Graphic cards are to gamers what tools are to carpenters; a gaming rig simply isn’t complete without one — and the type of card you have will have a big impact on your gaming experience. Nvidia’s RTX and GTX cards lead the pack. So, how do you enable RTX on a GTX graphic card?
To Enable RTX on a GTX Graphic Card, start by updating your graphic drivers to the latest version. Then launch the game and go to ‘Settings.’ Scroll down to ‘Display Settings’ and look for ‘Ray Tracing.’ Enable it. You can also adjust other graphic settings for optimal performance.
There’s so much to learn about GTX and RTX cards, including what they are, their differences, and the games they support. Let’s dive in and take a closer look.
What Is RTX?
RTX is an acronym for Ray Tracing Texel eXtreme, a revolutionary technique that renders light in real time. It displays more realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections on the screen. This makes gaming far more immersive and visually appealing.
However, RTX requires special graphics cards with dedicated hardware components to work properly.
Unlike the earlier GTX graphics cards, RTX uses two important hardware components: Tensor cores and RT cores. The former enhances AI-based tasks, while the latter is specifically designed for ray tracing.
Fortunately, you don’t need to buy a new RTX card just to experience ray tracing. You can still use your existing GTX card, as long as it supports the necessary features.
What Is GTX?
Giga Texel eXtreme (GTX) is a type of graphics card that is widely used in gaming PCs. It was released by NVIDIA back in 2006 and replaced the older Giga Texel (GT) series.
GTX cards have come a long way since then and can now provide a smooth gaming experience on modern systems. They’re also popular because they tend to be cheaper than their RTX counterparts.
Compared to RTX, however, GTX cards fall short in quite a few areas, from the Tensor and RT cores to Turing architecture. But they’re highly affordable and still offer decent performances. They make an excellent option for certain gamers.
RTX vs. GTX: What Are The Differences?
While the RTX and GTX cards both provide high-end graphics performance, they differ in a few important ways. RTX cards are the natural successor to GTX cards and offer some significant improvements.
The first difference between RTX and GTX cards is the architecture of the graphics processor. RTX cards are based on the new Turing architecture, which is designed for enhanced realism and faster performance.
Only the GTX 1660 and higher have the Turing architecture, meaning that all RTX cards will outclass their GTX counterparts in terms of power and efficiency.
RTX cards also feature ray tracing technology, which is a new way of rendering realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections. It greatly improves the visual fidelity of games and videos, making them look more realistic than ever before.
Only a number of GTX cards feature ray tracing technology, and even then, it’s limited compared to that of RTX cards. You only get the basic level of ray tracing, which is adequate for some games but not as realistic as the RTX graphics.
Lastly, RTX cards have more memory bandwidth and better cooling systems than GTX cards. This allows them to run more intensive games without any issues, even at higher resolutions or with more demanding settings.
Here’s a table illustrating the differences:
| FEATURES | GTX | RTX |
| Turing Architecture | Yes | No (only on GTX 16 series and higher) |
| VR Ready | Yes | GTX 1060 or higher |
| Tensor cores | Yes | No |
| Ray Tracing | Yes | No (only a select few) |
| DLSS | Yes | No |
How to Activate RTX on a GTX Card
You can activate RTX on a GTX card, and it’s a relatively quick and simple process. Activating RTX, or ray tracing, on a GTX card will enable you to experience enhanced lighting, shadows, reflections, and more.
Here’s how you can do it:
- For starters, update your graphics driver. This provides your GPU with the necessary features to enable ray tracing. Check the official website of your graphics card manufacturer to download the latest driver version.
- Once you’ve installed the driver, launch your game. You’ll need to go into the game settings and activate ray tracing support.
- Select the Ray Tracing option and then select Enable Ray Tracing. This will enable the feature on your GTX card. You can also adjust your graphic settings for the best performance. You can lower the resolution or adjust other settings as necessary.
You’ve successfully enabled ray tracing on your GTX card. Now you can enjoy enhanced visual effects and improved performance when playing games. Keep in mind that the RTX features will still be limited compared to a dedicated RTX card, but it will still be worthwhile.
RTX 3050: For Those on a Tight Budget
Graphic cards — RTX graphic cards, in particular — are incredibly useful, but they’re not cheap. That’s one of the reasons why most gamers have opted for GTX cards. But not anymore.
The GeForce RTX 3050 (on Amazon) is the most affordable RTX card on the current market. It doesn’t feature top-tier features like the RTX 2080 Ti or the RTX 3090, but it does provide good performance for its price.
The card is designed to run games at 1080p (some games can even do 4k) with medium to high settings at 60 FPS without any hiccups.
It also supports ray tracing, so you can enjoy immersive visuals in select titles. So, if you’re tight on budget but still want to enjoy the benefits of ray tracing, this is an excellent option for you.
Which Games Support RTX?
The list of games that support RTX is constantly growing, with more and more developers embracing the technology. The following are some of the most popular titles that utilize ray tracing:
- Xuan-Yuan Sword VII
- Wolfenstein: Youngblood
- World Of Warcraft: Shadowlands
- Watch Dogs: Legion
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Sackboy: A Big Adventure
- Ring Of Elysium
- Raji: An Ancient Epic
- Resident Evil Village
- Observer: System Redux
- Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition
- Mechwarrior V: Mercenaries
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Lego: Builder’s Journey
- Jurassic World Evolution 2
- The Fabled Woods
- Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach
- FIST: Forged In Shadow Torch
- Deliver Us The Moon
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Crysis Remastered Trilogy
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
- Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Bright Memory: Infinite
- Battlefield 2042
- Battlefield V
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
Ray Tracing Games coming soon:
- Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
- Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
- Layers of Fear
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
- Atomic Heart