Microsoft’s DirectStorage API was announced for Windows 11, alongwith the new OS announcement. The DirectStorage API reduces loading times in games by establishing a direct connection between the SSD and GPU.
Since there’s no explicit way of enabling or disabling this feature, Windows users are confused about whether or not the feature is enabled and working on their PCs. So, in this article, we’re looking at how to allow DirectStorage in Windows 11.
Also read: Why does my network adapter keep disconnecting in Windows 11?
Enabling DirectStorage in Windows 11
As mentioned above, DirectStorage helps load your games faster. The API allows NVMe SSDs to send data directly to the GPU, bypassing the CPU and RAM, which frees up the CPU to handle other tasks.
Since DirectStorage is an API, it can’t really be enabled or disabled explicitly. It’s built straight into the code for the particular game you’re playing and the DirectX 12 driver. However, it does have a few requirements to be active.
- 1TB or higher NVMe SSD.
- SSD must use the “Standard NVM Express Controller”.
- GPU should be DirectX 12 Ultimate compatible.
If your GPU and SSD meets the requirement, DirectStorage will be enabled automatically and work on its own. However, do remember that you don’t just need a 1TB NVMe SSD; you also need to run your games off of it, meaning games running on other drives will not be able to leverage DirectStorage.
In terms of availability, you do have some freedom, though. Apart from being available on Windows 11 from the start, DirectStorage is also available on Windows 10 version 1909 and higher, so gamers running older versions of Windows can also use it to their advantage provided they meet the requirements mentioned earlier.
Also read: How to stop Windows 11 update?
