Xbox Series X's POWERFUL tech sets new standard for PCs - here's how

(Image credit: Microsoft)

published 6 September 2020

The Xbox Series X is still forging ahead for a holiday 2020 launch along with the PS5, and everything we've heard about both consoles' next-gen hardware has us champing at the bit for their launch.

Microsoft's Xbox Velocity Architecture is one of the impressive new weapons that the Xbox Series X is packing, and it's so powerful that the tech giant is stealing the feature to bestow on Windows 10 users.

A preview of Microsoft's DirectStorage API is coming to Windows 10 developers next year after the Xbox Series X hits the market. DirectStorage will function in tandem with DirectX 12 Ultimate to take advantage of newer, zippier SSDs as well as the latest crop of GPUs on the market.

DirectStorage API is just one part of the Architecture suite, which should assist with both game-loading times and performance. It’s capable of reducing the overall workload on CPUs which graphically-intensive titles demand, while removing potentially problematic API-related bottlenecks.

The DirectStorage API functions in a way that doesn't require thousands of blocks of data to load and decompress before loading each frame one at a time.

It reduces the amount of individual requests in lieu of a much more efficient, rapid-fire distribution of requests while still being capable of loading "larger, more detailed virtual worlds that load in as fast your game character can move through it."

By pumping up the in-out interactions between software and SSDs, Windows users should see an overall boost in performance. Essentially, games will only load what's required for scenes currently being rendered to free up additional IO processes.

If you're looking to take advantage of DirectStorage when it becomes available for Windows 10 users, you'll need to ensure your SSD (preferably an NVMe drive) is up to the task. You'll reap the rewards in terms of drastically reduced loading times, and a speedier gaming experience overall.

Right now, Microsoft is still hard at work on bringing DirectStorage to consumers. There's no concrete date as to when PC users can utilize the feature, but it'll be hitting game developers' workspaces next year.

Source: Microsoft