Best GPU for ray tracing in 2024 – our top picks

If you’re looking for the most realistic graphics, the best GPU for ray tracing is a must have.

Ray tracing is a technology that allows for photo-realistic depictions of light in video game graphics. This is not just depictions of light sources but of how the light emitted from those sources reflects, bounces, and casts a shadow on the objects and surfaces around it.

This technology is not related to resolution either, meaning that ray tracing is not the just domain of the best GPUs for 4k but also many of the best GPUs for 1440p, and 1080p. Ray tracing’s hyper-realistic recreation of light is great for single-player games with beautiful worlds, but can also help in more competitive games.

The level of power that ray tracing requires means you will need a high-end graphics card if you want to make use of the technology, either from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel Arc. Questions about the best GPUs for anything naturally come down to these two competitors. NVIDIA with their RTX cards versus AMD’s RX range, both capable of ray tracing.

To give you a breadth of choice we have included cards from both companies here. We’ve offered a range of picks, each with a great ray tracing performance. There is also a description of each card so you can et an idea of which one makes the most sense for you. Let’s get into it.

Best overall GPU for ray tracing – RTX 3080

The RTX 3080 has been one of the most popular and powerful ray tracing GPUs ever since its release. The RTX 3000 series as a whole represented a huge leap forward in ray tracing technology, thanks to its next-generation RT and Tensor cores. The 3080 made this breakthrough accessible to the general public with a more affordable price.

It’s our pick for the best overall GPU for raytracing because it is extraordinarily powerful while still boasting a reasonable price. This power is demonstrated in the graph above. While NVIDIA’s next generation of GPUs is now out, in the form of the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090, these cards are priced so astronomically high that we believe that the RTX 3080 delivers a higher performance per dollar.

The card we’ve linked to above by Pedladn has a great aesthetic that should complement any build. If you want to check other versions, you can check out our picks for the best RTX 3080.

If you go for this card, make sure you get the best case for the RTX 3080 as these can help massively with cooling, and so in turn improve performance. The best gaming monitor for RTX 3080 will also make sure the ray traced graphics are recreated authentically.

Best AMD GPU for ray tracing – RX 7900 XT

The RX 7900 XT is hands down the most powerful card on this list. This is because it is part of the next generation of graphics cards. The reason it finds its way onto our list ahead of the likes of the RTX 4080 or RTX 4090, is thanks to its incredible performance to price ratio.

You will be able to run frame rates of around 60FPS at a 4K resolution in games such as Control on this card. Of course, this means even higher rates on lower resolutions.

The RX 7000 series represents a big step forwards from AMD in ray tracing technology, an area in which they are considered to be lagging behind NVIDIA in. While it is true that the RTX 4080 does outperform the RX 7900 XT with ray tracing enabled, it is not only far more expensive but also performs worse in many other areas.

Overall the RX 7900 XT is a powerful card very capable of ray tracing and a perfect choice for those who wish to stick with AMD’s cards. If you do opt for this card, which is great for processors like the i5 13600k, we’d recommend checking out our picks for the best CPU for the 7900 XT to go with it.

Best budget GPU for ray tracing – RTX 2060

As part of an older generation of graphics cards, the RTX 2060 manages to still perform well while ray tracing and at a low price.

That’s not to say that you will get high frame rates at 4K with ray tracing enabled, as you could with other cards on this list. However, the RTX 2060 is very capable of ray tracing at a steady 60FPS at 1080p, meaning you can make use of the beautiful light effects ray tracing is famous for, while only spending around $300. The RTX 2060 would be a great choice if you have a CPU such as the Ryzen 5 5600x.

The card from MSI that we have gone for here has a clock speed of 1710 MHz and a great overall look. If you want to investigate other options WePC has a great list of their picks for the best RTX 2060 graphics cards.

Frequently asked questions

With technology as advanced as ray tracing, it is perhaps not surprising there are certain questions that come up time and time again. We have tried our best to answer a few of them here.

Does ray tracing really make a difference?

Ray tracing makes a huge difference to how light looks in a game. When it first came out it set a new bar for what people meant when they said realistic graphics.

Can you run ray tracing with a GTX?

No – the only cards from NVIDIA that are capable of ray racing are in the RTX series.

Does ray tracing lower FPS?

Yes – ray tracing is a massively demanding technology. Even with the most powerful GPUs your frame rate will take a big drop when ray tracing is enabled.