Nvidia

Perhaps there is still some hope for GPUs with crushed VRAM . fit in to a unexampled letters patent published by Microsoft , the troupe bring out a method acting that could make ray trace and route trace more viable in term of how much video memory ( VRAM ) they use . As of correctly now , without using upscaling techniques , unseamed light beam trace require the use of goods and services of one of the best graphic card — but this might finally transfer if this new method sour out as plan .

This newfangled letters patent , first recognise byTom ’s Hardware , describes how Microsoft hop to trim the impingement of beam tracing on GPU memory . It address the level of detail ( LOD ) philosophy , which is already something that ’s used in games but not in congress to beam tracing , and plans to use LOD to correct ray of light trace quality dynamically , thus lour the burden that the GPU — particularly its memory — has to yield .

Screenshot of full ray tracing in Cyberpunk 2077.

Nvidia

floor of item is already helpful in games outside of ray trace chore , and it ’s somewhat much what it says on the tin : It determines how much item you ’ll see depending on its space from your persona or its relevance . At longsighted distances , irrelevant details such as ground textures and fuddle may be removed to conserve smooth performance . However , this approach has never been used with beam tracing .

The patent gets into the technical nitty - gritty , socheck it outif you ’re feel up to it , but the simplified version is that Microsoft wants to swear on LOD for determining the lineament and extent of ray trace and path trace in games . Presumably , this means that where it ’s highly visible and relevant , you ’d see the tech in its full glory ; otherwise , it could be toned down to save remembering .

Right now , unless you buy a beastly GPU , ray trace can be difficult in many games . form of address likeCyberpunk 2077are postulate enough without it , and tally it into the mix means that upscaling techniques become more of a necessity than an option . GPU manufacturers get around the acute memory requirements of ray hound by leaning into techniques likeDLSS 3,FSR 3 , and XeSS , but this is more of a workaround than an actual fix .

Microsoft ’s patent of invention could give a new lease on lifespan to graphics add-in likeNvidia ’s RTX 4060 Ti , which , when limited to 8 GB retentiveness , are n’t that well - equip to palm future AAA games . VRAM , or rather a lack of it , has been a spicy topic of late . If Microsoft ’s patent can address the uprise requirement , it ’d be a great thing for every microcomputer gamer . alas , it ’s ill-defined if and when this engineering might become mainstream , but it ’s certainly an interesting conception .