Microsoft has announced the largest upgrade to DirectX Raytracing since its 2018 introduction, boosting frame rates from 1.2 FPS to 79 FPS in early testing while cutting memory consumption by nearly 90 percent, ITavisen reported.
DirectX 12 Agility SDK 1.722 Preview Cuts Memory Use
The new technology arrives via the DirectX 12 Agility SDK 1.722 Preview, designed to lower the resource cost of running advanced ray tracing across detailed virtual worlds. In a technical demonstration utilizing an AMD Radeon RX 9070, Microsoft set traditional ray tracing against its new Clustered Geometry approach.
Traditional Bounding Volume Hierarchy (BLAS) technology yielded 1.2 FPS in the test environment, while Clustered Geometry reached 79 FPS. Memory consumption dropped from 7.3 GiB down to 774 MiB, marking a nearly 90 percent reduction. Microsoft noted that the demonstration took place in a specialized test environment and warned users not to expect identical performance gains in standard retail video games.
Microsoft divides geometry into small groups for ray tracing
Ray tracing requires intensive calculations to simulate light behavior in complex environments. Microsoft’s new method divides geometry into small groups containing up to 256 triangles and 256 vertices, allowing these groups to be reused instead of repeatedly processing massive amounts of raw geometry.
Alongside this, Microsoft introduced Partitioned Top-Level Acceleration Structures (PTLAS). This system updates only the specific parts of a virtual world that change, which helps in large open environments featuring moving objects and detailed animations. The setup also unifies geometry pipelines, letting developers use the same detailed assets for both standard rasterization and ray tracing so that shadows and reflections match on-screen objects more accurately.
In the dx12_forest_ray_tracing demonstration, the scene utilizes cluster templates to optimize dynamic terrain processing. The templates form square regions in the background that double in resolution near the center of the scene, while foreground regions split repeatedly into triangular fields to maintain a consistent triangle density relative to camera distance.
DirectX standardizes geometry clustering across major graphics manufacturers
The technology bears similarities to Nvidia’s RTX Mega Geometry, which is already deployed in games like Gears of War: E-Day using Nvidia’s vendor-specific API. While Nvidia’s implementation relies on proprietary hardware features, Microsoft’s integration standardizes similar geometry clustering directly inside DirectX.
Microsoft confirmed that the upcoming DirectX 12 features will support hardware from all three major graphics manufacturers:
- Nvidia: All GeForce RTX graphics cards.
- AMD: Radeon RX 9000-series cards.
- Intel: Arc B-series and supported Core Ultra 200V-series and Series 3 processors.
- Qualcomm: Snapdragon X2 support is in development, with drivers targeted for the first half of 2027.
Microsoft releases Agility SDK with Advanced Shader Delivery
In addition to ray-tracing upgrades, Microsoft released Agility SDK 1.620 as a finished version featuring Advanced Shader Delivery. Nvidia recently activated Advanced Shader Delivery with driver 621.01 to combat runtime stuttering common in modern PC releases, ITavisen reported.
The updated DirectX package also introduces Partial Graphics Programs, allowing developers to reuse compiled segments of graphics programs to reduce download footprints and compilation times. This specific feature currently supports AMD Radeon RX 7000- and 9000-series hardware, with additional vendor support planned.
Check hardware requirements for testing Clustered Geometry
What hardware is required to test Clustered Geometry?
The preview requires compatible GPUs from Nvidia, AMD, or Intel running the DirectX 12 Agility SDK 1.722 Preview. Confirmed hardware includes all Nvidia GeForce RTX cards, AMD Radeon RX 9000-series GPUs, and Intel Arc B-series processors.
When will Qualcomm hardware receive support?
Qualcomm is currently working on driver support for Snapdragon X2 processors, with an official release planned for the first half of 2027.
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