Nvidia has a new way to reduce shader stutters after driver updates, but it's disabled by default
It doesn't work all the time, but it's still progress.
Nvidia has introduced a new feature called Auto Shader Compilation (ASC) to reduce shader stutters after driver updates, but it remains disabled by default. When you update your graphics drivers, previously compiled shaders can become invalidated, leading to longer loading times or annoying stutters during gameplay as shaders compile on the fly.
ASC aims to address this issue, especially in DirectX 12 games, by automatically recompiling previously cached shaders in the background while your PC is idle. This means you won't have to wait for loading screens or endure shader compilation stutters while playing. ASC recompiles shaders and caches them again, allowing your game to reuse them the next time you launch it, eliminating the need for loading screens.
The feature is easy to enable and doesn't impact performance or create new problems. However, it only works with DirectX 12 titles and may not benefit older DirectX 11 games or those that use Vulkan. Game updates can still force shader recompilation from scratch. Despite these limitations, enabling ASC doesn't seem to be a problem, as it can significantly reduce the frequency of shader compilation stutters, making it worth keeping enabled.
Nvidia deserves credit for addressing this longstanding inconvenience, and the feature is still in beta, leaving room for improvement in the future.
Written by urgent.news from XDA Developers's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
