After it was done with most announcements and lengthy GPU 14 press conference last night, AMD kept the last surprise or its fourth pillar in the AMD Gaming foundation, experience or whatever you like to call it, the Mantle. The Mantle is pretty much a low-level API that should provide PCs game developers similar experience that they have on consoles, with direct access to all GPU features, rendering techniques and reduced CPU overhead, all on GCN-based GPUs.

Despite being under-powered when compared to gaming PCs, consoles usually perform much better, mostly due to a low overhead OS that allows developers to pull the most of hardware resources directly to the game. PCs on the other hand are usually overwhelmed with complex APIs, operating system and complex drivers which could be all solved, according to AMD, by a low-level API similar to consoles which will allow its GCN-based AMD GPUs to give as much possible performance to the game.

According to AMD, the Mantle will allow nine times more draw calls per second than any other API by simply reducing the CPU overhead as well as enable higher graphics performance with direct access to all GPU features and providing new rendering techniques which will also end help in optimization of games from next-gen game consoles to PCs.

AMD did not shed much information regarding the Mantle API so the last night announcement could be considered as a teaser but did note that more info will be available during AMD Developer Summit scheduled for November 11th.









Source: AMD.com.