SCSKiller - Shader Compilation Stutter Killer

[Neil79]

Didn't see a thread for this but here we go!

SCSKiller

Shader Compilation Stutter Killer. SCSKiller compiles your games' shaders into your GPU driver's cache before you play, so the game doesn't stop to compile them mid-game. Free and open source, for Windows .
A game that meets a new effect has the GPU driver compile its shader on the spot, and the frame waits: that's shader compilation stutter. SCSKiller reads the shaders a game ships with, works out the pipelines it will build, and compiles them into the driver's cache ahead of time, in its own process with the game closed.

GitHub - BlueHeisenberg/SCSKiller: Kill shader compilation stutter before you play. Compiles your games' shaders into the GPU driver's cache ahead of time. Windows, NVIDIA and AMD.

Kill shader compilation stutter before you play. Compiles your games' shaders into the GPU driver's cache ahead of time. Windows, NVIDIA and AMD. - BlueHeisenberg/SCSKiller

github.com

Latest version just dropped and it's huge

Releases · BlueHeisenberg/SCSKiller

Kill shader compilation stutter before you play. Compiles your games' shaders into the GPU driver's cache ahead of time. Windows, NVIDIA and AMD. - BlueHeisenberg/SCSKiller

github.com

 

[Coolasmoo]

Heard this helps with Nioh 3 over on Redditt

 

[Neil79]

1.3.2 is out


Fixed

• On NVIDIA from driver 621.01, DirectX 12 compiles no longer wait for Windows' shader cache to flush each write to disk:
  about 1.7 times as fast. The time estimate uses the rate measured on the current driver only.
• A compile shows Done only once its shaders are in the game's Windows shader cache, and never writes that cache while
  the game runs. A game started right after a compile no longer plays that session without them.
• Compiled shaders that couldn't go into the game's Windows shader cache yet, also after a compile was cut short, go in
  when the game exits or SCSKiller starts. Until then the game shows Not reached yet. A compile whose shader cache was
  damaged shows Not reached yet and compiles again.
• On NVIDIA 621.01 and later, compiled shaders also reach the game's Windows shader cache when a folder in its path has
  ".exe" in its name, or when moving them there was cut short. SCSKiller never writes that cache while another program
  has it open, and the time estimate stays right on PCs where the faster compile can't be used.
• On NVIDIA 621.01 and later, games that get shaders through Advanced Shader Delivery in the Xbox app keep the compiled
  pipelines at their next start instead of compiling again. The game page shows the size of the delivered shaders.
• On NVIDIA, a DirectX 12 game that creates again a pipeline it made and let go of this session gets it back at once
  while the recorder is on, instead of stalling on Windows' shader cache.
• On older NVIDIA drivers that keep their shader cache in AppData\LocalLow\NVIDIA\PerDriverVersion\DXCache, the game
  pages, the Cache page and Clear cache find the compiled cache there instead of showing none.
• On NVIDIA 621.01 and later, a compile that ran while files of an earlier one were still in use puts its compiled
  pipelines into the game's Windows shader cache instead of leaving them out. When they have to wait, the log says why.
• On NVIDIA 621.01 and later, a DirectX 12 game's compiled pipelines count as present while Windows' shader cache still
  holds them, and as gone when that cache is emptied. Ray tracing, and DirectX 11 shaders of a game not known to run
  DirectX 12, still count by NVIDIA's own cache files. A compile no longer redoes a game's DirectX 12 pipelines when only
  NVIDIA files they don't use went.
• A compile no longer makes the PC unresponsive: all of its work, the graphics driver's too, runs below other programs,
  and reading a game's files follows the Threads setting.
• With Scan at start off, a game compiled before a restart no longer shows Ready and never warmed until the next
  scan.
• On NVIDIA 621.01 and later, a game's Disk space also counts the part of its compiled shaders Windows keeps in its
  D3DSCache folder, so it no longer looks much smaller than on earlier drivers.
• After a driver update, SCSKiller retries the pipelines that crashed the old driver one at a time before the rest,
  and keeps them all skipped once one still crashes, so a compile no longer resets the driver once per such pipeline.
• Unreal games whose store starts another exe beside the Shipping exe, such as STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order, are
  compiled and recorded for that exe after its next launch, instead of showing Not compatible.
• On NVIDIA 621.01 and later, the Cache page's Old driver group no longer lists cache files the new driver still uses,
  so deleting it no longer makes compiled games need rebuilding.
• On NVIDIA 621.01 and later, a game started through a junction, a subst drive or a mounted folder gets its compile,
  and Clear cache also takes its Windows shader cache from there.
• On NVIDIA 621.01 and later, a DirectX 12 game whose compiled shaders were removed from Windows' DirectX shader cache
  (Disk Cleanup) asks to be compiled again.
• On NVIDIA driver 621.01, DirectX 11 games compiled with 1.3.0 no longer compile again after updating.
• A game whose compile was stopped before it finished no longer shows Not compatible, and neither does a DirectX 11
  game on AMD whose compile finished.
• Roblox is recognised as a game with anti-cheat, also when added by hand or installed with Bloxstrap or Fishstrap,
  and the recorder is taken out of it.
• On NVIDIA, a compile starts NVIDIA Aftermath only when the game's recording or SCSKiller's rules for the game show
  the game starting it, and no longer because of the game's config files, such as for Gears of War: E-Day. When the
  recording doesn't show all its settings, such as for Borderlands 4, the next compile runs without Aftermath again if
  the game's next launch shows it didn't help.
• On NVIDIA 621.01 and later, a game whose Windows shader cache expects another identity than its Advanced Shader Delivery
  registration says can be fixed from the server, without an app update.
• Games that get compiled shaders from Windows through Advanced Shader Delivery show an Advanced Shader Delivery tag with its size.
  When the delivered shaders fit your driver, the game page and status say a compile doesn't add much.
• On NVIDIA with sharing on, the first launch after a compile reports how many pipelines Windows' shader cache still had
  to add, also with the recorder off, so games the compile misses show up on the server. Only counts and the game
  build's hash are sent.

 

[GuruJockStrap]

Can a Simple App Really Fix PC Game Stutters?

Shader compilation stutter has plagued PC gaming for years, causing frustrating hitches even on powerful hardware. The SCSKiller app promises to do something about it, but does...

www.techspot.com

Seems like it provides the biggest improvement to nvidia GPU’s as AMD drivers support DirectX 12 Advanced Shader Delivery, which aims to address the same underlying problems.

Advanced Shader Delivery is a separate technology developed by Microsoft for Windows 11 and DirectX 12. It allows supported games to download precompiled shaders, reducing the need for compilation on the player's PC and helping prevent stuttering. AMD has been an early supporter of this technology, though its benefits depend on game and platform support.