The new API has obstacles on the console due to slow DDR3

Mar 6, 2015 12:37 GMT  ·  By

DirectX 12, the new graphics API that's included in the upcoming Windows 10 operating system for PC and Xbox One, isn't some kind of magic bullet that will automatically improve the performance of all the games on the two platforms, at least according to Brad Wardell, the CEO of Stardock, which has a big DirectX 12 title in development right now.

Windows 10 was revealed to the world last year and Microsoft confirmed that it's going to bring DirectX 12, a new graphics API that should provide a boost in performance and efficiency over DirectX 11 that's currently in Windows 7 or 8.

DirectX 12 will bring performance boosts, at least on PC

Seeing as how Windows 10 is also coming to Xbox one, many fans wondered if the new technology is going to bring a boost in performance to the console, which has been proven many times to be inferior in terms of processing power to its main rival, the PS4.

While Microsoft's Phil Spencer mentioned during the GDC 2015 panel that DirectX 12 can bring a performance increase of 20% when it comes to PC games, he declined to say how big of a boost might the API bring to the Xbox One and its games.

DirectX 12 isn't a magic bullet for the Xbox One

Now, Stardock CEO Brad Wardell answers a few questions on Twitter about DirectX 12, seeing as how his studio has a game in development that uses the new technology.

First up, he emphasizes that the new API isn't a magic bullet that's going to immediately improve the performance of a game when it arrives on the Xbox One alongside Windows 10 later this year.

Secondly, he mentions that one of the major bottlenecks encountered by DirectX 12 on the Xbox One is the slow DDR3 memory that's shared between the console and its graphics chip. According to Wardell, it poses a big problem as it's not fast enough when compared to the GDDR5 memories that are in graphics cards for PCs or even inside the PS4.

Even so, he believes that DirectX 12 will bring at least a small performance increase, but it's still quite early and he can't say how much.