Before you even launchCivilization 7, there’s achoice that’s perplexing many gamers– the choice between DX12 or Vulkan. On the Steam version of the game, launching the game for the first time will display a pop-up window asking players to make a choice, and optionally hide this option when launching the game in the future.
Ultimately, there isn’t much difference between the two except for certain situations. Thisguide explains the basicsof DX12 vs Vulkan inCiv 7, and why you might want to play the game with one or the other API enabled.
DX12 vs Vulkan – What’s The Difference?
DirectX 12 and Vulkan are both perform essentially the same job, but tuned for different systems.
When it comes to choosing Vulkan vs DX12, thedifferences are negligible if you are on a Windows PC and have good hardware.But if you are running the game on Linux, or have a budget PC build that’s around theCiv 7minimum specs, you may want to swap between the two to figure out which is more stable.
In general, Vulkan is considered to be more stable, and often results in slightly higher FPS, but doesn’t performquiteas well as DirectX 12 in terms of visual fidelity. But this isn’t true for all systems.
So, Should I Choose DX12 Or Vulkan In Civ 7?
Enabling one or the other won’t necessarily improve your graphics in a major, noticeable way, but it mightsolve issues with lower-end graphics cards. When it comes to DX12 vs Vulkan,Civ 7players should start with DX12 (if on a Windows system), and run the graphics benchmark in-game as a test.
Some issues with your chosen API may present themselves over the course of a long game, not necessarily immediately in the benchmark. However, you can restart the game and swap API without affecting saves.
Generally, DirectX12 is better than Vulkan for visuals. But if your game crashes or has problems loading the game during a playthrough, consider swapping over to Vulkan. You may even get higher FPS, even on high-tier hardware that won’t have issues with DX12, but the visuals won’t bequiteas crisp.
If your PC specs barely meet the minimum recommended specsforCiv 7,enable Vulkanfrom the start for the most stable experience. If you are running the game on anything aside from a Windows OS, you may be required to runCiv 7in Vulkan for it to launch.
