Arrr, ye scurvy dogs! Intel be bringin' their fine technology to ye CPUs, makin' yer games sail faster than a pirate ship!
2024-01-10
Aforetimes, Intel be sayin' their APO sorcery shall be only for 14th-gen chips, but by the powers of Davy Jones, they've had a change of heart, thank ye heavens!
Intel has announced that its Application Performance Optimization (APO) technology will be extended to older CPUs, including the 12th-gen Alder Lake and 13th-gen Raptor Lake processors. APO is a tech that optimizes supported games and boosts frame rates. Previously, it was only available for the newest Raptor Lake Refresh chips. However, since the previous generations use the same architecture for their efficiency cores, there is no technical reason why APO wouldn't work across all these chips.APO utilizes the efficiency cores on the CPU to improve gaming performance. Tests with APO and 14th-gen CPUs have shown a doubling of speed in some cases, resulting in a significant performance boost. The efficiency cores running at higher clock speeds can lead to 10-20% faster frame rates. Additionally, power efficiency is improved.
However, there are a few caveats. The performance cores are still the main engine of an Intel processor for gaming, and the game needs to support APO. Only certain Raptor Lake and Alder Lake processors, specifically the unlocked 'K' models, will benefit from APO.
Currently, Intel says that 14 PC games are supported for APO, including Rainbow Six: Siege, Metro Exodus, and World of Warcraft. Hopefully, there will be wider game support in the future. It's worth noting that hybrid tech and efficiency cores were introduced with Alder Lake, so there won't be support for older processors.
Intel did not provide a firm date for when older processors will receive APO support, but it is expected to be in the near future. Overall, this is good news for gamers with 12th-gen and 13th-gen CPUs who can look forward to better performance and efficiency.