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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →To troubleshoot ray tracing, first identify your graphics card and install the correct driver from its maker or your PC manufacturer. Then verify the installed version, check that the active GPU supports the game’s required graphics features, and follow the game publisher’s requirements. A driver update can fix some driver bugs or failed installations, but it cannot add ray-tracing support to hardware that does not provide it.
How do I update my GPU drivers?
Start by identifying the exact GPU and whether your PC is a laptop or prebuilt system. On Windows, open Device Manager > Display adapters to see the listed graphics devices. If there is more than one, note which one is discrete; laptops may also switch between integrated and discrete graphics. For laptops and prebuilt PCs, check the computer maker’s support page first: its driver package may include customizations that a generic vendor driver does not.
Use only the official vendor download or updater. The available routes differ by manufacturer:
| GPU maker | Routine update | When installation fails | Version check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel | Use Intel Driver & Support Assistant for automatic detection, or find the product in the Intel Download Center and install the selected driver. | Intel documents a clean-install option that removes old drivers, resets Intel settings and clears the shader cache. Check the PC maker first for compatibility guidance. | Open Device Manager, expand Display adapters, open the Intel device’s Properties, and select the Driver tab to check Driver Version. |
| AMD | Use AMD’s automatic detection for the Radeon product and Windows version, or select the product manually with the AMD Product Selector. | The installer’s Clean Install option attempts to remove detected Radeon Software and AMD driver versions before installing selected components. Save work first; the process restarts the PC. | Check the driver version in AMD Software or Device Manager after installation. |
| NVIDIA | Download the Game Ready driver that matches your NVIDIA graphics card from the NVIDIA driver download page, or use the NVIDIA App. | For an NVIDIA App display-driver installation failure, NVIDIA documents a Custom (Advanced) install with Perform a clean installation selected. Close other apps, run the installer as administrator, and restart when it finishes. | Check the installed version in the NVIDIA App or Device Manager. |
Vendor instructions: Intel driver installation and verification, AMD installation and Clean Install, and NVIDIA display-driver installation troubleshooting.
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Verify the update before testing the game
Wait for the installer to finish and restart if it asks you to. Then confirm the installed version rather than assuming the download was applied. Intel describes checking the Driver Version on the device’s Driver tab in Device Manager. AMD notes that, in a reported installer-error scenario, Windows Update may revert the driver version; if the version changed unexpectedly, verify it again after Windows Update has completed.
When should I use a clean installation?
Use a clean install when a normal installation fails, appears corrupted, or leaves persistent driver-related problems—not as a guaranteed fix for every ray-tracing fault. Clean-install procedures can remove settings or cached data, and the exact steps vary by vendor. Save open work before starting, especially for AMD’s process, which triggers a reboot.
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- Intel: Try the installer’s clean-install option if available. Intel says it removes old drivers, resets Intel settings and clears the shader cache. If that option is absent, Intel documents removing the driver through Device Manager; it also points to Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) if the ordinary clean method does not resolve the issue. Check with the PC maker first because generic packages can affect OEM-specific compatibility.
- AMD: Select Clean Install in the installer to attempt removal of detected Radeon Software and AMD driver versions before installing the selected components. The PC restarts.
- NVIDIA: For the specific NVIDIA App display-driver installation failure procedure, close background apps, make sure Windows Update is not actively installing updates, run the downloaded Game Ready driver as administrator, choose Custom (Advanced), enable Perform a clean installation, complete setup and restart.
These routes address installation trouble; they do not establish that a game’s ray-tracing problem is caused by driver corruption.
Why is ray tracing not working in my game?
Separate three questions: did the driver install correctly, does the active GPU expose the required hardware and graphics API support, and does the particular game support ray tracing on that GPU? A current driver can address driver bugs, but the game may still disable the feature if its requirements are not met or if it is using a different graphics adapter.
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Check the game’s requirements and active GPU
Read the game’s official system requirements and support notes for the required GPU, API and any stated ray-tracing conditions. On a multi-GPU PC, make sure the game is using the GPU whose capabilities you checked; a laptop may have both integrated and discrete adapters. A generic DirectX feature listing is a clue, not a substitute for the game’s own requirements.
Use dxdiag as a capability clue
Press Windows key + R, enter dxdiag, and press Enter. Select the Display tab for the display connected to the discrete GPU when multiple adapters are listed, then inspect Feature Levels. NVIDIA explains that feature levels vary by GPU series, so a listing alone does not prove a specific title’s ray-tracing feature will work. See NVIDIA’s DirectX feature-level check.
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Understand what “not supported” means
Microsoft’s Direct3D 12 documentation defines D3D12_RAYTRACING_TIER_NOT_SUPPORTED as a ray-tracing support tier. Applications can query this capability through ID3D12Device::CheckFeatureSupport, using D3D12_FEATURE_DATA_D3D12_OPTIONS5 and its RaytracingTier field. This is a developer API, not a consumer diagnostic utility; the game or a technical support tool has to perform that query. See Microsoft’s documentation on ray-tracing tiers and feature support.
Do I need to reinstall DirectX?
Usually, no. DirectX is a Windows component and update path, not a separate graphics-card driver download. Intel says DirectX is included with Windows or can be installed through Windows Update, and recommends keeping the graphics driver current for full API support. Install Windows updates and the correct GPU driver rather than downloading a supposed DirectX driver from an unofficial site. If a game still reports a missing API after those checks, the issue may be specific to the game’s package or support, rather than something a GPU driver reinstall can fix. See Intel’s DirectX and graphics API guidance.
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Does my graphics card support ray tracing?
Check the exact GPU model against the game’s requirements and the GPU maker’s specifications. The dxdiag feature-level list can help identify graphics capabilities, but Microsoft’s ray-tracing tier is a separate API capability and the game’s own requirements determine whether that support is sufficient. If the game or its official documentation says the active GPU is unsupported, updating the driver will not add the missing hardware or API capability.
When a crash points to a model-specific fix
Do not apply BIOS or Resizable BAR changes as universal ray-tracing fixes. Intel’s guidance for a specific Arc A770 DirectX/out-of-memory crash scenario lists enabling Resizable BAR in BIOS, updating BIOS according to the system maker’s instructions, trying Arc graphics driver 31.0.101.4900 or newer, using DDU or a clean install, and resetting the PC. That article was reviewed 2024-07-01; its recommendations are for that A770 case, not every Arc card or game. Check the PC maker’s current BIOS instructions and Intel’s Arc A770 crash guidance before making system-level changes.
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