend geometry processing, while the GPU does the visual work.

Enabling Ray Tracing In PC Games: The In-Game Steps

Most games that support ray tracing keep the toggle inside the graphics settings menu, not on the main screen. The option only appears when the game launches in DirectX 12 mode — if you’re running DirectX 11, the ray tracing controls are hidden entirely.

1. Launch the game and navigate to Settings > Graphics or Advanced Graphics.
2. Scroll to the section labeled Ray Tracing, RTX, or Ray Traced Effects.
3. Enable the option — look for individual settings for reflections, shadows, and global illumination, plus a master ray tracing toggle.
4. If the option is missing entirely, the game likely launched in DirectX 11. Add -dx12 to the game’s launch options via Steam (right-click the game > Properties > Launch Options) or restart with the DirectX 12 renderer selected in the launcher.

When it’s on, you’ll see reflections and shadows sharpen in real time. Check NVIDIA’s official RTX games list to confirm which titles support ray tracing before you start troubleshooting a missing toggle.

How To Enable Ray Tracing In Minecraft Bedrock

Minecraft Bedrock Edition handles ray tracing differently from other games. The toggle is greyed out in the main menu and only becomes available once you’re inside a world.

1. Open Video Settings from the main menu and enable Allow in-game graphics mode switching — it’s off by default.
2. Create or load any world.
3. Open the in-game settings (press Esc or the pause button) and toggle Ray Tracing from Off to On.
4. Reload the world to confirm the shiny ground effects and realistic lighting are active.

A critical gate: Minecraft’s ray tracing is fully path-traced and requires dedicated RT cores. GTX-series cards cannot run it — only RTX, RX 6000+, and Intel Arc GPUs will work here.

GPU Ray Tracing Compatibility

How Developers Enable Ray Tracing

If you’re building a game or rendering project, both Unity and Unreal Engine require explicit steps to turn ray tracing on. The setting lives in the project configuration, not in any runtime menu.

In Unity HDRP

1. Open Window > Rendering > HDRP Wizard, go to the HDRP + DXR tab, and click Fix All.
2. In Project Settings, select the Player tab, then Other Settings > Rendering. Disable Auto Graphics API for Windows and add Direct3D12 to the Graphics APIs list.
3. Select your HDRP Asset in the Project window and check the Realtime Ray Tracing box in the Inspector.

In Unreal Engine

1. Open Project Settings > Engine > Rendering.
2. Check Support Hardware Ray Tracing to enable the feature for the whole project.

Why Is Ray Tracing Greyed Out Or Missing?

The most common cause is the game running in DirectX 11 mode instead of DirectX 12. Ray tracing requires DX12’s lower-level hardware access, so older APIs block the option at the engine level. In Minecraft specifically, the toggle is unavailable from the main menu by design — you must enter a world first. If the option is visible but greyed out even inside a world, double-check that Allow in-game graphics mode switching is enabled in Video Settings.

Ray Tracing Troubleshooting Guide

Fast Checklist: Setting Up Ray Tracing

Enable ray tracing in any supported game by verifying three things in order: your GPU belongs to the RTX 20+, RX 6000+, or Intel Arc series with at least 8 GB VRAM; the game is running in DirectX 12 mode; and the ray tracing toggle is switched on inside the in-game Advanced Graphics menu. For Minecraft, add the extra step of entering a world before the toggle becomes active. If performance tanks after enabling it, drop the RT quality setting one notch or lower the resolution — the visual improvement usually stays noticeable even at the medium preset.