Goodbye VRAM hunger? Microsoft’s patent shows the way to more efficient ray tracing

Our colleagues at TomsHardware report that Microsoft has published a new patent that is intended to make ray tracing graphics more efficient. The patent describes a method to reduce the memory requirements of ray tracing, which can be particularly advantageous for GPUs with limited VRAM.

The solution uses a detail level system that dynamically adjusts the quality of ray tracing effects. Details close to the player are displayed in greater detail, while objects further away are rendered with lower quality. This saves memory and can improve performance. Previous ray tracing implementations do not use this technique and are therefore more memory intensive. Instead, they rely on upscaling technologies such as DLSS, FSR or XeSS to improve performance. Microsoft’s new system could make ray tracing more playable on weaker GPUs, such as laptops with 8GB or 10GB of VRAM. It could also improve ray tracing performance on consoles like the PlayStation 5.

Other advantages of the system:

• Lower memory requirements: ray tracing games require less VRAM, which lowers hardware requirements.
• Higher performance: The lower memory load can improve frame rate and overall performance.
• More flexibility for developers: Developers have more options to optimize the performance of ray-traced games.

The patent is still at an early stage of implementation and it is unclear when it will be used in real products. However, the technology has the potential to make ray tracing accessible to a wider audience.

Further details:

• The patent describes a definition that determines the level of detail of objects depending on their distance from the player.
• The system can be used with various ray tracing techniques such as path tracing.
• The patented solution could also be used for other applications such as virtual reality and augmented reality.

Microsoft’s new patent could make ray tracing more efficient and accessible. The technology has the potential to significantly improve graphics quality in games and other applications.

Source: TomsHardware