New Intel Arc GPU driver improves performance for DX9 games by up to 80%

In an effort to improve gaming performance, Intel has been continuously updating its graphics drivers. With the latest driver update, Intel Arc GPUs are getting their biggest performance boost yet, with 80% gains in DX9 titles, including the likes of CS:GO, Stellaris and StarCraft 2. 

Up to this point, Intel Arc graphics drivers had to use graphics API translation layers to run DirectX 9 games. However, the new graphics driver (v3953) has changed this by introducing a native implementation of DirectX 9. Unfortunately, because not all games can use it just yet, Intel is forced to use a hybrid approach where specific titles use the old method while others run the DX9 API natively.

In games such as CS:GO, performance increased by up to 79% at 1080p and 77% at 1440p compared to the previous driver (v3490). Other titles like Guild Wars 2 should only see marginal improvements (3-7%). Despite the significant gains in average FPS, the most noticeable improvement is in how smoothly the games run. Looking at Intel's data, we can see CS:GO frame times are now up to 130% faster than the older driver.

Intel has promised to allow more games to use its native DirectX 9 implementation in future updates, but the selection of titles that can use it should give us a good idea of the potential gains. The latest Intel Arc graphics driver can be downloaded here.

KitGuru says: Do you have an Intel Arc GPU? Have you already tried the new graphics drivers? Did you notice any considerable performance improvement in any games you usually play?

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