When we enable ray tracing in any current game, increase in graphics memory consumptionand this can have a very negative impact on performance if the graphics card we are using does not have enough graphics memory to withstand this increased resource consumption.

Let me give you an example, imagine that we are running a game in 1080p with maximum quality and this has an average consumption of 6.5 GB of graphics memory. If our graphics card has 8 GB of graphics memory, we will be in an optimal situation, that is, we will not have any problems, but if the activation of ray tracing increases the memory consumption by 1.5 GB, exceeds the maximum available graphics memory.

Microsoft is clear that one way to improve ray tracing performance is to reduce the consumption of graphics memory, and to this end is working on a new generation DXR API which will take advantage of SSD to reduce VRAM memory consumption. Optimizing and improving the management, utilization and space required by beam-tracing accelerator structures is essential in this regard.

The patent that Microsoft has listed includes several solutions that can help in this regard. One of the most interesting concerns possession more manageable datasets associated with those accelerating ray-tracing structures. These groups can be stored not only in memory, but also in high-performance storage units such as SSDs.

I find this approach by Microsoft very interesting, not only because of what it could offer in terms of performance, but also because today most gaming PCs have SSDs and current generation consoles also use the said component. DXR API with this technology could strengthen a new generation of ray tracing that is more efficient and consumes less resources, at least on the graphics memory level, and that’s always welcome.

Microsoft may use this new API to improve the potential of its next-gen consoles by working with ray tracing, but for now everything remains a good idea on paper, that is, in a patent, so we’ll have to wait and see. yes redmond giant He finally dares to turn it into something real. It is quite likely, because it could become a very important novelty and bring a major difference to the competition (on consoles, of course).