Do you have an RTX graphics card or AMD GPU that supports ray tracing? Looking for a game to utilize the new technology on? How about Minecraft? In this guide, we walk you through how to turn on ray tracing in Minecraft.
Even though Minecraft was released almost one decade ago, the game remains exceptionally popular, with an estimated 126 million monthly users still playing the game.
Check out our picks for some of the coolest Minecraft builds of all-time.
A large part of Minecraft’s popularity is due to the ease with which creators can develop game-changing mods and how players can install those same mods.
Many of those mods are developed by fans of the game. A few are developed by larger organizations with significant resources.
One of those larger organizations is NVIDIA.
By working with Microsoft and Mojang, NVIDIA has created a plethora of Creator Worlds that showcase the power and beauty of ray tracing technology.
By reading this guide, you will learn the following:
- What ray tracing does.
- How you can turn on ray tracing in Minecraft.
- Which Minecraft versions support ray tracing.
- Whether or not ray tracing is even worth turning on.
Table of Contents
2. Make Sure You Have the Right Hardware
3. How to Turn on Ray Tracing in Minecraft
5. Step 2: Find an RTX Compatible World
What Is Ray Tracing?
Ray tracing is a method of rendering lights and shadows that look and feel lifelike. With ray tracing, you get a realistic environment with dynamism, color, and detail.
The technology simulates and tracks every ray of light in a particular scene. Simulating and tracking every ray of light is, of course, a very system-intensive process.
For that reason, there still aren’t too many games that support ray tracing, and most of the games that do support the technology were released quite recently.
Can Your Computer Run Ray Tracing In Minecraft?
Many will agree that Minecraft is, for the most part, not particularly demanding.
Ray tracing changes that.
To run ray tracing in Minecraft, you will need either an RTX 20-or-30-series GPU or one of AMD’s Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs.
If you do not have a GPU from either one of those product lines, then ray tracing is not available to you.
A good graphics card isn’t all you need, either; at the very least, you will also need 8GB of DDR4 RAM and an Intel Core i5 processor or the equivalent.
If you have the right graphics card, your computer can run Minecraft with ray tracing on while fulfilling those other requirements.
The exact frame rate you experience is heavily dependent on the hardware you’re using.
Just as a general rule, though, expect your frame rate to be considerably less than it would be without ray tracing.
How Can You Turn On Ray Tracing In Minecraft?
Right before we dive into the process, there’s one thing you should know: ray tracing is only available on the Windows 10 version of Minecraft.
If you own Minecraft on a console, a mobile device, or on another operating system, ray tracing is currently not available.
If you do not own “Minecraft For Windows 10”, you will need to purchase that version of the game to turn on ray tracing.
Step 1: Install Minecraft
If you haven’t installed Minecraft, now’s the time to do that.
To install the game, click on the “Start” icon and, in the search bar, type in “Microsoft Store”.
Right after that, go to the Microsoft Store’s search bar, type in “Minecraft For Windows 10”.
After finding “Minecraft For Windows 10”, you can purchase the game or grab the free trial.
No matter which one you choose, make sure to press the “Install” button.
Step 2: Find The RTX World You Wish To Install
As soon as Minecraft is installed, you can turn on the game.
The main menu will show three buttons: “Play”, “Settings” and “Marketplace”.
Click on “Marketplace”.
Once the marketplace is loaded, you can click on the “Magnifying Glass” at the top right of the screen.
A search bar will open. You can type in “RTX” or “NVIDIA”, then press “Enter”.
You will see a list of RTX-compatible worlds pop up. And, for further verification that they are ray tracing compatible, there will be a unique icon in the bottom left corner of the world.
Each one of these worlds supports and utilizes ray tracing.
Take a moment to find a world that you like.
Step 3: Download The RTX World You Like
Once you’ve found the world you wish to install, click on the “Create This World” button.
You can edit the settings for that world.
Once you’re finished editing the settings, you can click “Create”.
The world will take a moment to download.
Go back to the main menu and click “Play” and then “Create New”.
You can choose one of the Minecraft RTX worlds you’ve downloaded.
You can then enter the world and enjoy what ray tracing technology has to offer.
Is Ray Tracing in Minecraft Worth It?
The visual enhancements that ray tracing offers are significant.
With the technology turned on, the visual experience in Minecraft looks and feels significantly more lifelike.
In many ways, ray tracing makes Minecraft feel like an entirely new experience.
Even so, though, the overall gameplay doesn’t change much. And, it should be noted that the framerate loss can be significant.
So, if you are just looking for a change in how Minecraft plays, or you don’t want to sacrifice in-game performance, ray tracing may not be worth it for you.
On the other hand, if you have a solid gaming computer and want to see how new lighting can improve Minecraft, ray tracing is worth giving a try.
