This week, Microsoft debuted DirectStorage v. 1.1. Its most noticeable feature includes GPU decompression for devices running Windows. The feature promises to improve PC load times substantially.
Here’s the way it works. When you download games digitally, the assets get compressed for ease of distribution. At the moment of launch, these assets are subsequently decompressed for gameplay purposes. Such a process can take time as the decompression goes from the storage devices to the CPU to the video card.
According to senior Microsoft programmer Cassie Hoef, “typically, decompression work is done on the CPU because compression formats have historically been optimized for CPUs only.”
Developers can use DirectStorage 1.1. to shift this work to the GPU, which tends to be more efficient at parallel processing of repeatable tasks. This speeds up load times if changes are implemented on the developer side with “metacommands.”
Recently, The Verge reported that NVIDIA had already included such a feature into one of their latest graphics drivers, with AMD and Intel soon following with their own optimizations for the tech.
Keep in mind that to truly get the most out of this update, your games will need to be installed on dedicated flash storage. That means high-quality solid-state drives (SSDs) to see the dividends.
Despite the fact that similar technology powers the shortened load times on the Xbox Series X, the impact hasn’t been felt as much on PC, given that DirectStorage 1.0 launched early this year.