DirectX 12: New feature level 12_2 for Turing, Ampere and RDNA 2

DirectX 12

Microsoft has announced a new evolution stage for DirectX 12. DirectX 12 Ultimate, which consists of raytracing (DXR 1.1), variable rate shading, mesh shader and sampler feedback, was recently introduced and is used by Xbox Series X. The new feature level 12_2 builds on this.

Feature level 12_2 vs DX12 Ultimate

DirectX 12 Feature Level 12_2 consists primarily of the new features of DirectX 12 Ultimate: DXR 1.1, VRS, Mesh Shaders and Sampler Feedback are required for compatible hardware, while the current feature level 12_1 had to do without them. According to Microsoft, these are the four big novelties of the new feature level, but not all of them.

This raises the question of how far DirectX 12 Ultimate and DirectX 12 feature level 12_2 differ. Microsoft does not provide a clear answer to this question in its own blog entry for developers.

It is possible that DirectX 12 Ultimate only "relies" on the four most important new features, while the feature level 12_2 goes even further. Nevertheless, it cannot be excluded that feature level 12_2 describes the complete technical - little screaming for attention - basis of Ultimate.

DirectX 12 Ultimate is undoubtedly much better to advertise than the designation feature level 12_2. Perhaps DirectX 12 Ultimate is just a marketing term that has no technical background.

With Turing, Ampere and RDNA 2 there is the FL 12_2

For DirectX 12 feature level 12_2, it does not necessarily need new GPUs, because according to Microsoft, Nvidia’s Turing RTX GPUs already support the new feature level and thus automatically the upcoming GeForce RTX 3000 models of the Ampere generation. AMD, on the other hand, does not yet have GPUs with appropriate support, but RDNA 2 will make up for this in the upcoming Navi 2X generation - no wonder, RDNA 2 is also included in the upcoming Xbox. Intel does not currently support feature level 12_2, which should change only with discrete GPUs based on Xe - after all, raytracing is assumed, which Xe-iGPUs in Tiger Lake do not yet offer.