Tag Archives: DirectX

NVIDIA Image Sharpening Guide for DirectX, Vulkan, OpenGL!

NVIDIA Game Ready drivers now support Image Sharpening for Vulkan and OpenGL, as well as DirectX games. However, you will need to manually turned it on, and set it up.

In this guide, we will share with you the benefits of turning on NVIDIA Image Sharpening, and how to turn it on for your DirectX, Vulkan and OpenGL games!

 

NVIDIA Image Sharpening For DirectX, Vulkan + OpenGL

NVIDIA first introduced Image Sharpening as a NVIDIA Freestyle filter. They then built it into the NVIDIA Control Panel, enabling it for all DirectX 9, 10, 11 and 12 games in the Game Ready 441.08 driver onwards.

Starting with Game Ready 441.41, they officially added NVIDIA Image Sharpening support for Vulkan and OpenGL games too.

Image sharpness can be adjusted on a per-game basis, or applied globally for all supported titles, with per-game settings overriding global settings.

In addition, you can use your NVIDIA GPU to render at a lower resolution for improved performance, and scale it to the monitor’s native resolution, using Image Sharpening to improved the clarity of the upscaled images.

However, this is a global setting, and cannot be disabled or enabled on a per-game basis.

Note that if you are using a GeForce RTX or GeForce GTX 16-series graphics card, they will leverage the Turing GPU’s 5-tap scaling technology for better image quality.

Recommended : Learn How To Add ReShade Filters To GeForce Experience!

 

NVIDIA Image Sharpening : How To Enable It Globally

  1. Download and install GeForce Game Ready 441.41 driver or newer.
  2. Open the NVIDIA Control Panel, and click on Manage 3D settings.
  3. Scroll down the Global Settings tab to Image Sharpening.
  4. Select the On option, and you will have three further options.
    GPU Scaling : All resolutions below the monitor native resolution will be upscaled by the GPU
    Sharpen (0 to 1.0) : This controls the amount of image sharpening
    Ignore film grain (0 to 1.0) : This reduces any film grain that is generated by image sharpening
  5. Click OK and you are done!

Note : GPU Scaling is only available as a Global setting.

Recommended : How To Enable NVIDIA NULL For G-SYNC Monitors Correctly!

 

NVIDIA Image Sharpening : How To Enable It On A Per-App Basis

  1. Download and install GeForce Game Ready 441.41 driver or newer.
  2. Open the NVIDIA Control Panel, and click on Manage 3D settings.
  3. Click on the Program Settings tab and select the game you want to apply image sharpening.
    If you cannot find the game, click Add, choose the desired game and click Add Selected Program
  4. Scroll down to Image Sharpening.
  5. Select the On option, and you will have two further options.
    Sharpen (0 to 1.0) : This controls the amount of image sharpening
    Ignore film grain (0 to 1.0) : This reduces any film grain that is generated by image sharpening
  6. Click OK and you are done!

Note that the per-app setting will override the global settings.

 

NVIDIA Image Sharpening : Current Limitations

As of 26 November 2019, NVIDIA Image Sharpening has the following limitations :

  • Scaling is not supported on MSHybrid systems.
  • HDR displays driven by pre-Turing GPUs will not support scaling
  • Scaling will not work with VR
  • Scaling will not work with displays using YUV420 format.
  • Scaling uses aspect ration scaling and will not use integer scaling
  • Sharpening will not work with HDR displays
  • GPU scaling engages when games are played only in full-screen mode, and not in windowed or borderless windowed mode.
  • Some G-SYNC displays have a 6-tap / 64-phase scaler which scales better than that offered by Turing’s 5-tap/32-phase scaler.
  • To avoid accidentally triggering scaling by applications or DWM, first change to the desired (non-native) resolution from the NVIDIA Control Panel and then launch the application.
  • Turing’s 5-tap upscaler may not engage on certain monitors, based on the monitor’s vblank timing.
  • Turing’s 5-tap upscaler may not engage if the input resolution is greater than 2560 pixels in either the x or y dimension.
  • Scaling is turned off automatically when switching display devices.
  • “Restore Defaults” option in the control panel currently does not revert the upscaling resolution.

