author: Bart Swiatek
Nvidia's RTX IO Will Give PC Capabilities Comparable to PS5's SSD
Nvidia has developed a new RTX IO technology to enable much faster loading of data from SSD. The process will be done without the processor - the files will go directly from the media to the GPU memory, which will increase performance and reduce the size of games.
IN A NUTSHELL:
- Nvidia has designed a new RTX IO technology that enables us to transfer files from SSD directly to VRAM, skipping CPU;
- This is designed to achieve much better performance and reduce stutter and object loading;
- RTX IO will also reduce the size of games thanks to lossless compression;
- The solution is to work with cards from Ampere and Turing families.
Nvidia designed a new I/O architecture, called RTX IO, which will enable PC to achieve performance comparable to that expected from the modern SSD in PlayStation 5 (and a special I/O controller developed by Sony for it).
The technology will enable NVMe's SSD to decompress and load files directly into GPU - without the processor. This means that CPU load will be up to twenty times smaller, and loading performance can be up to a hundred times greater than that using traditional drives and old interfaces.
"Object pop-in and stutter can be reduced, and high-quality textures can be streamed at incredible rates, so even if you’re speeding through a world, everything runs and looks great. In addition, with lossless compression, game download and install sizes can be reduced, allowing gamers to store more games on their SSD while also improving their performance," boasts Nvidia.
The solution works in conjunction with DirectStorage API developed by Microsoft and is developed in collaboration with the company.
"Microsoft is delighted to partner with NVIDIA to bring the benefits of next-generation I/O to Windows gamers. DirectStorage for Windows will let games leverage NVIDIA’s cutting-edge RTX IO and provide game developers with a highly efficient and standard way to get the best possible performance from the GPU and I/O system. With DirectStorage, game sizes are minimized, load times reduced, and virtual worlds are free to become more expansive and detailed, with smooth & seamless streaming," wrote Bryan Langley, Group Program Manager for Windows Graphics and Gaming.
Interestingly, RTX IO will be available on all GeForce RTX cards - both the upcoming Ampere-based GPUs (GeForce RTX 3070, GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3090) and existing Turing family GPUs (GeForce RTX 2060, GeForce RTX 2060 Super, GeForce RTX 2070, GeForce RTX 2070 Super, GeForce RTX 2080 Super, GeForce RTX 2080 Super, GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and Titan RTX).
