Nvidia’s latest GPU driver brings a new way to speed up PC games
Nvidia's latest GPU driver update enables Microsoft’s Advanced Shader Delivery technology, which offloads shader compilation to the cloud. This process speeds up game launches, reduces CPU spikes, and eliminates mid-game stuttering in titles like Gears of War: E-Day and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.
Why it matters
Cloud-assisted shader compilation represents a major architectural improvement for PC gaming performance, smoothing out persistent frame-rate drops and loading friction.
Nvidia is rolling out a new GPU driver today (621.01) that enables Microsoft’s new Advanced Shader Delivery technology to speed up game launches. The technology also removes mid-game “just-in-time” shader compilation, reducing stuttering and CPU spikes.
Microsoft’s Advanced Shader Delivery works by offloading shader compilation for different hardware combinations to the cloud. “Using DirectX 12, Windows 11, and the Microsoft Agility SDK, developers capture shaders into a State Object Database (SODB), allowing Microsoft’s cloud network to precompile shaders for hundreds of thousands of hardware and driver combinations,” explains Nvidia’s Andrew Burnes.
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