Microsoft announced a number of new features for Windows 11 when it debuted it in early July, upgrading the Windows 10 experience with a number of improvements to the interface, performance, and gaming. However, now it seems like Windows 11 won't have to be home of gamers looking to play on the cutting edge. The DirectStorage API that enhances games with faster storage access for quick loading times will now be coming to Windows 10 too, along with AutoHDR support.
DirectStorage works in much the same way as the Velocity Architecture Microsoft launched the Xbox Series S and X consoles with. It enables the graphics card to communicate directly with SSD storage, massively boosting the speed of access compared to traditional circuitous routes through the CPU and memory. Ultimately, this leads to much faster game load times and even faster in-game action, where assets don't need to be frontloaded into the memory first, but can be dynamically loaded as the game is in progress.
This should finally give gamers with NVMe storage a legitimate performance advantage, rather than the miniscule 10% or so cut to load times over traditional SSDs, even if that SATA interface is as much as eight times slower.
This move joins the planned inclusion of AutoHDR in Windows 10 too, allowing for thousands of compatible games to have enhanced contrast to deliver a more visually striking experience. It won't be a great fit for every game, but for some, it could be excellent.
Windows 10 will receive a further four years of support for those who want to stick with it, so if you don't like the new look and feel of Windows 11, you don't need to jump ship just yet.
Source: Samsung