Stardock CEO On Xbox One’s ‘Crummy’ Bandwidth Affecting Number of Draw Calls, More Talk On DX12

Stardock Studios CEO Brad Wardell has been rather vocal about his support for Microsoft’s upcoming API, DirectX 12. And once again he had some rather interesting views on Twitter regarding the DirectX 12, draw calls batches, Xbox One and its bandwidth affecting the number of draw calls that can be made.

Wardell talked about the number of batches that can be rendered using DX12 when compared to DX9. According to him, DirectX 12 on current hardware can do over 75,ooo batches whereas DX9 could only manage 15,000 at maxed out. However, he further stated that such batches “depends on the scene” and the Naboo battle from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace could be done with 75k batches. Of course, as Wardell argues that it ultimately it boils down to whether 75k batches can deliver movielike quality as there’s a certain number of batches the hardware has to hit for realism.

Wardell also talked about the Xbox One by stating that it should be able to do around 50,000 batches whilst comparing it to the Xbox 360 which is capable of rendering 5000 using the Unreal Engine. But Wardell seemed unsure due to the console’s “crummy bandwidth”, although its architecture with 8 CPU cores and a mid-range GPU should be able to handle it.

What are your thoughts on Wardell’s opinions with regards to the number of draw calls possible on the Xbox One? Let us know in the comments below.

@MajorYnos @miDnIghtEr20C @jrobb250 @OhImLaughin @TiC_Podcast sure you can. Dx12 on current HW can do over 75k batches. 15x where dx9 maxed.

— Brad Wardell (@draginol) February 8, 2015

@MajorYnos @miDnIghtEr20C @jrobb250 @OhImLaughin @TiC_Podcast depends on the scene. That Naboo battle could be done with 75k batches.

— Brad Wardell (@draginol) February 8, 2015

@MajorYnos @miDnIghtEr20C @jrobb250 @OhImLaughin @TiC_Podcast ultimately it boils down to whether 75k batches can deliver movielike quality.

— Brad Wardell (@draginol) February 8, 2015

It'll be interesting to see the max batch count the Xbo can get. Seems like 50k should be pretty doable. Anyone know where the 360 maxed?

— Brad Wardell (@draginol) February 8, 2015

@TiC_Podcast don't know. I'd guess 5k via the unreal engine.

— Brad Wardell (@draginol) February 8, 2015

@23hanlon that sounds about right.

— Brad Wardell (@draginol) February 8, 2015

@TiC_Podcast someone msg'd me that it got up to around 7k on the 360. Batches determine how complex a scene can get.

— Brad Wardell (@draginol) February 8, 2015

There's some magic number N batches where a scene looks "real" for the typical viewer. (Batches per frame at 24fps)

— Brad Wardell (@draginol) February 8, 2015

@23hanlon yea, just figuring,m8 cores with a mid range and card should be able to do that. Though, Xbo has crummy bandwidth.

— Brad Wardell (@draginol) February 8, 2015

@23hanlon was just talking about that with someone. Not sure if the bandwidth issue will be an issue or not.

— Brad Wardell (@draginol) February 8, 2015