Memory management for multiple graphics cards with DirectX 12 and Vulkan

Few of SweClocker’s readers have missed the fact that the interfaces DirectX 12 and Vulkan are on the way. A number of game titles are already out, and launches at an ever faster pace await later in the year.

The new interfaces focus on low, among other things overhead for reduced dependence on the computer’s processor, but also has fresh methods for running multiple graphics cards in tandem. Explicit Multiadapter in DirectX 12 allows, among other things, hardware from different manufacturers to be combined for increased computing power.

However, the new technologies also mean new challenges – including how the graphics memory should be handled across several graphics cards. On paper, DirectX 12 and Vulkan offer expanded opportunities here as well, but in practice there are obstacles along the way that need to be worked around.

Broadly speaking, how it all stands is explained in a new video from PC Perspective. The review is based on how SLI and Crossfire work and how graphics memory is handled today, to then explore the possibilities with the new interfaces.

Games with DirectX 12 and Vulkan that are out today are among other things Doom, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Hitman and Total War: Warhammer. During the autumn, there will also be games like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Battlefield 1 and Civilization VI join the crowd.