Some people probably never realized that the extremely popular gaming title called Minecraft has been blessed with an upgrade in terms of realism. The thing is known as ray tracing and the popular chipmaker Nvidia introduced it. Even though it was originally used for PC gamers, ray tracing will be made available for Xbox Series X as part of the new Minecraft RTX.
What is ray tracing?
You will have to understand the meaning of ray tracing first if you want to understand how to enable ray tracing in the game. It has been known that the portrayal of light and shadows in video games has always been an issue, same goes with digital SFX. Some people think that the hardest thing in achieving excellent realism is in this aspect. Up until now, it is needed for a game to portray lighting as accurately as possible.
The new ray tracing technology has been recently introduced by Nvidia. This one is based on its innovative RTX chipsets. Ray tracing works like a magic turning lighting in the game into a stunning one, regardless of the genre. It is something that the fans of Microsoft have been looking forward to.
RTX is Minecraft
Enabling ray tracing in the game named Minecraft has nothing to do with hardware and software. It is, fortunately, as simple as installing the right version of the game, more specifically Minecraft RTX. Basically, enabling ray tracing in the game is as easy as downloading, installing, and running the new version of the game.
What should you do to enable the ray tracing in Minecraft on Windows 10 PC?
As stated before, installing Minecraft RTX is needed to enable ray tracing in Minecraft. It is that easy. The thing is, Minecraft RTX is exclusive. You are going to get Windows 10 and it is needed for a moment.
If you want to activate the Minecraft RTX, you should install the newest PC client for the game called Minecraft for Windows 10, which is able to be found on Microsoft Store for $30. Here is the method to install Minecraft for Windows 10:
- The first thing that you will have to do is to click Start.
- Then, enter “Microsoft store”.
- Doing so will open the Microsoft Store app. Upon opening it, go to the search bar of the app and then type in Minecraft for Windows 10.
- Keep in mind that you will need to buy the game and install it like you always do for any other app. The free trial is also available for you to check out.
Unfortunately, running Microsoft for Windows 10 will not automatically enable ray tracing in the game. Aside from that, installing the Xbox Insider Hub is also needed to enable it. Please find and install the game in the Microsoft Store. Once you have installed it, here are the steps that you should follow to enable ray tracing.
- First thing first, run the app called Xbox Insider Hub app.
- When it runs, navigate to the Insider content tab that is able to be found in the left part of the screen.
- There should be a tile named Minecraft for Windows 10.
- Once you have found one, please click it.
- The next thing that you will have to do is to click Join.
- A list of options will be offered. Do not forget to choose Minecraft for Windows 10 RTX Beta and then choose Done.
In the end, the RTX Beta should be automatically installed and applied to your Minecraft for Windows 10 version. Following these instructions will enable ray tracing for you. Apparently, switching to Minecraft RTX will delete all Minecraft worlds. In this case, you are suggested to do backup first.
How do you enable the ray tracing in Minecraft on an Xbox One?
The sad news is that, as of now, Minecraft RTX is made exclusively for Windows 10. With the upcoming release of the new generation of the Xbox console in only a couple of months, please do not expect Minecraft RTX on Xbox One. On the brighter news, it seems like the Xbox Series X and S will have access to Minecraft RTX.
How do you enable ray tracing in Minecraft on iPhone or Android?
Unfortunately, enabling ray tracing in Minecraft is currently not available for Android and iPhone. For your information, ray tracing needs modern graphics juggernauts and both smartphone and tablet technology is still far behind.
Another thing that you need to do
Everyone wants to make sure that you set everything well for ray tracing. It is actually an advanced and demanding feature. Updating your Nvidia drivers is the very first thing to do to enable Minecraft RTX. If you do not know how to do so, please find the method first.
Minimum requirements for Minecraft ray tracing
Thinking about your certain graphics card is a must if you want to run Minecraft RTX. As you probably know, rat tracing is a very resource demanding feature. As stated by Nvidia, you need to go with the GeForce RTX 2060 or later in case you want everything to run perfectly. Here is the list of the graphics cards that are compatible with Minecraft RTX:
- GeForce RTX 2060
- GeForce RTX 2060 Super
- GeForce RTX 2070
- GeForce RTX 2070 Super
- GeForce RTX 2080
- GeForce RTX 2080 Super
- GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
- Titan RTX
Actually, having one of those above does not really help to make everything go smoothly. The system specs have a big role in how the game will behave. Here is a minimum that you can consider:
- Intel Core i5 10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- Corsair DDR4 RAM 16GB or 32GB
- Samsung 860 EVO SSD 250GB or Samsung 970 EVO SSD 250GB
- GPU and Windows Home 64 bit
That’s the minimum requirements to properly run the Minecraft RTX. If you go any lower, it means you are risking the frame drops.
AUTHOR BIO
On my daily job, I am a software engineer, programmer & computer technician. My passion is assembling PC hardware, studying Operating System and all things related to computers technology. I also love to make short films for YouTube as a producer. More at about me…
