Vulkan 1.0.42.0 features include Multi-GPU and VR support

[Delicieuxz]

Vulkan at GDC 2017 - PDF overview

 

 

New Vulkan Functionality at GDC 2017

• Vulkan 1.0.42 released together with new extension sets for VR and multi-GPU
- https://www.khronos.org/registry/vulkan/#apispecs
- The most requested functionality by developers
- Building Block approach provides explicit level of control

 

• Enables developers with key functionality today
- AND gathers experience and feedback for future Vulkan core spec releases

 

• First use of KHX extensions
- Developed by the working group – and ratified - like traditional KHR extensions
- But will have TEMPORARY lifetime - should NOT be built into production code
- Enables developer feedback without polluting long-term extension space

 

• New LunarG SDK for Vulkan Header 1.0.42.0 released today!
- Includes support for all newly Released Functionality!

 

• NVIDIA has published their new Vulkan beta drivers on day of spec release
- With full support for all the new v1.0.42 extensions
- Plus building block Vulkan extensions for VRWorks
on Maxwell and Pascal

 

 

Vulkan Extension Sets

 

• Multiview extension set
- Render geometry to multiple surfaces, each with its own viewing parameters
- Can efficiently render stereo pairs or environment maps

 

• Sharing extension set
- Share memory and synchronization primitives across process and instance boundaries
- Useful for implementing real-time rendering system such as VR runtimes

 

• Explicit Multi-GPU extension set
- Treat multiple GPUs as a single logical device
- Application can implement Alternate Frame Rendering, Split Frame Rendering or VR SLI

 

• Descriptor Update extension set
- Alternate ways to update resource references between draw or compute dispatch calls
- More efficient when a fixed set of resources must be updated repeatedly
- More convenient for legacy applications

 

 

Vulkan Multi-GPU and Virtual Reality Support

 

• Native multi-GPU support for NVIDIA SLI and AMD Crossfire platforms
- WDDM must be in “linked display adapter” mode
- The most common use case – does NOT support dGPU/iGPU

 

• Explicit control of how GPUs cooperate to enable a variety of operating modes
- AFR (alternate frame), SFR (Sequential frame) and VR SLI Stereo view rendering

 

• A “device group” is a set of physical devices that support multi-GPU rendering
- Acts as single logical device - makes adding device group support as easy as possible
- Only access each physical GPU in a device group when need explicit control:
- Memory allocation and binding resources
- Command Buffer Recording/Submission
- Synchronization

 

 

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Good to see Vulkan continue to expand in its robustness. The "Building Block approach provides explicit level of control" aspect sounds great to me, and I'd like to learn of the specifics regarding multiple GPUs being treated as a single logical device, with alternate frame-rendering. Does that mean two 8GB GPUs will be seen in-OS as one GPU with 16GB of VRAM?

[Ekst4zy]

I really like what they are doing with Vulkan... I hope that dx12 will lose  ( I can hope, right?!)

[shdowhunt60]

1 minute ago, Ekst4zy said:

I really like what they are doing with Vulkan... I hope that dx12 will lose  ( I can hope, right?!)

We can all but hope. I don't think this'll be the case though, developers are increasingly dependent on money from companies like MS to budget their increasingly expensive games.

[Valentyn]

1 hour ago, Tedny said:

dx12 will always on windows 10, Vulcan most likely will shine on mobile and consoles, but maybe we will have someday DOOM like game for Vulcan 

 

AMD Has partnered with Bethesda, they're working directly with the developers now to bring "innovation and optimisation".

So we should expect more DOOM like games from 2018 onwards from them at least. Might mean better performing and less buggy Bethesda games in general in the future.

[Valentyn]

Just now, Tedny said:

API can't fix bugs, it means more that maybe new Elder Scroll and Fallout wouldn't be on 12 old engine, maybe. It depend on how Bethesda will be greed

API can't, but working directly with AMD engineers might.

One can hope!

 

Look what AMD and id Tech managed to do with DOOM Vulkan, and that wasn't even a from the ground up build.

[tlink]

4 hours ago, Valentyn said:

API can't, but working directly with AMD engineers might.

One can hope!

 

Look what AMD and id Tech managed to do with DOOM Vulkan, and that wasn't even a from the ground up build.

yea thats a good point, many devs completely fuck up dx12 implementation because they slap it on afterwards but doom did it really reaaallly well.

[Doobeedoo]

Awesome, Vulkan is going in a great way.

[Unixsystem]

22 hours ago, Delicieuxz said:

• Native multi-GPU support for NVIDIA SLI and AMD Crossfire platforms

- WDDM must be in “linked display adapter” mode
- The most common use case – does NOT support dGPU/iGPU

Does anyone in the know understand what this means with regards to using two different types of GPUs? I'd hope it works the same as the DX12 implementation where you can slap any two cards together and usually get some benefit (assuming one isn't dramatically slower than the other), but the wording that it supports SLI/Corssfire is a bit worrying. Better than not having it at all, but I'd much prefer if SLI and Crossfire were made obsolete in favor of a more flexible solution.

[Space Reptile]

neat