 

Death Stranding : Get It FREE With GeForce RTX!

From now until 29 July 2020, you will receive a Steam code for the PC digital download edition of Death Stranding with the purchase of these selected GeForce RTX graphics card, laptop or desktop!

 

Recommended Reading

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NVIDIA RTX Real-Time Ray Tracing Technology Explained!

NVIDIA just announced the NVIDIA RTX real-time ray tracing technology at GDC 2018. It promises to bring real-time, cinematic-quality rendering to content creators and game developers. Find out what NVIDIA RTX is all about, and what it means to all of us!

 

The Holy Grail For Photorealism

Ray tracing is the gold standard for creating realistic, lifelike lighting, reflections and shadows. It adds a level of realism far beyond what is possible using traditional rendering techniques.

Real-time ray tracing replaces a majority of the rendering techniques used today, with realistic optical calculations that replicate the way light behaves in the real world. But until today, it has been too computationally-demanding to be practical for real-time, interactive gaming.

 

NVIDIA RTX Real-Time Ray Tracing Technology

NVIDIA RTX is a real-time ray tracing technology that promises to deliver real-time ray tracing with high frame rates and low latency.

It runs exclusively (at the moment) on the NVIDIA Volta GPUs. Applications that run on the newly-announced Microsoft DirectX Raytracing (DXR) API will support NVIDIA RTX when used with an NVIDIA Volta graphics card.

 

GameWorks For Ray Tracing

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NVIDIA also announced that the NVIDIA GameWorks SDK will include a ray tracing denoiser module. This suite of tools and resources will help developers increase realism and shorten product cycles for titles developed using the new Microsoft DXR API and NVIDIA RTX.

The upcoming GameWorks SDK — which will support Volta and future generation GPU architectures — enables ray-traced area shadows, ray-traced glossy reflections and ray-traced ambient occlusion.

With these capabilities, developers can create realistic, high-quality reflections that capture the scene around it and achieve physically accurate lighting and shadows.

 

Broad Industry Support

Industry leaders such as 4A Games, Epic, Remedy Entertainment and Unity featured NVIDIA RTX in their technology demonstrations at the Game Developers Conference 2018. They showed how real-time ray tracing can provide amazing, lifelike graphics in future games.

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Deus Ex Mankind Divided DirectX12 Patch Released

Eidos-Montreal and Square Enix have announced their official Deus Ex Mankind Divided DirectX 12 patch, scaling performance to a whole new level with DirectX 12 multi-GPU and frame pacing support on Radeon graphics.

This Deus Ex Mankind Divided DirectX 12 patch enables advanced DirectX 12 features and enhanced performance with support for :

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Asynchronous shaders

  • Asynchronous Compute Engines in AMD’s GCN and Polaris architectures can submit commands without waiting for other tasks to complete.
  • Delivers vastly improved GPU efficiency, boosting graphics processing performance, reducing latency and enabling consistent frame rates.

Enhanced multi-GPU experience

  • AMD’s GCN and Polaris architectures lead with greater performance and scalability in multi-GPU DirectX 12.
  • Gamers will benefit from up to 100 percent faster performance using Radeon Software Crimson Edition driver 16.10.2 running Deus Ex: Mankind Divided on 8GB Radeon RX 480 multi-GPU1 in DirectX 12.
  • The 4GB Radeon RX 470 also offers up to 100 percent faster multi-GPU performance in DirectX 12 in Deus Ex than with the 4GB Radeon RX 470 single-GPU.2

DirectX 12 Frame Pacing

  • AMD’s support of multi-GPU DirectX 12 Frame Pacing enables smooth gameplay on Radeon Graphics by evenly distributing frame times and providing them at a more consistent rate, delivering an exceptional gaming experience.

