A gamer using Microsoft DirectStorage to improve his gaming experience.

What is Microsoft DirectStorage and How Does it Improve PC Gaming?

Jun 2023

DirectStorage is a relatively new Microsoft API-type gaming software. It is touted to enhance gaming performance. Unfortunately, because the technology is new, there aren’t any – or barely any – games currently in the market that feature it. So, it’s hard to judge how effective it really is. But the games are coming. And when they do, you’ll be ready because you read this.

DirectStorage is Microsoft’s solution for developers and players alike to take advantage of the ever-increasing speeds offered by SSDs. SSDs are recognized for their prowess in overall gaming performance. For example, loading a PC game with PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is faster than with a SATA SSD, and with DirectStorage from Microsoft, load times will be even faster for gamers with a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.

DirectStorage was developed a few years back by Microsoft for its Xbox Series X/S. So, it was easily adapted for Windows OS. In fact, it is now automatically included in Windows 11 (along with storage optimizations and other gaming features) and is compatible with Windows 10 v1909 or higher.

To PC gaming enthusiasts, DirectStorage is the missing link enabling them to take full advantage of today’s fast SSDs. Players enjoy reduced loading times, and developers can build support for it into their PC games, making the games even more attractive to PC users.

What’s the big deal regarding developers including DirectStorage in their PC games?

A pair of hands typing on an overlaid graphic representing puzzles, competition, multiplayer, creativity

They can use it to improve disk access and speed up loading times in gameplay and in between scenes.
It helps make games look more realistic and more challenging. They can now design higher-resolution textures and more detailed 3D objects without overcharging the CPU, which no longer must do any graphics decompression. Thanks to DirectStorage, that chore is now performed by the GPU, which does the job calmly, coolly, and quickly.

So, as a game player, how do you take advantage of DirectStorage? First, make sure your system is fit for the job. That means, if necessary, upgrading to either a PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD or a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.

For those who take their game time very seriously, the Kingston FURY™ Renegade PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is just the ticket. It provides cutting-edge performance in high capacities for gaming enthusiasts seeking extreme performance. By leveraging the latest Gen 4x4 NVMe controller and 3D TLC NAND, it supplies blazing speeds up to 7,300/7,000MB/s read/write and up to 1,000,000 IOPS (requests for data [I/O] per second*) for amazing consistency and an exceptional gaming experience. It is available in capacities from 500GB–4TB. Plenty of room to store an extensive library of games and media.

(*In their devious creative minds, game developers love to insert many, many, many small pieces of data with information they want translated to the monitor/screen. Requests for such data are referred to as IO or IOPS. The Kingston FURY™ Renegade PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD handles up to a million such requests per second. To which we say, bring it on, developers!)

Alternatives to Kingston FURY

Kingston Fury Renegade PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD getting installed in a gaming PC

There is the Kingston KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD for those not-so-intense gamers who still want a formidable system. It, too, delivers superior performance using the latest Gen 4x4 NVMe controller and 3D TLC NAND. It has speeds of up to 7,000MB/s read/write. It is available in capacities from 512GB–4096GB.

Lastly, just because your system supports DirectStorage, doesn't mean it'll work as such immediately. DirectStorage requires game developers to make their games work with it.

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