AMD boasts about performance as ‘The Division’ gets DirectX 12 support in new update

By Brad Jones December 16, 2016

the division directx 12 support thedivision14 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Division has received a new update that introduces DirectX 12 support to the PC version of the game. As a result, players should experience improvements to performance the next time they embark on a mission as a member of the Strategic Homeland Division.

A post published by the Radeon Technologies Group brags that the introduction of DirectX 12 support will result in noticeable gameplay enhancements. All users with DirectX 12 compatible hardware will be able to take advantage of this new functionality, but of course Radeon — which is a subdivision of AMD — is particularly interested in talking up the benefits of using products released by its parent company.

Games that feature support for the advanced abilities of AMD’s GCN and Polaris architectures can utilize the power of their Asynchronous Compute Engines. These ACEs can be used to submit commands before other tasks have been completed. The benefits for the user apparently include better GPU efficiency, improved graphics processing performance, less latency, and more consistent frame rates.

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Radeon also published data from tests comparing the performance of The Division following the DirectX 12 patch using a Radeon RX 480 graphics card with a set-up that utilizes an Nvidia GTX 1060 card. Unsurprisingly, these tests found that the Radeon-branded card managed up to 16 percent better performance than the rival product.

The fact that The Division has received this DirectX 12 update is a good sign that Ubisoft isn’t giving up on the game just yet. After an initial burst of popularity, many players stepped away from the game citing both a lack of content, and a number of bugs and glitches that had a negative impact on the overall experience.

However, the game’s development team has been doing everything in its power to turn the tide, with frequent updates and balance tweaks, and the recent release of the well-received Survival expansion. DirectX 12 support coming at this time would seem to confirm that The Division won’t be abandoned as it enters its second year — which is good news for a game that’s seen some major improvements since it was first released.

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Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…

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