GPUs with dedicated or hardware-accelerated ray tracing include NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-, 30-, 40-, and 50-Series cards; AMD Radeon RX 6000-, 7000-, and 9000-Series cards; Intel Arc A- and B-Series GPUs; Apple’s A17 Pro and M3-family GPUs; and selected Qualcomm Snapdragon/Adreno platforms.
That list describes hardware capability, not guaranteed performance. A GPU can support ray tracing and still need reduced settings, upscaling, or a lower resolution to run a demanding game smoothly.
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GPUs with dedicated or hardware-accelerated ray tracing include NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-, 30-, 40-, and 50-Series cards; AMD Radeon RX 6000-, 7000-, and 9000-Series cards; Intel Arc A- and B-Series GPUs; Apple’s A17 Pro and M3-family GPUs; and selected Qualcomm Snapdragon/Adreno platforms.
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That list describes hardware capability, not guaranteed performance. A GPU can support ray tracing and still need reduced settings, upscaling, or a lower resolution to run a demanding game smoothly. Game-engine support, drivers, cooling, power limits, and the exact model all matter.
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Ray-tracing GPU families at a glance
| GPU family | Hardware ray tracing? | Relevant architecture generations |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20/30/40/50 | Yes | Turing, Ampere, Ada Lovelace, Blackwell |
| AMD Radeon RX 6000/7000/9000 | Yes | RDNA 2, RDNA 3, RDNA 4 |
| Intel Arc A/B | Yes | Xe-HPG/Alchemist, Xe2/Battlemage |
| Apple A17 Pro and M3 family | Yes | Apple family 9 GPU architecture |
| Selected Qualcomm Snapdragon/Adreno platforms | Yes | Selected premium and gaming platforms |
| NVIDIA GTX and older pre-RT AMD generations | No dedicated RT hardware | Some may run software ray tracing |
“Supports ray tracing” means that the GPU or platform has the relevant hardware or API capability. It does not promise a particular frame rate, visual setting, or game compatibility.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX: RTX 20 through RTX 50
For NVIDIA gaming GPUs, the RTX name is the simplest first-pass indicator of dedicated ray-tracing hardware. NVIDIA introduced RT Cores with the GeForce RTX 20 Series and has continued the feature through the RTX 30, RTX 40, and RTX 50 families.
- GeForce RTX 20 Series: Turing architecture and first-generation RT Cores.
- GeForce RTX 30 Series: Ampere architecture and second-generation RT Cores.
- GeForce RTX 40 Series: Ada Lovelace architecture and third-generation RT Cores.
- GeForce RTX 50 Series: Blackwell architecture and fourth-generation RT Cores.
NVIDIA’s professional RTX products also include real-time ray-tracing hardware, but professional cards target applications and workloads that can differ substantially from GeForce gaming cards. A professional RTX designation therefore confirms the general capability, not an equivalent gaming experience.
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Do GTX graphics cards have ray tracing?
Older NVIDIA GTX cards, including the GTX 16 Series and Pascal-era products, should not be described as having NVIDIA’s dedicated RTX ray-tracing hardware. Some may be able to execute ray-tracing workloads through ordinary shader resources or software paths, but that is not the same as having RT Cores. Performance and game support can be substantially different.
AMD Radeon RX: RX 6000, RX 7000, and RX 9000
AMD added hardware ray tracing with the RDNA 2 architecture. In Radeon’s desktop gaming lineup, that means the RX 6000 Series is the first major family with dedicated ray-tracing acceleration.
- Radeon RX 6000 Series: RDNA 2 and first-generation ray accelerators.
- Radeon RX 7000 Series: RDNA 3 and second-generation ray-tracing accelerators.
- Radeon RX 9000 Series: RDNA 4 and third-generation ray-tracing accelerators.
AMD describes RDNA 3 compute units as containing second-generation ray-tracing accelerators. For RDNA 4, AMD has claimed more than twice the ray-tracing throughput per compute unit compared with the preceding generation. That is an architectural claim from the manufacturer, not an independent gaming benchmark, and real results vary by game, resolution, settings, and the specific card.
Do Radeon RX 5000 cards support hardware ray tracing?
