Intel adds Vulkan support to Windows 10 driver

Intel has added support for the Vulkan API to Windows 10 drivers for chips from the Apollo Lake, Kaby Lake, and Skylake families. Vulkan is already supported by GPUs from Nvidia and AMD, but now that also applies to the integrated video chips from Intel.

Intel’s pre-existing beta drivers, which ensured that the Vulkan API was already supported by the Intel chips, proved unstable. From now on, Intel also officially supports the Vulkan API on Windows 10 computers with the Intel chips, so that these systems can also run relatively demanding graphics applications, such as games, at not too high settings.

Vulkan is an open source graphics API based largely on AMD’s Mantle. Like Mantle and DirectX 12, this api is built to have less overhead than other APIs, such as OpenGL and older versions of DirectX.

Vulkan is not only intended for PCs and laptops, but also runs on smartphones, for example. The Vulkan API offers better performance for games and, for example, the ability to run applications better in 4k resolution. It is also interesting for making VR applications more accessible, such as the Windows Holographic VR headsets, which will be released in the course of this year.

The release notes show that the latest drivers can cause problems with certain games. For example, Battlefield 1, Tom Clancy’s The Division and Just Cause 3 can crash, and using the api with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition can lead to long loading times.