 

Deus EX Mankind Divided

Deus Ex Mankind Divided is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Deus Ex Human Revolution and builds on the franchise’s trademark choice and consequence, plus action-RPG based gameplay, to create both a memorable and highly immersive experience.

Players will once again take on the role of Adam Jensen, now an experienced covert agent, and will gain access to his new arsenal of customizable state-of-the-art weapons and augmentations. With time working against him, Adam must choose the right approach, along with who to trust, in order to unravel a vast worldwide conspiracy.

 

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AMD Doubles Down On mGPU Frame Pacing

Adding to Radeon Software Crimson Edition’s enhancements for DirectX 9, DirectX 10, and DirectX 11, Radeon Software 16.9.1 enables multi-GPU frame pacing support to DirectX12 on all GCN-enabled GPUs and AMD A8 APUs or higher with GCN.

Frame pacing delivers consistency by increasing smoothness in gameplay. In multi-GPU (mGPU) configurations, GPUs render alternating frames and push each frame to your screen. Each render can be created at various speeds causing differences in frame time. With frame pacing enabled, frames are distributed evenly, i.e. with less variance between frames, creating liquid smooth gameplay. For more details, please watch the following video:

 

Radeon Tech Talk: DirectX 12 mGPU Frame Pacing

A number of games currently take advantage of frame pacing in DirectX 12. Total War – Warhammer, Rise of the Tomb Raider™ and the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark also show smoother run-throughs.

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Let’s look at the some real-life scenarios:

 

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More DirectX 12 Games Tuned For Radeon Graphics Cards

SUNNYVALE, California — March 23, 2016 — AMD today once again took the pole position in the DirectX 12 era with an impressive roster of state-of-the-art DirectX 12 games and engines, each extensively tuned for Radeon graphics cards powered by the Graphics Core Next architecture.

“DirectX 12 is poised to transform the world of PC gaming, and Radeon GPUs are central to the experience of developing and enjoying great content,” said Roy Taylor, Corporate Vice President, Content and Alliances, AMD. “With a definitive range of industry partnerships for exhilarating content, plus an indisputable record of winning framerates, Radeon GPUs are an end-to-end solution for consumers who deserve the latest and greatest in DirectX 12 gaming.”

“DirectX 12 is a game-changing low overhead API for both developers and gamers,” said Bryan Langley, Principal Program Manager, Microsoft. “AMD is a key partner for Microsoft in driving adoption of DirectX 12 throughout the industry, and has established the GCN Architecture as a powerful force for gamers who want to get the most out of DirectX 12.”

 

Tuned For Radeon Graphics

  • Ashes of the Singularity by Stardock and Oxide Games
  • Total War: WARHAMMER by Creative Assembly
  • Battlezone VR by Rebellion
  • Deus Ex: Mankind Divided by Eidos-Montréal
  • Nitrous Engine by Oxide Games

Total War: WARHAMMER
A fantasy strategy game of legendary proportions, Total War: WARHAMMER combines an addictive turn-based campaign of epic empire-building with explosive, colossal, real-time battles, all set in the vivid and incredible world of Warhammer Fantasy Battles.

Sprawling battles with high unit counts are a perfect use case for the uniquely powerful GPU multi-threading capabilities offered by Radeon graphics and DirectX 12. Additional support for DirectX 12 asynchronous compute will also encourage lightning-fast AI decision making and low-latency panning of the battle map.

Battlezone VR
Designed for the next wave of virtual reality devices, Battlezone VR gives you unrivalled battlefield awareness, a monumental sense of scale and breathless combat intensity. Your instincts and senses respond to every threat on the battlefield as enemy swarms loom over you and super-heated projectiles whistle past your ears.

Rolling into battle, AMD and Rebellion are collaborating to ensure Radeon GPU owners will be particularly advantaged by low-latency DirectX 12 rendering that’s crucial to a deeply gratifying VR experience.

