DX9 vs DX11 Question

AMD HD7970 GPU

I wanted to ask about the benchmark specifically at first but after thinking on it my question might be more broad than all that.

As far as I know; DX11 is suppose to run smoother (a.k.a. easier) on systems that support it as compared to DX9.

My benchmark scores on dx9 were 2k over my dx11 ones. Still dx11 was a par 7k but I can't help but wonder why. My system runs dx11 fully as far as I know.

Settings for both benches were max as they can be.

What made the dx11 run worse and can I do anything about it?

Was my information on dx11 being better for overall system performance in error?

Does your DX11 have DX11 only options activated ?

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Originally Posted by lololink

Does your DX11 have DX11 only options activated ?

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Graphics Settings 2
Graphics Settings 4

Both of them have dx11 settings only set.

Highest Quality (Directx 11 Only)
HBAO+:High Quality (Directx 11 Only)

I went with 1080p , full screen, max out on every default setting I think is how I set it up. I just took max presets and made sure to pick dx11 options when I saw them. In other words I dont think I checked any random boxes below the presets. So hopefully its all set correctly.

Dx11 also adds tessellation feature. Turn this off.

I assume if you have a very recent generation of GPU your DX11 score will equal or exceed the DX9 score. I have a GTX 680, and running on High (Laptop) preset, the DX9 client runs considerably better than the DX11 client. Running at DX9 maximum settings under DX11 did not run as well as under DX9 either.

Looking at other people scores, those w/ a R9 series AMD card or GTX 900 series NVidia card ran as good or better under DX11 than DX9.

The DX11 benchmark really doesn't look at that much better than the DX9 version. I haven't examined really closely but they look very much the same.

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Originally Posted by Laraul

The DX11 benchmark really doesn't look at that much better than the DX9 version. I haven't examined really closely but they look very much the same.

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It would be easier to see the difference if you could sit still and closely examine the environment instead of constantly zipping about like in the benchmark (and if the thumbnails in the benchmark settings weren't designed for ants). Still, the differences are pretty minor if you were already playing the dx9 version with max settings.

Though besides unlocking dx11-specific settings, I thought the primary purpose of the dx11 client was better performance through better optimization. Looking slightly better was just a bonus.

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Originally Posted by ElHeggunte

Though besides unlocking dx11-specific settings, I thought the primary purpose of the dx11 client was better performance through better optimization. Looking slightly better was just a bonus.

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That's what I thought as well and the reason I was asking. I have no working knowledge on dx9 vs dx11. Only what I hear other people say.

One thing worth mentioning though. The 64 bit client is suppose to be the real improvement if the system supports it. Not 100% sure it was the dx11 optimizations or not. But I for sure remember hearing 64 bit would be more useful. Especially when coupled with a multicore threaded app.

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Originally Posted by WHS

What made the dx11 run worse and can I do anything about it?

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DX11 comes with unique features not present in DX9 that require more processing power to render. Try turning off all the DX11-specific features in the DX11 version and compare scores to DX9.

One of the biggest framerate killers I found was Highest SSAO--I turned it to High, barely noticed the difference, and managed to get Extremely rating with a 660Ti.

I still go full PS3 during the first field sequence and the fishing bit, though.

The max settings of the DX11 are not the same as DX9's. If you disable all the extra sweet eye candy cookies DX11 brought like HBAO tesselations and reflections then you get the same settings as DX9. If you run both on same settings you will see performance is indeed better and runs smoother.

There is a drop down to select maximum dx9 settings with dx11. With my setup I got a large boost and min frame-rate where there are lots of characters. I'll analyze it further and maybe create a comparison video of them side by side tonight.

DX11 with DX9 settings:
http://i.imgur.com/eDEexNu.png

DX9 Max:
http://i.imgur.com/3aUnl7Z.png