New patent reveals potential breakthrough for beneath strain GPUs.
Up to date: Mar 25, 2024 4:34 pm
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Tech behemoth Microsoft has lengthy been in search of methods to make the advantages of ray tracing expertise out there to customers with decrease VRAM GPUs, and a latest Microsoft patent signifies that they might be onto one thing.
In easy phrases, ray tracing is a pc graphic rendering approach used to duplicate the best way gentle interacts with objects. It’s extra correct than conventional types of rendering comparable to rasterization, by tracing rays of sunshine by way of a scene. Nonetheless, the draw back is that it may be extremely demanding – even on a few of the market’s best GPUs.
The problem dealing with Microsoft and others is to cut back the numerous pressure placed on GPUs when using ray tracing, thereby broadening its potential use to extra customers. As detailed within the patent Microsoft intends to conduct analysis into whether or not a stage of element (LOD) system may make ray tracing considerably much less demanding.
Is LOD the breakthrough we’ve been ready for?
LOD is presently applied to lighten the load of graphics on {hardware} by decreasing the standard of sure parts of the picture – often background or distant objects that aren’t the primary focus of the person, that means the GPU doesn’t need to work as arduous, however there’s little discernable distinction for the viewer. Naturally, Microsoft is now eager to find if the identical could be finished for ray tracing, successfully dropping picture high quality on sure particulars to spice up efficiency and scale back strain on the graphics card, it’s nonetheless solely principle, however a really attention-grabbing proposition nonetheless.
There are current methods to enhance ray tracing efficiency comparable to upscaling expertise by way of using AMD, FSR, Nvidia DLSS, or Intel XeSS for instance, however the limitations are that they’re solely suitable with PC video games that assist them. What’s most attention-grabbing about any potential LOD breakthrough is that it may assist deliver the advantages of ray tracing to decrease spec GPUs and bypass the need of further upscaling instruments.
Let’s not get forward of ourselves right here although. Thrilling as it’s, that is nonetheless very a lot within the analysis and improvement stage, so we’ll wait slightly longer earlier than shouting it from the rafters, regardless of having our fingers very firmly crossed that the intelligent folks at Microsoft can work their revolutionary magic as soon as once more.
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