Ashes of the Singularity
AMD is once again collaborating with Stardock in association with Oxide to bring gamers Ashes of the Singularity. This real-time strategy game set in the far future, redefines the possibilities of RTS with the unbelievable scale provided by Oxide Games’ groundbreaking Nitrous engine. The fruits of this collaboration has resulted in Ashes of the Singularity being the first game to release with DirectX 12 benchmarking capabilities.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the sequel to the critically acclaimed Deus Ex: Human Revolution, builds on the franchise’s trademark choice and consequence, action-RPG based gameplay, to create both a memorable and highly immersive experience. AMD and Eidos-Montréal have engaged in a long term technical collaboration to build and optimize DirectX 12 in their engine including special support for GPUOpen features like PureHhair based on TressFX Hair and Radeon exclusive features like asynchronous compute.

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Nitrous Engine

Radeon graphics customers the world over have benefitted from unmatched DirectX 12 performance and rendering technologies delivered in Ashes of the Singularity via the natively DirectX 12 Nitrous Engine. Most recently, Benchmark 2.0 was released with comprehensive support for DirectX 12 asynchronous compute to unquestionably dominant performance from Radeon graphics.

With massive interplanetary warfare at our backs, Stardock, Oxide and AMD announced that the Nitrous Engine will continue to serve a roster of franchises in the years ahead. Starting with Star Control and a second unannounced space strategy title, Stardock, Oxide and AMD will continue to explore the outer limits of what can be done with highly-programmable GPUs.

 

Premiere Rendering Efficiency with DirectX 12 Asynchronous Compute

Important PC gaming effects like shadowing, lighting, artificial intelligence, physics and lens effects often require multiple stages of computation before determining what is rendered onto the screen by a GPU’s graphics hardware.

In the past, these steps had to happen sequentially. Step by step, the graphics card would follow the API’s process of rendering something from start to finish, and any delay in an early stage would send a ripple of delays through future stages. These delays in the pipeline are called “bubbles,” and they represent a brief moment in time when some hardware in the GPU is paused to wait for instructions.

What sets Radeon GPUs apart from its competitors, however, is the Graphics Core Next architecture’s ability to pull in useful compute work from the game engine to fill these bubbles. For example: if there’s a rendering bubble while rendering complex lighting, Radeon GPUs can fill in the blank with computing the behavior of AI instead. Radeon graphics cards don’t need to follow the step-by-step process of the past or its competitors, and can do this work together—or concurrently—to keep things moving.

Filling these bubbles improves GPU utilization, input latency, efficiency and performance for the user by minimizing or eliminating the ripple of delays that could stall other graphics cards. Only Radeon graphics currently support this crucial capability in DirectX 12 and VR.

 

An Undeniable Trend

With five new DirectX 12 game and engine partnerships; unmatched DirectX 12 performance in every test thus far; plus, exclusive support for the radically powerful DirectX 12 asynchronous compute functionality, Radeon graphics and the GCN architecture have rapidly ascended to their position as the definitive DirectX 12 content creation and consumption platform.

This unquestionable leadership in the era of low-overhead APIs emerges from a calculated and virtuous cycle of distributing the GCN architecture throughout the development industry, then partnering with top game developers to design, deploy and master Mantle’s programming model. Through the years that followed, open and transparent contribution of source code, documentation and API specifications ensured that AMD philosophies remained influential in landmark projects like DirectX 12.

 

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NVIDIA Vulkan Drivers For Kepler & Maxwell GPUs Available

by Neil Trevett, NVIDIA

 

If you’re a GeForce gamer, you already have what you need to take advantage of what the Vulkan API can do. If you’re a developer, you will now have the choice of a new tool that will give you more control, and greater performance, on a broad range of devices.

Our support for Vulkan, on the day it launches, not just on multiple platforms, but in cutting-edge games such as The Talos Principle, has some of the industry’s most respected observers taking notice.