No. Radeon RX 5000 cards use the original RDNA architecture and should not be grouped with AMD’s hardware-ray-tracing generations. They may run some software-based ray-tracing implementations, but they do not have the dedicated ray-tracing accelerators introduced with RDNA 2.
Intel Arc A-Series and B-Series
Intel’s discrete Arc GPUs support hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Intel’s Arc developer documentation describes dedicated ray-tracing units attached to each Xe-core and support for DirectX Raytracing.
- Arc A-Series: the first-generation desktop and laptop Arc family, based on Alchemist/Xe-HPG, with hardware ray-tracing units.
- Arc B-Series: based on Xe2/Battlemage and equipped with dedicated ray-tracing units. Intel lists 20 ray-tracing units for the Arc B580 and 18 for the Arc B570, and identifies both as supporting ray tracing and DirectX 12 Ultimate.
With laptop Arc GPUs, check the exact computer and GPU configuration rather than relying on the family name. Laptop power limits, clocks, cooling, memory configuration, and driver support can change the experience significantly.
Apple silicon: A17 Pro and M3-family GPUs
Apple added hardware-accelerated ray tracing to its family 9 GPU architecture, used in the A17 Pro and M3 chip families. Apple’s developer material describes a ray-tracing unit that accelerates ray-intersection work, and Apple lists hardware-accelerated ray tracing in the specifications for the M3 MacBook Air.
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For Mac buyers, the safe rule is:
- A17 Pro: includes the relevant hardware ray-tracing capability.
- M3-family Macs: support hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
- M1 and M2 Macs: should not be described as having the same hardware ray-tracing feature merely because Metal can expose ray-tracing APIs or software implementations.
Hardware capability still depends on the application. A Mac game or renderer must implement a Metal ray-tracing path before the feature can be used, and not every Mac game enables ray-traced effects.
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Ray tracing is also available on selected mobile and handheld platforms. Qualcomm documents hardware-accelerated ray tracing in its Adreno materials and identifies the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 product brief as supporting real-time hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 gaming platform is described as the first G-Series platform to support ray tracing. Qualcomm also promotes hardware-accelerated ray tracing and global illumination among Snapdragon Elite Gaming features on premium Snapdragon platforms.
This does not mean that every Adreno GPU supports hardware ray tracing. Qualcomm generally sells complete Snapdragon platforms rather than standalone retail graphics cards, and whether ray tracing is exposed in a particular phone, handheld, or game depends on the chip, device maker, drivers, engine, operating system, and thermal limits.
What does not count as a hardware-ray-tracing GPU?
A ray tracer can use general-purpose shader or compute cores without dedicated hardware for operations such as bounding-volume-hierarchy traversal and ray–primitive intersection. That implementation may be useful, but it should not automatically be labeled a hardware-ray-tracing GPU.
This distinction is especially important for:
- NVIDIA GTX cards and other pre-RTX NVIDIA GPUs;
- AMD Radeon generations older than RDNA 2, including RX 5000;
- many integrated GPUs; and
- devices that expose a software renderer or API layer without dedicated ray-tracing units.
API terminology can also be confusing. Microsoft defines Direct3D ray-tracing tiers separately from ordinary DirectX feature levels. A Windows device may report D3D12_RAYTRACING_TIER_NOT_SUPPORTED, D3D12_RAYTRACING_TIER_1_0, D3D12_RAYTRACING_TIER_1_1, or a newer supported tier through the operating system and driver stack. A DirectX feature level by itself does not prove that ray tracing is available, nor does it indicate how fast it will run.
How to check whether a specific GPU has ray tracing
- Identify the exact GPU model. “Gaming laptop,” “Core Ultra laptop,” or “Radeon computer” is not specific enough. Record the actual GPU name, such as RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, RX 7800 XT, Arc B580, or an Apple M3 GPU.
- Read the manufacturer’s specifications. Look for terms such as RT Cores, ray accelerators, ray-tracing units, or hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Do not infer support from a broad product family when the exact model is unknown.
- Confirm the driver and API path. On Windows, software can query the Direct3D ray-tracing tier with the
CheckFeatureSupportAPI. The result reflects the GPU, operating system, and installed driver together—not just the silicon. - Check the game’s requirements. Some games require DirectX 12 Ultimate, while others use DirectX Raytracing, Vulkan ray-tracing extensions, or a Metal ray-tracing path. The game must actually implement the relevant renderer.
