The ray tracing feature was added to FromSoftware’s Elden Ring on March 23, 2023, as part of the most recent update. The visual quality of the game is expected to significantly improve as a result of the recent addition of hardware-accelerated ray tracing, despite the fact that the game already has a visually impressive appearance in its current state.
When it comes to the hardware of the GPU, it is no longer a secret that ray tracing places a significant amount of demand on it. As a consequence of this, low-end graphics processing units (GPUs) like the RX 6500 XT and the RTX 2060 will almost certainly struggle to run the game smoothly if this feature is activated. The good news is that both AMD and Nvidia produce a number of high-end graphics cards that are capable of operating Elden Ring with the RT (ray tracing) option enabled.
In this piece, we will discuss the various types of video cards that are capable of running Elden Ring without causing significant slowdowns in the game’s framerate. The list encompasses everything from inexpensive graphics cards that work well with gaming rigs with a low price tag to the most recent and cutting-edge offerings from Nvidia and Team Red.
Disclaimer: This article solely reflects the opinions of the writer.
A guide to purchasing the best GPUs for Elden Ring with ray tracing.
1) AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ($280)
The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT was released as a successor to the RX 6600 XT for high-end 1080p gaming. Despite the fact that this GPU is faster than the RTX 3050 and 3060, it is less expensive. This card is capable of running most modern video games at their highest settings with ray tracing enabled, and Elden Ring is no exception.
| GPU Name | RX 6650 XT |
| Memory | 8 GB GDDR6 128-bit |
| Base clock | 2,055 MHz |
| Base clock | 2,635 MHz |
The RX 6650 XT has received massive discounts in recent years, with interested gamers able to purchase this GPU for as little as $280 from leading retailers such as Newegg and Best Buy. For those on a tight budget, this is without a doubt one of the best video cards available today.
2) Nvidia Geforce RTX 3060 Ti ($420)
The RTX 3060 Ti, which was officially released in February of last year, is a massive step up from the Turing-based 60-class performance-segment GPU. It outperforms the RTX 2080 Super in most video games, including Elden Ring, as expected. FromSoftware fans can enjoy the game at up to 1440p while maintaining reasonable framerates with this card.
| GPU Name | RTX 3060 Ti |
| Memory | 8 GB GDDR6 256-bit |
| Base clock | 1,410 MHz |
| Boost clock | 1,665 MHz |
Unfortunately, the RTX 3060 Ti is significantly more expensive than AMD’s direct competitor, the RX 6650 XT. As a result, the Team Green GPU starts at around $420 for the most basic variants.
3) AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ($565)
If gamers want to play Elden Ring with ray tracing at up to 4K resolutions, they’ll have to go with the more expensive high-end GPUs on the market. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is a reasonably priced graphics card that supports up to UHD resolution and has plenty of video memory for future-proofing.
| GPU Name | RX 6800 XT |
| Memory | 16 GB GDDR6 256-bit |
| Base clock | 1,825 MHz |
| Boost clock | 2,250 MHz |
As of the time of writing, the cheapest models of this card start at $565. The AMD GPU competes with powerful cards such as the RTX 3070 Ti and is slightly slower than the RTX 3080, but it is significantly less expensive.
4) Nvidia Geforce RTX 3080 Ti ($919)
The superior ray tracing performance of Nvidia’s top-tier GPUs is well-known. The RTX 3080 Ti is a high-end card that delivers on that front. The only significant difference between the two premium options is the VRAM, which is half that of the BFGPU and boasts a powerful performance that is very close to the 3090.
Nonetheless, with RT enabled, the 3080 Ti checked all of the boxes for a solid performance in Elden Ring. In fact, gamers can enjoy framerates of up to 60 FPS in 4K without experiencing any significant performance issues.
| GPU Name | RTX 3080 Ti |
| Memory | 12 GB GDDR6X 384-bit |
| Base clock | 1,365 MHz |
| Boost clock | 1,665 MHz |
The RTX 3080 Ti is, as expected, an expensive card that will set gamers back at least $900. In comparison, AMD’s latest launches may appear far more lucrative, but they generally fall short when it comes to ray tracing performance.
5) Nvidia Geforce RTX 4090 ($1,599)
The RTX 4090 is the best choice for playing the latest video games at high resolution with ray tracing enabled. This premium card easily hits 60 FPS in Elden Ring at 4K resolution with ray tracing enabled, thanks to over 16,000 CUDA cores and a hefty 24 GB of the fastest GDDR6X memory.
| GPU Name | RTX 4090 |
| Memory | 23 GB GDDR6X 384-bit |
| Base clock | 2,235 MHz |
| Boost clock | 2,520 MHz |
The RTX 4090 is sure to burn a hole in gamers’ pockets, as it was released with a hefty price tag of $1,599. Its add-in card models range in price from $1,699 to over $2,000.
In general, high-end GPUs will be required for optimal performance in modern video games that use ray tracing. With more AAA games expected to include this exciting feature, the cards listed above will be ideal for the best gaming experience.
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