DX12 comparison

[danhynes]

I wanted to see what kind of performance increase I got from DX 12 on the new patch which supports it now. My specs are MSI GT72 2QE which is Nvidia gtx980m. i7 5950HQ. SSD, 32GB memory. I just installed the most up to date video card drivers. Using Windows 10.

These benchmarks were from within Civ 6

DX 12 GPU = 11.48 ms
Processor test/ Turn time= 23.93

Non DX 12= 11.274
Turn time =24.39

I had my video settings all set to low in game as that is what I typically play on. Hopefully nvidia makes some changes in future drivers because this is essentially a 0 percent increase. In actuality the GPU performed better on the non dx12, but that number is essentially unremarkable.

Anyone else want to report their results?

 

[anandus]

I also did some testing on my laptop.
Intel Core i7-4710MQ @ 2.5Ghz, 16GB RAM, GeForce GTX 980M 4GB
Latest nVidia driver 375.86

• Graphics benchmarks:
  • Lowest graphics settings
    • DX11: 11.366 / 16.883 (avg/99th)
    • DX12: 11.981 / 20.246 (avg/99th)
  • Highest graphics settings
    • DX11: 20.325 / 31.008 (avg/99th)
    • DX12: 25.902 / 36.505 (avg/99th)
• AI benchmarks:
  • Lowest graphics settings
    • DX11: 20.04
    • DX12: 20.92
  • Highest graphics settings
    • DX11: 21.65
    • DX12: 27.02

Conclusions:
1. Overall DX12 is slower than DX11
2. This is especially the case at higher graphics settings

Now I'm curious about two things:
1. How does this compare to newer generation nVidia cards?
2. How does this compare to AMD cards? (which I believe have better DX12-support?)

Love to see other benchmarks!

 

[WileyWilson]

For me, DX12 has stopped an annoying refresh rate flickering I used to see on the main menu and whenever leaders spoke to me. I've not noticed any difference in performance.

 

[10KEyeCandy]

NVIDIA users wouldn't see much of an improvement or difference from DX12. Their cards' support on DX12 is pretty poor to be honest.

Will test myself after I finish downloading the patch and post the result in here.

Update: Here's my benchmark results.
Windows 10 OS with 375.86 driver.
Spec: i7-4800MQ @ 4.0GHz, GTX 980M @ 1120MHz, 16GB DDR3 @ 1600MHz. Game runs on a regular HGST HDD with 32MB cache.
Settings: Everything maxed with 4x MSAA, V-Sync off and Frame Limiter off

Graphics Benchmark:

• DX11: 17.328/24.956 (Avg/99th)
• DX12: 19.903/31.404 (Avg/99th)

AI Benchmark:

• DX11: 21.39
• DX12: 25.33

Pretty "Meh" implementation of DX12 right now I'm afraid.
It's supposed to improve turn times, maybe not by much but still should be better, yet everyone I see here is getting longer turns. This effectively defeats the whole point of implementing DX12 to the game.

It's worth noting that I also got a lot of stutter frames in DX12 graphics benchmark, hence the much higher 99th percentile than DX11. Though I wouldn't say it's DX12 related without further investigation. Could well be NVIDIA's fault, driver or the card itself.

So like anandus has mentioned, now we really need more results from people with AMD or newer NVIDIA cards(Pascal) to get the whole picture.

Oh and I also find it interesting that 3 of us own the same graphic card on a forum not related to hardware

 

[chgolwr]

AI:
DX11 - 30.22
DX12 - 32.12

AMD Fx6300 @ 3.8ghz
AMD R9 380 4gb
8gb ram
SSD

I'll test on my i3-4xxx in the morning

 

[Traditionalist]

Just a question to you who have compared: Did you update the driver for your GPU? Just curious, as Nvidia released a new driver only three days ago. . .

 

[anandus]

Just a question to you who have compared: Did you update the driver for your GPU? Just curious, as Nvidia released a new driver only three days ago. . .

Both me and danhynes mention it

 

[Joch]

graphically, is there a difference between DX12 and DX11 in game?

I am still using Win 7, so no native DX12.

 

[danhynes]

Odd even the AMD one gave worse performance on dx12. I didn't care much about any graphics increase, I was hoping it would have helped cut down the time on waiting for other players during late games with big maps.

 

[anandus]

Odd even the AMD one gave worse performance on dx12.

Well, it's an R9 380, which also has a limited DX12 feature-set.

 

[chgolwr]

AI:
DX11 - 30.22
DX12 - 32.12

AMD Fx6300 @ 3.8ghz
AMD R9 380 4gb
8gb ram
SSD

I'll test on my i3-4xxx in the morning

i3-4170
Amd hd 7770
8gb ram
Ssd

DX12-23.69
DX11-20.30

Wow, is my FX6300 really that much slower?

