Last summer, Intel introduced its first consumer graphics cards, the Arc A770 and Arc A750. The reception was a bit of a mixed bag. These Arc GPUs impressed with their outstanding performance in modern DirectX 12 games and their ray tracing capabilities right out of the box. However, they stumbled when delivering strong performance in traditional DX9 and DX11 games, lagging behind the competition.
But here’s the exciting part: Intel’s software engineers have been working to address significant issues over the past few months. They’ve been fixing bugs, plugging the gaps, and releasing updated drivers that significantly excited the performance in DX9 games like Counter-Strike and League of Legends.
Now, Intel is making some significant announcements. They’re unveiling a substantial DirectX 11 gaming performance enhancement for their Arc graphics cards. Not only that, but they’re also introducing a brand-new metric called “GPU Busy.” And that’s not all – they’re rolling out their first tool tailored for enthusiast gamers to measure performance, PresentMon Beta.
During a chat with the press, Intel Fellow and graphics expert Tom Petersen proudly revealed that their engineers took a complete overhaul approach to their DX11 stack. This resulted in an impressive average performance improvement of around 19 percent compared to the launch drivers of the Arc A750. And keep in mind this boost in performance was observed when the GPU was paired with an Intel Core i5 CPU.
DX11 games are now receiving a notable boost in performance, with frame rates getting a significant lift. In the games that Intel put to the test, this performance enhancement varied – from a 5 percent speedier performance in Destiny 2 to a whopping 33 percent increase in Overwatch 2.
Petersen explained how Intel’s driver functioned as a translator for the DirectX API commands. These commands were communicated in a language that the Arc GPUs could comprehend. The Intel team went the extra mile to cut down on the overhead that the DX11 driver used to carry in the previous versions of the Arc drivers. However, there was still a hitch – games that relied on the CPU had to hold on while the processor completed its tasks before proceeding.
Then, Petersen unveiled a fresh GPU metric, which Intel has dubbed “GPU busy.” In any frame displayed, the GPU is engaged and active only for a segment of the entire action. The remaining part of the action is distributed among other elements like your CPU, driver overhead, and display processes. By gauging the time frame needed to be rendered and the duration for which your GPU was actively engaged, you can grasp the extent to which various other factors impact your gaming performance.
None of the traditional tools for measuring frames like Nvidia Frameview, AMD’s OCAT, or MSI Afterburner are equipped to handle GPU Busy time. That’s where Intel’s PresentMon Beta software comes into play.
Here’s something you might already know: Most of the measuring tools that are commonly used are already using a technology called “PresentMon” to keep track of when new frames are presented on your display. Preston is an open-source technology developed by Intel.
