Digital Trends
A 26 % increase in anatomy rates from your CPU sounds far - fetched . If that ’s not enough to catch the attention of personal computer gamers , I do n’t bang is . But intrust me — according to my own examination — that ’s exactly whatIntel ’s software Optimization , or APO , deliver .
What commence as a corner feature of speech only patronize byIntel ’s flagship chipand two games has since been broadened , with unofficial support for previous CPUs and a much longer list of title .
However , your mileage with the feature will vary . discrepant carrying out gains combined with a confusing , frustrating setup process overshadow what APO is capable of . Intel needs to gift a mountain of oeuvre before it ’s worthy of your investiture , but as you ’ll see , it ’s finally beginning to fulfill its ambitious promises .
The sanity check
Diving headfirst into C.P.U. testing on game can be frustrative . Unlike with GPUs , CPU testing is flooded with small carrying into action gain and now and again inconsistent result . So , instead of run away the full rooms properly off the cricket bat , I like to start with a sanity check .
you could see the result of that saneness check above — a 26 % operation improvement inMetro Exodus , which report for more than 100 frames of difference . That ’s huge . That ’s more than a generational improvement , and it ’s coming alone from a software lineament .
linguistic context is important here . This was my first test because it created the most constrained CPU environment possible . I ’m testing here with anRTX 4080at 1080p with the Low graphics preset . This create aCPU bottleneckwhere we can intelligibly see what APO is doing to affect performance . The results speak for themselves : APO make .
The ground of APO is Intel ’s Dynamic Tuning Technology , or DTT . This is basically a set of algorithm that optimise different areas of carrying into action — conceive good undertaking scheduling on a laptop computer to optimise electric battery life . For APO , DTT optimize scheduling for peak carrying out . It ensures that the right body of work is placed on the right thread , leverage the intermixture of execution ( P ) and efficient ( E ) meat uncommitted on modern Intel CPUs .
distinctly , proper scheduling makes a big remainder in carrying into action . The problem for APO is that a lot of game do n’t see as clear a welfare , and really setting up APO is such a scuffle that it might not be deserving it .
Not always an improvement
I valuate a massive 26 % start with APO inMetro Exoduswith the Low preset . Bump up to the Ultra preset , though , and APO provide just a 6 % jump . That ’s still a respectable amplification , but it disappears at higher resolutions . APO at 1440p produce just a 2 % bump , and there was no difference at 4K. Most of the plot I tested fall in that range , too .
World War Zis a large lesson of that . The plot can run into your CPU , but even at 1080p , APO provide less than 1 % of a performance bump . That disappeared at higher resolutions , too . Similarly , I saw a bump of 1 % inRainbow Six Siegeat 1080p and nigh no functioning benefit at 1440p and 4K.
For the rice beer of completion , you could seeGuardians of the Galaxyabove . I saw a 3 % uplift at 1080p and 1440p , which is impressive , but there was n’t any significant increase at 4K.
Outside ofMetro Exodus , APO look the most telling inRed Dead Redemption 2by far . At 1080p , turning on APO provided an 11 % boost in average soma charge per unit . That unsurprisingly diminished at higher resolutions , but it ’s great to see such a big execution jump just for enabling a feature .
Clearly there are some applications for APO , but it does n’t feel like Intel has slay its stride with the feature of speech quite yet . As it stands now , there are only 14 games that have official financial support for APO . you may try out with the characteristic in unsupported biz through the Advanced Mode available in the APO covering , but Intel warns of “ likely performance debasement . ”
I ’m curious to see where Intel take APO from here because , distinctly , there are programing optimisation to improve performance in games , no matter how fringy those improvements may be . properly now , however , it ’s hard to recommend a regular customer take the dip on APO due to its inapt apparatus process .
Ease of use is important
It took me more than a week to get APO working properly . Mind you , I was n’t focused on getting the feature exploit the whole time — I have other thing to do , you know — but it speaks to the sporadic effectuation Intel presently has for the marquise feature film of its latestgaming central processor .
Here ’s the general process : You need to have the late BIOS for your motherboard and a DTT driver . you could find both on your motherboard vendor ’s support page . Then , you require to enable DTT in your motherboard ’s BIOS before set up the Intel program Optimization utility program through the Microsoft Store . It’sonlyavailable through the Microsoft Store , which I could probably indite an additional 1,000 word about alone .
That does n’t fathom too bad , but you have to follow this process specifically . If you establish the app and then deploy the DTT drivers , for example , you ’ll get an mistake . I ran into that a few time .
The big result with APO right now , however , is the reliance on motherboard seller . When Intel released its late update , motherboard vendors did n’t have a new DTT equipment driver available for a few days . Despite that , Intel pushed an update to the APO software on the Microsoft Store . The result was that users had their app mechanically update without a right driver , blocking them from using APO , even if they had already rig it up .
A promising start
Intel needs to work on APO a luck before it ’s a feature film that can betray a unexampled propagation of processors , particularly after the debacle with chips like the Core i9 - 14900K. If user need a new version of the app , a unexampled driver that they have to hold back on , and some BIOS apparatus to get APO working every time new game are tally , I do n’t see how APO can be successful in the future .
These are growing annoyance , though . APO needs some work , particularly in get the feature article working easily on Intel systems , but it holds a lot of hope . Hopefully , Intel will carry on to build up on APO with further game documentation . In a few calendar month , if we continue to see performance improvements in some games , it might turn into a key ground to beak upan Intel mainframe over AMD .