 

[Kougar7]

graphically, is there a difference between DX12 and DX11 in game?

This is what I would like to know.

DX12 benefits most on max quality settings if other DX12 titles are anything to go by, so I would not expect it to make a difference on low graphics settings.

 

[mc_norris]

i5-6600k @ 3.5GHz
GTX 970
8 GB RAM
2560x1440 (143Hz)
Drivers: 379.95

Graphics:

• DX11: 14.9400/18.8550 (Avg/99th)
• DX12: 14.0390/18.1260 (Avg/99th)

AI:

• DX11: 16.08
• DX12: 16.23

Slight loss on turn times, slightly bigger gain in graphics.

 

[mnf]

E3-1230v2, GTX-1070-O8G, 32GB RAM, driver version 373.06

• 2560x1440 borderless window, MSAA 2x, vertical sync on and frame rate limit off
• all other advanced options on or high, shadow resolution 4096x4096, overlay 4096x4096

DX11

• Graphics: avg 16.187ms, 99th 21.029ms
• AI: 21.21

DX12

• Graphics: avg 15.730ms, 99th 20.355ms
• AI: 22.31

Graphics is a slight little tiny weeny bit faster, which is to say that the performance improvement is negligible.

 

[Jimdigriz]

Forgive my ignorance but how do you switch from DX11 to DX12 anyway? I didn't see any option or anything? (don't shoot me!)

 

[Jimdigriz]

OK so I worked out how to start the game in DX12 from Steam itself. But how do you choose the default? Or do you have to start it from Steam?

 

[Dethy]

Here is my benchmark:

Setup: 3770k, 16gb of ram, AMD 390X MSI card, samsung 850 pro ssd 1920x1080.

DX11:
Avg Frame Time: 17.256
99th Percentile: 43.84
AI Avg Turn Time: 22.94

DX12:
Avg Frame Time: 19.207
99th Percentile: 38.983
AI Avg Turn Time: 21.85

Not really noticing anything different. This just might be a generic implementation of dx12 that doesn't really add a whole lot to the game. I guess the biggest improvement is the AI turn time.

 

[rsirangelo]

OK so I worked out how to start the game in DX12 from Steam itself. But how do you choose the default? Or do you have to start it from Steam?

Make a shortcut, the file is in your steam folder ("...\Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier's Civilization VI\Base\Binaries\Win64Steam\CivilizationVI_DX12.exe")
EDIT: the shortcut doesn't work, you must start the game from Steam, read the posts below

And the benchmark:

DX11 (Low/Med/High)
AFT: 18.075 / 17.889 / 21.122
99P: 24.018 / 24.163 / 29.813

DX12 (Low/Med/High)
AFT: 18.549 / 19.018 / 22.096
99P: 24.621 / 24.657 / 30.375

I7 920 no overclock, 8GB RAM, Crucial M4 SSD, NVidia GTX 1060 3 GB

I tried disabling Anti Aliasing, but the results were almost the same

 

[UQRAX]

If I recall correctly, Civ 5 was at the forefront of both Directx 10 and 11 support. Nice to see them continuing the trend with Directx 12. Some comparisons from AMD latest offerings, my RX 480 (and i5-4670 + 16GB RAM)

16.11.3 drivers

Directx 11
Average Frame Time: 16.950
99th Percentile: 21.700
Average Turn Time: 18.72

Directx 12
Average Frame Time: 17.066
99th Percentile: 23.981
Average Turn Time: 18.11


16.11.4 drivers (19 November 2016, with official support for Civilization 6 Directx 12)

Directx 12
Average Frame Time: 15.762
99th Percentile: 20.0006
Average Turn Time: 17.69

This is at max setting except for AA.

 

[chriskj]

Make a shortcut, the file is in your steam folder ("...\Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier's Civilization VI\Base\Binaries\Win64Steam\CivilizationVI_DX12.exe")

And the benchmark:

DX11 (Low/Med/High)
AFT: 18.075 / 17.889 / 21.122
99P: 24.018 / 24.163 / 29.813

DX12 (Low/Med/High)
AFT: 17.705 / 18.293 / 20.939
99P: 24.072 / 24.638 / 28.748

I7 920 no overclock, 8GB RAM, Crucial M4 SSD, NVidia GTX 1060 3 GB

I tried disabling Anti Aliasing, but the results were almost the same

Dx 12 shortcut doesn't seem to work
I made a shortcut to the dx12 Civ6.exe, but when I use it the game launches in dx 11 mode. I confirmed it by running Win 10's resource monitor which shows the regular Civ 6 exe running. When I launch it from Steam the resource monitor shows the dx 12 exe. Maybe just some weirdness with my computer, but strange nontheless.