Is there a good choice? DX12 vs Vulkan in Civ 7 explained
Upon starting Civilization 7, you are asked to pick DX12 or Vulkan. Which one is better? Let’s look at it.
While Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is not an ideal title, we write about it in our review, the game is still far from being forgotten. Many people play it in advanced access right now. After downloading the game, you are asked about picking between DX12 and Vulkan. What does it mean? Is there a proper choice? Let’s find out.
DX12 vs Vulkan in Civ 7 explained
Let’s start with a short summary what are we picking – DirectX 12 and Vulkan are APIs – Application Programming Interface. They are software which allows programs to better communicate with each other (to put it very simply), in this case with your hardware. So, is there a better choice here?
In the case of Civ 7, stability is your main priority. Players report various crashes. For some, changing API is a way to fix them. It seems that most people believe that Vulkan is more stable right now. Coincidentally, developers of a different game (Path of Exile 2) released a statement in which they encouraged players to pick Vulkan if their game crashes often. However, keep in mind that in the case of Civ 7, this is not hard data, but estimation after reading various comments. At the same time, other fans report that neither of APIs works well, so it is a hit-and-miss situation.
The truth is that if the game works fine on your side, you are good. You should not see much difference between these two in Civ 7. A lot depends on your hardware, though. For example, it is said that in the case of some games Vulkan works better with AMD graphics cards as its roots are in AMD's Mantle API. If you want a few additional FPS / a little bit smoother gameplay, you should try both of them yourself to check what works best for your rig.
More:Civilization 7 Guide
