News DirectX 12's cross-vendor multi-GPU support gets tested

Let's be more positive. Microsoft have created a way to allow developers to do more and it's brilliant. As I said in my earlier post, if developers concentrate on optimising for BIG-little implementation of this by using the lesser GPU for likes of post-processing, we could be onto a winner.

However, Anand article didn't say how well this will go down with current multi-GPU techniques. Whether a SLI 980 system can work with the new Unreal engine 4 technique. I personally wish the SLI and Crossfire dinosaur should die a quick death now that Dx12 is here, I'm hoping Dx12 developers will concentrate on taking advantage of IGPU, which everyone have.

 

Did you read the article? Sli/xfire isn't enable in that A of S.

 

does anyone know to what extent this will work?

meaning that there has to be some cap to adding two different gpu's correct... i can't put my GTX680 and my vodoo card together right?

 

I would be very surprised if they still code with cards that old in mind. How many people would seriously expect that sort of combination to be useful, especially when you thing how huge a jump there has been performance wise in the last two decades.

 

Actually, my understanding from the article is that although theoretically possible, it depends heavily on how the developer optimises the engine.

Ashes tech demo for example uses AFR technique, which means ideal case is identical processing power GPU. So very good scaling as you add GPU. If on the other hand you have 1 newer and 1 older generation, unbalanced processing power, obviously AFR technique will not be suitable because the faster GPU will be waiting on the slower one.

In essence, AFR is not a good technique for unbalanced GPU setup. It is also pretty pointless as most people with balanced setup will not buy from 2 vendors. But until we get more bandwidth, this might be the only way.


As I said in my earlier post, the unbalanced processing power setup optimisation is what developers should be focusing on. Otherwise might as well not bother with the old AFR technique (already done beautifully by Crossfire and SLI), until hardware enabling more bandwidth between GPU's emerge.

 

good bye mantle

 

Hello Vulkan, I'm hoping it sees wider adoption from developers than DX12, seems odd in this day & age to be restricting an API to a single platform, let alone a single version of that platform.

 

Its not about restricting to a platform, its about what makes life easier for developers. I would think the DX12 tools are easier to use than open gl or its latest incarnation. Even if the dx alternative were to become easier to use, a dev team that largely uses Microsoft products would probably stick with the MS stuff because switching over to a new platform involves a learning curve. I would think the games development world is probably shitty enough without trying to meet deadlines on a new platform that you are learning and figuring out as you work.

None the less I share your sentiment. The more I read about Microsoft the more I'm considering just using Linux full time.

 

Mantle did its job; so we can wave it a fond farewell.