If you choose to purchase Intel’s future Arc graphics cards, be prepared for subpar performance when playing older PC games.

On Thursday, Intel acknowledged that some PC games created using Microsoft’s outdated DirectX11 and DirectX9 APIs may have trouble running well on the Arc GPUs. “According to Intel Graphics Fellow Tom Petersen, some DX11 titles will perform exceptionally well while other DX 11 titles won’t, in a video released by the business posted (Opens in a new window) on Thursday.

The outdated DirectX11 API’s reliance on Microsoft and the GPU driver to manage the game’s memory is the cause of this. Petersen asserts that a number of older titles that were initially developed with GPU technology from Nvidia and AMD in mind still require some time for Intel to optimize its graphics cards.

According to Petersen, we must perform exceptionally well in terms of the behavior that game developers have grown to expect when using Nvidia technology. Since our card functions significantly differently from Nvidia’s, we currently have to start tweaking all of our DX11 work to conform to what earlier titles have anticipated.

Positively, Intel claims that the Arc GPUs have been tuned for games that use the more recent DirectX12 and Vulcan APIs, both of which were introduced roughly seven years ago. Petersen asserts that the APIs’ programming layer is substantially thinner and that the game engine itself is responsible for memory management.

Along with Linus Tech Tips, Intel spoke about the DX11 API that was released last month in an video (Opens in a new window) . In the demonstration, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is played at roughly 80 frames per second using DX12 on an Intel Arc A770, the company’s most potent GPU in the line. When the game is rendered using DX11, the frame rate falls to 40.

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Intel continues, “DX12 and Vulkan are contemporary ‘low-level APIs,’ with closer connectivity between the game and the GPU.” In an blog post (Opens in a new window) on Thursday. We have more work to accomplish in drivers because DX11, DX9, and other ancient APIs demand less developer resource management. (AMD’s own RDNA2 GPUs have experienced comparable issues with DX11 games.)

The Arc desktop GPUs, which are expected to go on sale later this quarter, are undoubtedly less appealing as a result of the API problem. Given that the GPU scarcity appears to be over, PC builders searching for a dependable, high-performing graphics card may decide to continue with Nvidia and AMD. However, Intel claims that it is consistently working to improve graphics technology for all games. Making DX11 games better and better will always be a labor of love, according to Petersen.

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