Microsoft Introduces DirectX 12 Ultimate – Supported by AMD RDNA 2 and Nvidia RTX

With the next generation of game consoles around the corner, support for new graphics techniques such as ray tracing in real time and variable rate shading – two technologies that previously existed on the PC side via additions to the DirectX 12 graphics interface. Now Microsoft announces that it is bringing together these features as well as two additional technologies under the DirectX 12 Ultimate umbrella interface.

The new graphics interface is based on the original DirectX 12 and adds support for a total of four functions. First and foremost, this is DirectX Raytracing 1.1 (DXR), a further development of the current interface that will give developers greater flexibility and more tools to implement ray tracing in games with less performance loss than before.

Furthermore, variable rate shading part of the new interface, giving developers a way to gain additional performance by dynamically adjusting the richness of detail at shaderthe process in a scene with little or no visual difference for the end user.

Technology is also related sampler feedback, which can be skipped if necessary shaderprocess when a new frame is drawn and instead return the process from the previous frame and thus gain more performance. Finally we have mesh shaders, a new programming model for how geometry is handled, which in the long run can provide more detailed environments without necessarily affecting performance.

In addition to grouping the new graphics technologies under one name, the purpose of DirectX 12 Ultimate is to provide consumers with guidance when purchasing new graphics hardware, where it is a security seal that the model is on par with the features offered by Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox Series X gaming console.

It is worth mentioning that DirectX 12 Ultimate should be seen more as an option rather than a requirement for the games of the future. Graphics hardware that only supports the basic level DirectX 12 will still be compatible with future titles, but will miss the implementations of the new technologies.

In connection with the unveiling, AMD states that their upcoming architecture RDNA2 is fully compatible with the new functions in the interface. This does not come as a major surprise as it is this architecture that is used in the Xbox Series X at the same time as it has long been said that the next generation of graphics cards from the company will receive support for, among other things. ray tracing and varible rate shading.

At the same time, Nvidia states that they already have broad support for DirectX 12 Ultimate in their current range, where all graphics cards from the Geforce RTX series are on the compatibility list. The company will thus be exclusive in the market with support for the new interface to AMD will release its new graphics cards later in the year.

Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate will be launched in connection with the next major update of Windows 10, which is expected to be rolled out later this spring.