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Microsoft: DirectX 12 will not dramatically improve Xbox One

Many gamers expect Microsoft Corp.’s DirectX 12 application programming interface to bring dramatic performance and graphics improvements to the company’s Xbox One game console. According to Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox division at the company, the DX12 will bring certain improvements to the platform, but they will not be truly dramatic.

“I got asked early on by people if DirectX12 is going to dramatically change the graphics capability of Xbox One, I said it would not,” said Mr. Spencer in an interview with The Inner Circle. “I am not trying to rain on anybody’s parade. The CPU, GPU, memory that are in Xbox One do not change when you go to DirectX12. DX12 makes it easier to do some of the things that Xbox One is good at, which will be nice and you will see improvement in games that use DX12.”

Microsoft DirectX 12 API will allow game designers to access hardware resources of graphics processing units on a “close-to-metal” level, which will result in higher efficiency and increased performance. In addition, the new API will allow games to significantly boost multithread scaling and CPU utilisation. While for personal computers low-level access to GPU hardware and great utilisation of multi-core/multi-thread microprocessors will be brought by DX12 for the first time, the Xbox OS for Xbox One has supported both capabilities from the start. DirectX 12 will likely make things more efficient on Xbox One, but it is illogical to expect truly significant boosts in capabilities or performance from the new API alone.

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Still, DX12 will make it easier for developers to address both Xbox One and Windows-based PCs.

“[DirectX 12] will ease development, especially for guys who are doing games on both PC and on Xbox because if the APIs are the same, there is less work for studios to manage the differences between platforms,” said the head of Xbox division at Microsoft.

While DirectX 12 API will not bring all-new features to Xbox One, as game developers learn how to better use capabilities of the console’s hardware, games will get considerably better looking going forward.

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KitGuru Says: Looks like DirectX 12 will not automatically let developers render their games in 1920*1080 (1080p) resolution at 60fps. However, since it will make things more efficient, we should expect improvements in the quality of graphics on Xbox One over time.

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14 comments

  1. Here we are yet again with another article not being honest or questioning the obvious falsehoods in Spencer’s PR speech.The hardware in both consoles is so slow and dated that there won’t be any performance boost when they’ve got a APU from a tablet if it was a “PC GRADE” APU like Kaveri then maybe but with a Jaguar coupled with only 8GB of low speed memory not a chance.

  2. What? He said its unlikely to bring many benefits so what PR speech are you talking about? Try reading the article and even the title before having a bizarre rant.

  3. quote

    “[DirectX 12] will ease development, especially for guys who are doing games on both PC and on Xbox because if the APIs are the same, there is less work for studios to manage the differences between platforms,” said the head of Xbox division at Microsoft.

    While DirectX 12 API will not bring all-new features to Xbox One, as game developers learn how to better use capabilities of the console’s hardware, games will get considerably better looking going forward.

    There is the PR speech, games will not get “considerably better looking going forward” just look at any of the upcoming games that are pushing both consoles to the limits of what they can do and its obvious stretched textures to try and make 900p look like 1080P,Developers falling back on the “We went 30FPS for a more cinematic look” excuse

    Its inherently obvious to anyone that knows anything about tech that both consoles are so incredibly dated that when Linus Tech Tips got a 5yr old Nvidia GTX 460 and underclocked it as low as it could possibly go the GTX 460 was still matching and beating both consoles at both framrate and resolution and that’s a %yr old graphics card made to run slower then it normally does.

    Factor in that they are not using the latest Kaveri APU but a much slower and weaker Jaguar APU intended for portable systems like tablets and smartphones,with no dedicated graphics and 8GB of very slow RAM with a very slow 5600Rpm Hard Drive.

    The golden rule when running an APU with its onboard graphics is to use the fastest speed RAM possible to maximise its performance

  4. Didn’t you read the article? It’s the opposite of what you’re saying. He said that the only real advantage is for the devs, for whom it will be easier, because they will only have to deal with a single basic API. That’s true, although they’ll still have to deal with DX11 etc on the side.

    You’re preaching to the converted about the poor specs, and the article is quite clear about the hardware limitations. I should say though that the RAM isn’t slow though.

  5. The Xbox One’s CPU is and 8 Core clocked at 1.75 while the GPU has 768 shader cores at 853mhz that would make it more powerful than any Kaveri APU
    Not the mention the RAM speed is 2133mhz which is pretty fast, have you even tried an Xbox One or PS4, or even look at the specs of both consoles? Clearly you don’t do your homework!

  6. And so it is clear, the future of the pc gaming platform is looking healthier than ever, while the console world will be diminishing into darkness. It’s only a matter of 2-3 years from now when most gamers will have migrated to PC. Thanks M$ and fail station, you have truly killed the future of consoles.

  7. And so it is clear, the future of the pc gaming platform is looking healthier than ever, while the console world will be diminishing into darkness. It’s only a matter of 2-3 years from now when most gamers will have migrated to PC. Thanks M$ and fail station, you have truly killed the future of consoles.

  8. You do understand that not all clockspeed is created equal, yes? Clockspeed on one platform is not equal to clockspeed on another. As well, # of cores matters little. Otherwise we wouldn’t see 2-core Intel CPU’s beating 8-core AMD’s. It all depends on the CPU platform itself.

    Stay in school kid.

  9. Good >:)

  10. The same applies to the rest of the system too.

    All CPU tests are invalid when you consider the fact that they cannot test with identical motherboards. A motherboard is either designed for use with an AMD CPU, or for an Intel CPU. Not both.

    As for the 2 vs 8-core BS, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

    My “2-core” I5 system for development at work is far from the performance level of my main desktop which uses a AMD Phenom II x4.

    Comparing CPU to CPU is like comparing the chocolate from 1 box from a similar shaped chocolate in a completely different box.

    Its the overall system that matters, not whether a single component is made by AMD or Intel.

    You have every part of the motherboard to consider, which made by multiple manufacturers for things like the north bridge, southbridge, bios, software/hardware audio processing (via SPU or CPU), USB buses, Sata Buses, Network adapters.

    All of those can affect the performance of a system…. Not just the CPU.

  11. Bocefus Lamar Kouame

    You’re a fucking moron. I’m book marking this, Mr. Schultz, so I can come back to you in 3 years and laugh in your goofy-looking, fat face.

  12. Hahaha oh ok then, Mr. Kouame. You come back in 3 years time, once you’ve grown sick of your piss weak peasant machine, and tell me just how well it holds up against PC gaming. Never before in gaming history, has a new console generation had such pathetic hardware, relative to the state of PC hardware at the time of release. Do a bit of research sometime, so that you don’t make such a complete ass of yourself on comment sections of articles like this. Ignorant and arrogant little fan-boy brats like you are really quite entertaining though, I must say. Enjoy your casual, cheap, economy class game box, kid. Oh, and just a final note, Microsoft has announced that some xbox exclusives will be comming to windows 10, like forza for example.

  13. Old article but does this info surprise anyone the PS4 & Xbox one are pretty maxed out already adding new software can not change what the hardware can do…lol

  14. Old article but does this info surprise anyone the PS4 & Xbox one
    are pretty maxed out already adding new software can not change the performance of what the hardware is able to do.