Nvidia released GPU driver 621.01 today, which includes support for Microsoft's Advanced Shader Delivery. The technology, which uses DirectX 12 and the Microsoft Agility SDK, lets developers capture shaders in a State Object Database (SODB) and pre-compile them in Microsoft's cloud for hundreds of thousands of hardware configurations. The result is shorter game load times on PC.
The current shader compilation process happens on the user's machine, often on a game's first run, causing stutters and waiting. With Advanced Shader Delivery, compilation happens ahead of time and is distributed via the cloud, removing that bottleneck. The technology requires Windows 11 and DirectX 12, and is now enabled by Nvidia's driver.
Support comes via a driver update, not an operating system or game update. This means any user with Windows 11, a compatible Nvidia card, and driver 621.01 automatically benefits from pre-compilation, as long as the game was built with the Agility SDK and has shaders stored in the SODB.
For IT teams that maintain workstations with Nvidia GPUs used for visualization or simulation, the update can reduce startup times for DirectX 12 applications. The publication understands that the cloud pre-compilation approach is more efficient than local compilation and should become standard in games and graphics applications over the next few driver cycles.
The recommendation is to update the driver to 621.01 on Windows 11 machines and check whether the graphics applications in use adopt the Agility SDK to benefit from the reduced startup latency.