- Check performance requirements separately. Ray-tracing support is binary capability information; playability is a performance question. Look at the exact model, resolution, target frame rate, VRAM, power limit, and whether the game supports upscaling or frame-generation features.
Choosing a GPU for ray-traced games
If you are buying rather than simply identifying an existing card, start with the game and monitor you intend to use. A card that supports ray tracing at 1080p may not deliver the same experience at 1440p or 4K, especially with reflections, shadows, global illumination, or path tracing enabled.
Use the exact model, not just the family
“RTX,” “RX,” or “Arc” confirms a product direction, but cards within a family can differ in shader resources, RT hardware, VRAM, memory bandwidth, cooling, and power consumption. Compare the exact model and its requirements. Ray-tracing support does not make every RTX, RX, or Arc card equally fast.
Plan the rest of the system
- Power supply: verify the card’s recommended PSU capacity and the required power connectors. A new GPU power supply may be appropriate for an upgrade, but it is not automatically required.
- Case clearance: measure graphics-card length, height, thickness, and radiator or front-fan clearance. A PC case with GPU clearance is part of compatibility, not a performance upgrade.
- Support: large cards may benefit from a graphics card support bracket to reduce sag. Choose one that does not obstruct fans or airflow.
- Display connection: confirm that the card and monitor support the desired resolution, refresh rate, and connector standard. Use a suitable DisplayPort cable for a gaming GPU or HDMI cable where appropriate.
- Thermals: ensure the case has adequate intake and exhaust airflow. Sustained ray-traced workloads can keep a GPU under heavy load for long periods.
These accessories solve installation and display problems; they do not add ray-tracing capability to a GPU that lacks the required hardware.
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If a supported GPU does not expose ray tracing, first use NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Apple, or the device manufacturer’s official driver and software tools. Confirm that the correct GPU is selected, install the latest compatible driver, restart the system, and check the game’s renderer and requirements.
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Common misconceptions
“DirectX 12 means the GPU has ray tracing.”
No. DirectX feature levels and Direct3D ray-tracing tiers are separate capability checks. A system can support DirectX 12 while reporting that the Direct3D ray-tracing tier is not supported.
“The game has a ray-tracing option, so any modern GPU can use it.”
No. The game may require a particular API, driver, hardware tier, or minimum GPU. Some software paths can run on hardware without dedicated accelerators, but performance may be impractical.
“Ray tracing support guarantees high frame rates.”
No. Dedicated accelerators improve the handling of ray-tracing work, but performance depends on the scene, effect, resolution, settings, CPU, memory, drivers, and game engine. Path tracing is generally more demanding than using ray tracing for one or two selected effects.
“Every GPU in a product family performs the same.”
No. A family label identifies an architecture or market segment, not a universal performance level. Check the exact model and laptop power configuration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which GPUs have hardware ray tracing?
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20, 30, 40, and 50 Series; AMD Radeon RX 6000, 7000, and 9000 Series; Intel Arc A- and B-Series; Apple A17 Pro and M3-family GPUs; and selected Qualcomm Snapdragon/Adreno platforms.
Do NVIDIA GTX graphics cards have ray tracing?
No. GTX cards lack NVIDIA’s dedicated RTX RT hardware, although some may run software-based ray-tracing workloads through shader cores.
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No. AMD introduced hardware ray-tracing accelerators with RDNA 2, used by the Radeon RX 6000 Series. RX 5000 cards use the original RDNA architecture.
Does a GPU that supports ray tracing run ray-traced games well?
No. Ray-tracing capability does not establish a frame rate. The exact model, resolution, ray-tracing effects, game engine, drivers, cooling, and upscaling support all affect performance.
The Bottom Line
The short answer: choose NVIDIA RTX 20/30/40/50, AMD Radeon RX 6000/7000/9000, Intel Arc A/B, Apple A17 Pro or M3-family hardware, or a specifically documented Snapdragon/Adreno platform for hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Then verify the exact model, driver/API support, game requirements, and expected performance separately.
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