Can't turn on ray tracing w/ 3070 TI

[Corteneo]

I'm sorry if I'm dumb or oblivious, but I absolutely cannot figure this out after hours of searching and testing over at least a month.
All I'm trying to do is turn ray tracing on, but the option is greyed out. I have a 3070TI, which beats the 2060 "RT Minimum" that CDPR lists for 2.0, and is near the 3080TI they recommend. No combination of Graphics settings has made it available. I tried hacking the .json file settings (reminds of an .ini) and setting it to "Read Only," which also didn't seem to work. I repeatedly see that "Path Tracing" has to be turned on, at the bottom of the Graphics settings, but I don't have that option available. It seems like other people with 3070's are doing RT demo's on YouTube. There is a note in the Graphics settings that DLSS Frame Generation is only available on the 40 series cards, but my understanding is that DLSS FG is not necessary for ray tracing.
Any help is much appreciated. TIA

[failsafe]

Try using Display Driver uninstaller DDU, download the latest driver but don't install it boot in to Windows safe mode run DDU then install the new driver and reboot see if that fixes it.

https://www.guru3d.com/download/display-driver-uninstaller-download/

[Alio]

Originally posted by failsafe:

Try using Display Driver uninstaller DDU, download the latest driver but don't install it boot in to Windows safe mode run DDU then install the new driver and reboot see if that fixes it.

https://www.guru3d.com/download/display-driver-uninstaller-download/

You forgot to mention, turn off WiFi/unplug Ethernet so Windows doesn't auto install a base graphics driver when restarting after DDU. There is an option in DDU to disable windows from doing it, but it is not recommended.

My 3070 will run Ray Tracing, so the other question is, is your 3070ti really a 3070ti? Did you buy it new or used? I've seen some 3k cards for sale that are much weaker cards just housed in 3k shells. Check with GPU-Z to ensure your 3070ti is in fact, a 3070ti.

No reason why you shouldn't be able to turn on Ray-Tracing, run DDU as failsafe recommended and install the latest Nvidia driver. If all else fails, uninstall Cyberpunk with revoUninstaller and remove any leftover files, reinstall.

[catch22atplay]

You don't need to unplug from the internet or turn off wifi. DDU has an option to disable auto driver updates. Options top left. Now at the bottom you'll see the check box to "Prevent downloads of drivers from windows update etc. Just select that.

[Corteneo]

Thanks for the responses, will try in the next couple days.

@failsafe: Not arguing, genuine question- what does this fix? It seems like another temporary hack.
@Alio: It's an open-box from Microcenter. I hope they would be above that, but I appreciate the skepticism. It is listed as a 3070TI in my Device Manager.

Does being on Windows 10 have anything to do with this?

[Mad Matt Dog]

do you have Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling in Windows turned on? some features in Cyberpunk need that

Enabling Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling in Windows 10:

Press Windows key on your keyboard and type "graphics" and press enter. - Graphics settings menu should open.
In the Graphics settings menu toggle the "Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling" option.
Restart your PC.

[Holografix]

always download the latest Nividia drivers

&

are you running a laptop or desktop?

[failsafe]

Originally posted by Corteneo:

Thanks for the responses, will try in the next couple days.

@failsafe: Not arguing, genuine question- what does this fix? It seems like another temporary hack.
@Alio: It's an open-box from Microcenter. I hope they would be above that, but I appreciate the skepticism. It is listed as a 3070TI in my Device Manager.

Does being on Windows 10 have anything to do with this?

Could be a problem with the drivers using DDU in safe mode will completely remove your old drivers which can often fix a lot of driver related problems, which just installing the latest drivers even if you click clean install option might not do.

TBH don't need to use DDU every time 90%+ of the time it's fine just installing over the top of the old driver, but if you are noticing any crashes weird bugs or performance issues after a driver update it's worth running it and doing a clean install.

[XΞИOΛLIΞИ]

Imo you shouldn’t even use RT on that card, it’s just not worth the hit in performance.

[Proxy]

Originally posted by Mad Matt Dog:

do you have Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling in Windows turned on? some features in Cyberpunk need that

This is more than likely the problem, Windows 10 does not have it on by default while Windows 11 does, and it seems some of the big quarterly updates disable it again. I was trying to play on my 4090 on a machine I had just done a fresh install of 10 on the other day and RT was disabled because of it.

[Corteneo]

Oooooooooookay, so. I tried several things, with a game restart after each change and a PC restart as necessary. Ray Tracing is still grayed out. In no particular order:

-I downloaded DDU and the latest drivers. Incidentally, the latest came out just yesterday and referenced a specific issue with CP. Booted into Safe, ran DDU, restarted. Installed 1/17/24 drivers, restarted, Left Safe mode.
-Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling is not available in my graphics settings anywhere that I can see. It is absent from Google pics showing where it should be. I find this odd. I got into the registry editor, went to "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers" and --added-- "HwSchMode" as a DWORD 32bit value (based on Google) and set it to 2.
-I looked around the NVidia control panel, didn't see anything that seemed relevant. I did not check the GeForce experience yet. I am unfamiliar with either platform.
-I unplugged the HDMI and DisplayPort cables for my two extra monitors (typically only use one), and then checked both the game settings and for Hardware Accelerated to appear in Graphics Settings.

@Holografix - It's a 3-4yo desktop that my brother built bc he was bored. Windows 10, Gigabyte AB mb, 3070TI, 32GB ram, couple of drives. Nothing special. I can confirm 100% that Ray Tracing works in Satisfactory, using the Global Illumination (formerly and briefly the "Lumen") setting.

@XenoAlien - I know it's not optimal, but lights and shadows are more important to me than resolution. This card was more than I should have spent at that point last year, and all my fun money right now is going to... well, call it car mods, for short. I gave up a good motor for one that's a step back, to make way for one that's a major step forward.

Thanks to all for the feedback, and TIA for any future ideas.

[Corteneo]

At this point, at these lengths, I'm going to guess that the problem is likely to be my own stupidity or ignorance. Please don't be afraid to suggest something dumb or basic.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3142439670

[Holografix]

Originally posted by Corteneo:

@Holografix - It's a 3-4yo desktop that my brother built bc he was bored. Windows 10, Gigabyte AB mb, 3070TI, 32GB ram, couple of drives. Nothing special. I can confirm 100% that Ray Tracing works in Satisfactory, using the Global Illumination (formerly and briefly the "Lumen") setting.

this is indeed strange to me because i too have a 3070ti and i have Ray Tracing ON, with Nvidia DLSS @ Quality.

[Holografix]

Originally posted by Corteneo:

-Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling is not available in my graphics settings anywhere that I can see. It is absent from Google pics showing where it should be. I find this odd. I got into the registry editor, went to "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers" and --added-- "HwSchMode" as a DWORD 32bit value (based on Google) and set it to 2.

should be Win 10 Settings > System > Display > Graphics Setting

[Rune]

What Windows 10 version are you on exactly? If you're on a older / sub-build then that could explain why RT is greyed out and GPU scheduling is unavailable in the Windows settings menu.

[Corteneo]

@Holografix - Yeah, I found pictures of the Graphics Settings where the option should be, and it is MIA.

@Rune - See below. When I was in there, I saw a note about a failed update. Gonna see if I can run that down now.
Edition: Windows 10 Home
Version: 1803
Installed on: 8/28/2022
OS Build: 17134.1345