Advanced Shader Delivery in Windows 11: precompiled shaders instead of stutter

Advanced Shader Delivery in Windows 11 is a Microsoft mechanism that downloads ready, compiled shaders together with the game. Your PC does not have to compile them on first launch or during play, so loading is shorter and shader stutter goes down. Since driver 621.01 it also works on NVIDIA GeForce RTX cards, but only in selected games and, for now, mainly through the Xbox app.

Where shader stutter comes from

A DirectX 12 game has to translate shaders into code your graphics card understands. This happens on your PC: on first launch, after a game update and after every driver change. If compilation happens during play, you see a stutter. That is why the first evening after a driver update is often worse than the next one.

What Advanced Shader Delivery does

The game developer prepares a database of graphics pipeline states and sends it to Microsoft. Shaders compiled for your card and driver land on the drive together with the game, so your PC does not compile them itself.

Microsoft says ASD cuts loading by up to 90 percent. In Forza Horizon 6 it showed 4 seconds instead of almost a minute and a half, on a Radeon RX 7600 with a Ryzen 7 5800. For Gears of War: E-Day it talks about cutting the first launch by up to 95 percent. These are Microsoft's measurements on its own hardware, so treat them as the best possible result.

When it works, the game's launch window shows the message "Precompiled shaders installed".

Requirements

• Windows 11 version 24H2 or newer.
• The Xbox app installed, which downloads the shader database.
• A graphics driver with ASD support, as listed in the table below.
• A game in which the developer has enabled ASD support.

Which graphics cards are supported

Vendor	Driver	Cards
AMD Radeon	Adrenalin 26.6.1 or newer	RX 5000 and newer, integrated graphics included
NVIDIA GeForce	Game Ready 621.01 or newer	GeForce RTX cards, the GTX 16 series is not listed
Qualcomm Adreno X2	2026.08.3 or newer	Snapdragon X2 Elite
Intel Arc	Announced, no confirmed version	Arc B-series, Lunar Lake, Panther Lake

Status as of 26 October 2026. Intel announced support for Arc B-series cards and the integrated graphics in Lunar Lake and Panther Lake processors, but has not named a driver version yet.

Why it will not fix everything

The store matters. The mechanism is designed to be store-independent, but the shader database is downloaded by the Xbox app. The Club386 tester saw no effect in the Steam version of Gears of War: E-Day and switched to Game Pass. Microsoft has announced Steam and Epic Games Store support, but gave no date.

It only works in selected games. At launch these are Gears of War: E-Day and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, with Forza Horizon 6 added earlier. Every further game needs work on the developer side.

It removes one source of stutter. ASD gets rid of shader compilation on your PC. It will not fix hitches while the world streams in, a CPU bottleneck, badly set RAM or the power plan.

How to get ASD on your PC

1. Update Windows 11 to version 24H2 or newer.
2. Install the Xbox app and update Gaming Services in the Microsoft Store, in the Library tab.
3. Install the driver from the table above or a newer one.
4. Launch a supported game and look for the installed shaders message in the launch window.

In games outside the program, the old method stays: after a driver change, let the game compile its shaders and only then judge smoothness. If the stutter remains after compilation, shaders are not the cause. Then it has to be measured, and that is what we do in our remote PC optimization.

What is Advanced Shader Delivery?

It is a Microsoft mechanism that delivers compiled shaders with the game install, so your PC does not compile them itself during play.

Does ASD work on NVIDIA cards?

Yes, on GeForce RTX cards since Game Ready driver 621.01. The game has to support ASD, and the Xbox app has to be installed.

Does ASD work in Steam games?

For now, the effect is confirmed in the Xbox app and Game Pass versions. Microsoft has announced Steam and Epic Games Store without a date.

How do I check whether a game uses ASD?

The game's launch window should show the message "Precompiled shaders installed".

Does ASD remove all stutter?

No. It removes stutter from shader compilation. It does not affect hitches from world streaming, the CPU, RAM or system settings.

What are the requirements for ASD?

Windows 11 24H2 or newer, the Xbox app, a driver with ASD support and a game in which the developer has enabled the feature.