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Is Vulkan Good For Gaming?

Valheim's developers say that the Vulkan API could help fix some random crashes related to GPU drivers in the game. If that's something you're experiencing then Vulkan is absolutely the way to go.26 Feb 2021
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If you've been playing Valheim as much as most of us lately, you're probably wondering how to get past one of the many, now frightfully difficult, bosses. You also might be wondering how to improve performance and stability. Well, it looks like the introduction of the Vulkan API may help you out a bit there.

What is the Vulkan setting in Valheim?

Vulkan is a 3D graphics API built by the Khronos Group, a consortium of tech and gaming industry leaders. AMD, Apple, Epic Games, Google, Valve, Intel, Nvidia... you name it, they're all chipping in.

The API itself is an open alternative to Microsoft's DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 APIs, which are the most popular APIs used for games. But it's not just another alternative, in its own right Vulkan promises to be a low-overhead and efficient API, and even has full ray tracing support nowadays.

It's a great API, no doubt about that, and with the introduction of patch 0.146.8 for Valheim, developers Iron Gate AB have enabled the Vulkan API for use in its incredibly popular survival game.

To enable Vulkan in Valheim you can do one of two things: Either pick it from the options popup when you boot the game in Steam or set the launch command "-force-vulkan" in the game's launch options.

(Image credit: Valve)

Should I use Vulkan in Valheim?

Short answer: You should give Vulkan a go in Valheim. The API has a decent track record for performance and it appears it's no different when traipsing through Valhalla.

To what extent you see an improvement in-game will depend on your graphics hardware. The API helps the game better communicate with your hardware, but ultimately, that hardware is still a major part of the equation. That said, most modern GPUs are Vulkan friendly and should see a moderate gain with the Vulkan graphics API enabled.

I've jumped into the game for a little benchmarking to see what that equates to in in-game performance.

Image 1 of 2(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 2(Image credit: Future)

Test rig

GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GBCPU: Intel Core i7 10700KMotherboard: MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Carbon WiFiRAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro @ 3,200MHzCPU cooler: Corsair H110i RGB Pro XTPSU: NZXT 850WChassis: DimasTech Mini V2

Is it a momentous performance uplift? No, at least not in terms of average framerates. Yet those 99th percentile gains at 4K are nothing to turn your nose up at, and I think that's worth the price of admission for Vulkan alone.

There are other reasons beyond raw performance for picking Vulkan over the older DX11 API, though. Valheim's developers say that the Vulkan API could help fix some random crashes related to GPU drivers in the game.

If that's something you're experiencing then Vulkan is absolutely the way to go. If not, then give it a whirl, anyways.

9 Related questions Answers found

Should I use Vulkan in games?

Performance is king, but Vulkan is really important because it has cross-platform support. DirectX only works with Windows. As a developer building a game with DirectX, you have to take into account porting the game to other platforms.

Do games run better on Vulkan?

Vulkan is an API (application programming interface), like DirectX and OpenGL. But while you may not be as familiar with Vulkan as those other two APIs, Vulkan is designed to offer greater performance than either, regardless of the CPU or GPU that you're using to run Valheim.

Is Vulkan better for FPS?

Unlike its DirectX 12 counterpart, Vulkan is designed to have less of an overhead on processors, helping the game run more efficiently.

Is Vulkan better graphics?

Vulkan targets high-performance real-time 3D graphics applications, such as video games and interactive media. In contrast to the older OpenGL and Direct3D 11 APIs, Vulkan is intended to offer higher performance and more efficient CPU and GPU usage.

Does DirectX 12 look better than Vulkan?

According to the previous benchmark and results from the gamers, Vulkan provides a better frames rate which is almost about 5% higher than direct x 12 but direct X 12 offers a smoother experience overall it is more consistent in nature but the benchmark put it slightly behind the Vulkan.

Does Vulkan work with Nvidia?

Vulkan at NVIDIA The NVIDIA Nsight suite of development tools, has integrated support for Vulkan, including debugging and optimizing of applications using full ray tracing functionality. NVIDIA ships Vulkan on PCs, embedded platforms, automotive, and the data center.

Does Vulkan increase FPS rdr2?

Should you use Vulkan or DirectX 12 in Red Dead Redemption 2? Simple answer: Vulkan. This open API offers the most consistent and highest fps in our testing across both Nvidia and AMD GPUs.

Is metal better than Vulkan?

Vulkan is certainly efficient but I wouldn't call it 'convenient'. Its not an API that would draw developers (especially small-time developers) away from using OpenGL or encourage them to make more titles for OS X. Instead, Metal hits the spot exactly.

Is Vulkan more demanding?

Vulkan is more likely to put most of the weight on the graphics card, while DirectX, for now, is more demanding on the GPU instead.