Microsoft has been working on a new type of GPU autonomy for DirectX 12, which has been available in preview since 2023. However, users can finally rejoice that the D2D12 Work Graphs, the new autonomy, has been released for full use. This GPU autonomy has a specific aim to eliminate CPU bottlenecks.
The official release was announced on Microsoft’s dev blogs, by Direct3D Engineer Amar Patel and DirectX Compiler Engineer Tex Riddell. Patel and Riddell write that “With Work Graphs, complex pipelines that are highly variable in terms of overall “shape” can now run efficiently on the GPU, with the scheduler taking care of synchronization and data flow.” To put it simply, this GPU autonomy is designed to reduce the need for the CPU and allow the GPU to take on more capabilities previously locked.
New GPU Autonomy lets DirectX 12 users eliminate CPU bottlenecks
GPU-driven rendering techniques have been the norm for some time now, but not without issues. Before Work Graphs, CPUs would often over-allocate to what was temporarily needed by the GPU. This could cause performance issues and slow down your work considerably. Work Graphs aims to eliminate this bottlenecking by having a scheduler take care of synchronization and data flow instead.
Not only can consumers enjoy the new GPU autonomy, but developers in particular will see huge improvements. Complex resource and barrier management code will be moved from the application to the Work Graphs runtime. This makes the work much simpler for developers. It will be a welcome change for anyone developing on DirectX 12.
It’s great to see Work Graphs finally come to D3D12, as the project has been in development for several years now. CPU bottlenecking might not always be a big issue, as extreme cases are rare, but it still affects daily computing. Even the best CPUs and GPUs can face performance issues. With a solution finally here, the weaker link of your hardware can finally see a boost. A gap has been bridged.
