Intel Precompiled Shaders Accelerate Game Load Times By Up To 3x On Arc GPUs, Now Available & Supported In 13 Games

Intel Arc GPUs can finally enable Precompiled Shaders for faster loading times that are supported in 13 games at launch.

Intel Arc Discrete & Integrated GPUs Can Now Take Full Advantage of Precompiled Shaders For Faster Game Load Times

Last year, we talked about how Microsoft's DirectX "AgilitySDK" added a new feature called Advanced Shader Delivery. This technology is now rolling out, and Intel is one of the GPU vendors that is working with Microsoft on enabling this tech for its Arc GPUs. But for today, Intel is rolling out its own, custom-built, Precompiled Shaders tech.

The company will enable Precompiled Shader Distribution, which helps reduce the load/launch times in games, reduces stuttering on 1st launch, and offers an automatic shader cache update process.

So how Intel achieves this is by having a cloud that looks at games and precompiles the shaders ahead of launch, and then puts them back again in the cloud. So Intel's Graphics Software App will look at the games you play and then automatically download pre-compiled shaders for a list of games so that you don't have to go through the cumbersome process of pre-compiling shaders for each game.

This option can be disabled and enabled manually, so you're free to enjoy a stuttery gaming experience by keeping it disabled if you want to (/s). The feature will also push updates as shaders, game, or driver changes over time. Today, Intel is announcing that Precompiled Shaders are available in 13 titles on Steam.

Intel Precompiled Shaders solves both problems with a simple, innovative approach:

1. Pre-Compilation: Shader files are compiled and pre-loaded in Intel’s cloud infrastructure
2. Automatic Detection: When you install a supported game, the Intel Graphics Software automatically checks for matching pre-compiled shader files
3. Cloud Delivery: Optimized files for your specific hardware and drive configuration are downloaded from Intel’s servers and cached locally on your system
4. Seamless Integration: Supported games will automatically use the shaders cached locally when launched from a supported platform

For those who want to know what sort of advantages Precompiled Shaders bring in terms of performance uplifts, well, Intel has shared a huge list of numbers for its Arc B580 (Battlemage) discrete GPU, Arc B390 iGPU (Xe3), and Arc 140V iGPU (Xe2).

The Intel Arc B580 sees 2x faster loading times on average across the full list of supported games. Several titles yield more than 2x faster load times, with God of War Ragnarok seeing a 21x uplift in load times versus the base non-compiled shader version.

The same is the case with Intel's Arc iGPUs, such as the B390 (2x faster) and 140V (3x faster). So the benefit isn't restricted to just discrete graphics. Even integrated GPUs will see big or similar advantages from pre-compiled shaders.

How To Enable Precompiled Shaders

To enable precompiled shaders, you will have to open the Intel Graphics Software utility and toggle the Precompiled Shaders option. This is set to be disabled by default.

1. Open Intel Graphics Software
2. Navigate to Graphics → 3D Rendering → Precompiled Shaders
3. Toggle “Precompiled Shaders” to ON

When enabled, the system will automatically download shader cache files for all supported Steam games. There are 13 titles in total for now, but as new games are added to the list, precompiled shaders will be downloaded automatically for those, too. The full list of games includes:

• Black Myth: Wukong
• Borderlands 4
• Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6
• Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7
• Cyberpunk 2077
• God of War Ragnarök
• Gotham Knights
• Hogwarts Legacy
• NBA 2K26
• Starfield
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
• The Outer Worlds 2

As for the requirements, you need the latest Intel Arc GPUs and drivers. The full requirements are listed below:

• Hardware: Intel Arc GPUs built into Intel Core Ultra 3/200V series, Intel Arc B-Series discrete GPUs
• Driver: Version 32.0.101.8626 or newer
• OS: Windows 10/11
• Storage: 1GB+ available space (more for larger game libraries)
• Internet: An active connection is required for downloads

Note: Game support continues to expand with driver updates. The feature currently works exclusively with games installed through the Steam Games Store.

It is great to see Intel being the first to roll out support for precompiled shaders for its hardware, such as Arc GPUs. We will have our own test results posted here soon.

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