Advanced Shader Delivery on the RX 9070 XT: Up to 95% Faster Loads and 33% Better 1% Low FPS
#Hardware

Advanced Shader Delivery on the RX 9070 XT: Up to 95% Faster Loads and 33% Better 1% Low FPS

•
Chips Reporter
•5 min read

Microsoft’s Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) pre‑compiles game shaders on the server and ships them as a SQLite‑based PSO database. In a six‑game test on a Radeon RX 9070 XT, ASD cut load times by as much as 95% (2 s vs 48 s in Forza Horizon 6) and lowered 1% low‑FPS dips by up to 33% in titles that suffered from shader‑compilation stutter.

Advanced Shader Delivery on the RX 9070 XT – Load‑Time Gains and 1% Low FPS Improvements

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Microsoft’s Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) is a server‑side pre‑compilation pipeline that ships a State Object Database (SODB) and a Precompiled Shader Database (PSDB) alongside a game’s install files. The SODB is a SQLite3 container that lists every Pipeline State Object (PSO) the engine may need. An offline compiler turns that list into a PSDB that can be loaded on any compatible GPU without a live compile step. When the game starts, the driver registers the PSDB, achieving a near‑100 % cache‑hit rate on first launch.

How ASD Works – Technical Snapshot

Step Description Key Numbers
Capture Engine records PSO inputs during development. Tens of thousands of PSOs per modern title
Offline Compile Microsoft’s shader compiler runs on a farm, producing binary blobs for a wide hardware matrix. No GPU required; compile time measured in minutes, not hours
Distribution PSDB files are bundled as game assets and delivered via the Xbox Store (or future storefronts). Typical PSDB size: 150‑300 MB per game
Runtime Load Driver loads PSDB into the shader cache before first draw call. Expected cache‑hit rate > 99 % on supported AMD RDNA 3 hardware

The feature currently requires Windows 11 24H2, Xbox Gaming Services 37.113.11003.0+, and an AMD RDNA 3/3.5/4 GPU with Adrenalin 26.5.2 or newer. NVIDIA and Intel support is slated for later 2024.

Test Bed

Component Specification
GPU PowerColor Red Devil RX 9070 XT (RDNA 3)
CPU Ryzen 7 9800X3D
RAM 64 GB DDR5‑6200 (CL30)
Storage 2 TB Crucial T700 Gen5 SSD
OS Windows 11 25H2 (Build 26200.8457)
Driver AMD Adrenalin 26.5.2
Games Tested Forza Horizon 6, The Outer Worlds 2, Ninja Gaiden 4, Avowed, Hogwarts Legacy, Silent Hill f

All tests were run after a clean driver install, with identical in‑game settings (non‑maximal, tuned for 9070 XT). ASD was toggled by deleting the Shaders folder and blocking internet access.

Load‑Time Results

Game Load Time (ASD Off) Load Time (ASD On) % Improvement
Forza Horizon 6 48 s 2 s 96 %
The Outer Worlds 2 172 s 9 s 95 %
Avowed 191 s 42 s 78 %
Hogwarts Legacy 71 s 31 s 56 %
Ninja Gaiden 4 0 s (no pre‑compile) 0 s —
Silent Hill f 0 s (no pre‑compile) 0 s —

The two titles with the longest pre‑compilation phases (Forza and Outer Worlds 2) saw load‑time reductions of > 95 %, shaving 2 min 43 s and 2 min 43 s respectively.

1% Low FPS Impact

ASD does not boost average frame rates, but it can smooth out the tail of the frame‑time distribution. Measured 1% low FPS (average of the slowest 1 % of frames) showed the following gains when stutter was present:

Game 1% Low FPS (Off) 1% Low FPS (On) % Gain
Ninja Gaiden 4 28 FPS 31 FPS ~11 %
Silent Hill f 24 FPS (spikes) 24 FPS (spikes unchanged) 0 %
Forza Horizon 6 33 FPS (mid‑scene dip) 44 FPS (dip removed) ~33 %

Titles that already compiled shaders on the fly without a noticeable hitch (Avowed, Hogwarts) showed no measurable 1% low change.

Visual Comparison

Advanced Shader Delivery

The screenshots above illustrate the dramatic difference in the Forza Horizon 6 prologue: a visible freeze of ~0.8 s when ASD is disabled versus a seamless transition when the PSDB is present.

Supply‑Chain Context

ASD adds 150‑300 MB of download overhead per game, a modest increase compared to typical patch sizes (often 5‑10 GB). Because the PSDB is generated offline, it does not strain GPU silicon during the consumer’s first launch, which is especially valuable for RDNA 3‑based laptops where thermal headroom is limited. From a manufacturing perspective, the feature does not affect silicon yields; it simply leverages existing driver infrastructure to ingest a static cache.

Outlook

  • Broader Store Support – Microsoft has pledged Xbox Store integration for Windows 10 22H2 later this year, which will make ASD available to a larger install base.
  • NVIDIA & Intel – Early driver builds for RTX 40‑series indicate a parallel implementation called Shader Cache Streaming. If the performance parity holds, cross‑vendor adoption could become the norm.
  • Developer Tooling – The DirectX Shader Compiler (DXC) documentation now includes an ASD export flag, simplifying SODB generation for studios.
  • Potential Pitfalls – Incomplete SODB captures (as seen in Silent Hill f) can leave gaps that still trigger runtime compilation. Developers must audit shader permutations aggressively.

Verdict

Advanced Shader Delivery delivers sub‑second load times in games that previously required minutes of shader pre‑compilation, and it can shave 10‑30 % off the worst frame‑time spikes where stutter is present. The technology is already mature enough for daily gamers on AMD RDNA 3 hardware, and its modest bandwidth cost makes it a practical addition to any future title’s distribution pipeline.

For users with compatible GPUs, enabling ASD is a clear win: faster first‑play experiences and a smoother early‑game feel without any loss in average performance.

*For further reading on the underlying driver architecture, see the official AMD Radeon Software Release Notes – 26.5.2.*

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