Raytracing without RTX: Nvidia Pascal receives DXR support via driver
Nvidia announced that it will bring support for Microsoft's DXR-API (the API responsible for real-time ray tracing), to older GPUs. This invokes the 10-series and recently introduced 16-series GPUs series.
The new driver thus makes it possible to use real-time raytracing in games via DXR as part of DirectX 12 without exclusive RT cores and thus on the traditional computing cores. However, with DXR effects enabled, performance will be significantly lower than Turing's counterparts with specialized RT cores - so the purpose remains to be seen. Also AMD could use DXR on its Radeon graphics cards, if supported by the driver. AMD has not yet released an official raytracing driver.
A new GeForce driver is due to be released in April, that one will add the compatibility. The Titan X, Titan V and Titan XP would also get supported. It is good to note that laptops with similar GPUs may also expect to get DX-R with the new driver, including the more economical Max-Q versions. Performance can be disappointing, NVIDIA mentions. Only very basic raytracing effects would work.
DLSS remains exclusively for Turing RTX
From now on Raytracing will no longer be available exclusively on GeForce RTX at Nvidia. But with DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) it is different. The alternative AI-based antialiasing will continue to be provided only with the dedicated tensor cores of the RTX family, Nvidia said in the Q & A after the GDC presentation to media representatives.
At least theoretically, it would be possible to create a counterpart to the proprietary DLSS via the Microsoft API Windows Machine Learning (WinML) or DirectML. DirectML takes advantage of the unified compute units of GPUs, with which even Radeon graphics cards from AMD could offer such a function, as an AMD employee had already suggested in an interview.
So in short, people can enable DirectX Raytracing ( DXR ) on GeForce GTX 1060 6GB and higher graphics cards via a Game Ready Driver update, expected in April. DLSS, no bueno.
supported GPUs
Senior Member
Posts: 8408
Joined: 2008-07-31
Except the ray tracing performance on the 1080 ti won't work even remotely well performance wise.
It's great they are going to enable this, for the simple fact it'll show how much of a leap and importance dedicated hardware is currently needed, but from an actual usability standpoint, there won't be any reason to actually try and use it.
Maybe on the 1660's there will be some usefulness since they will utilize FP32 and INT32
Since apparently you didn't read the article


Nvidia just turned your 1080 ti into a 2080, but you get 43 less FPS! Yay!
Always wanted to play games at 18fps!
Again the only point of this is to showcase how important and necessary it is to have dedicated hardware
Senior Member
Posts: 875
Joined: 2013-07-17
My 1080Ti is out of control, won't stop humping my leg, better go play ,to calm him down.
Senior Member
Posts: 13276
Joined: 2005-03-30
oh no way I must have missed that news
too bad I am rolling on a 750ti
Junior Member
Posts: 1
Joined: 2019-03-19
seems like a marketing pitch, pascal doesnt have RT cores or Tensor cores. I question Nvidias intentions sometimes.... Wouldnt they want people to buy new RTX cards? From a business standpoint, It seems as if this would slow RTX sales more. Dont even get me started on the 1660ti and 1660, just why.... Theyre competing with their own cards. Buy a damn rtx 2060 or gtx 1070.
Senior Member
Posts: 312
Joined: 2017-09-02
Nvidia just turned your 1080TI into a 2080! Please don't get upset.
Glad they did this tho. Maybe game dev's can actually use the software in much wiser ways now that there is actually a market for RT. I see little point but many are smarter than I and i'm sure some good will come out of this? RT, the way Nvidia wants it, is doomed to fail. Let's see what the Dev's can do. That is where it's at.