“To be able to play a game like The Talos Principle on the same day an API launches, is an unheard of achievement,” said Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research. “NVIDIA’s multi-platform compatibility and fully conformant driver support across many operating systems is a testament to the company’s leadership role in Vulkan’s development.”

 

What Is Vulkan?

[adrotate banner=”4″]Vulkan is a low level API that gives direct access of the GPU to developers who want the ultimate in control. With a simpler, thinner driver, Vulkan has less latency and overhead than traditional OpenGL or Direct3D. Vulkan also has efficient multi-threading capabilities so that multi-core CPUs can keep the graphics pipeline loaded, enabling a new level of performance on existing hardware.

Vulkan is the first new generation, low-level API that is cross platform. This allows developers to create applications for a variety of PC, mobile and embedded devices using diverse operating systems. Like OpenGL, Vulkan is an open, royalty-free standard available for any platform to adopt. For developers who prefer to remain on OpenGL or OpenGL ES, NVIDIA will continue to drive innovations on those traditional APIs too.

 

Who’s Behind Vulkan?

Vulkan was created by the Khronos Group, a standards organization that brings together a wide range of hardware and software companies, including NVIDIA, for the creation of open standard, royalty-free APIs for authoring and accelerated playback of dynamic media on a wide variety of platforms and devices. We’re proud to have played a leadership role in creating Vulkan. And we’re committed to helping developers use Vulkan to get the best from our GPUs.

Why You Should Care

Vulkan is great for developers. It reduces porting costs and opens up new market opportunities for applications across multiple platforms. Best of all, the NVIDIA drivers needed to take advantage of Vulkan are already here. On launch day we have Vulkan drivers available for Windows, Linux, and Android platforms. See our Vulkan drivers page for all the details.

Here’s what Vulkan will mean for you:

  • For gamers with GeForce GPUs: Vulkan’s low latency and high-efficiency lets developers add more details and more special effects to their games, while still maintaining great performance. Because a Vulkan driver is thinner with less overhead, application developers will get fewer performance surprises. This translates to smoother, more fluid experiences.NVIDIA is shipping fully-conformant Vulkan drivers for all GeForce boards based on Kepler or Maxwell GPUs running Windows (Windows 7 or later) or Linux. “We have been using NVIDIA hardware and drivers on both Windows and Android for Vulkan development, and the reductions in CPU overhead have been impressive,” said Oculus Chief Technology Officer John Carmack.GeForce gamers will be the first to play the Vulkan version of  The Talos Principle, a puzzle game from Croteam that also shipped today.

    “We’ve successfully collaborated with the NVIDIA driver support team in the past, but I was amazed with the work they did on Vulkan,” said Croteam Senior Programmer Dean Sekuliuc. “They promptly provided us with the latest beta drivers so we were able to quickly implement the new API into Serious Engine and make The Talos Principle one of the first titles supporting Vulkan. Smooth!”<

  • For professional application developers using Quadro: Our Vulkan and OpenGL drivers use an integrated binary architecture that enables the use of GLSL shaders in Vulkan. Developers also have the flexibility to continue using OpenGL or plan a smooth transition from OpenGL to Vulkan to take advantage of Vulkan’s new capabilities.For example, Vulkan’s multi-threaded architecture can enable multiple CPU cores to prepare massive amounts of data for the GPU faster than before. For design and digital content creation applications, this means enhanced interactivity with large models.
  • For mobile developers using Tegra: We’re making Vulkan available to developers for both Android and Linux. Vulkan will ship alongside OpenGL ES as a core API in a future version of Android. This means that standard Android will have a state-of-the-art API with integrated graphics and compute, ultimately unleashing the GPU in Tegra for cutting-edge vision and compute applications, as well as awesome gaming graphics. Developers can use Vulkan on NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV and SHIELD tablets for Android coding, and Jetson for embedded Linux development.

 

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