Intel APO Brings New Life to 12th & 13th Gen Processors

Intel, concurrent with the launch of its 14th generation Core K-series processors, also introduced the Intel Application Performance Optimizer (APO), a feature rooted in a dynamic frequency scaling framework. This innovative function, in synergy with Intel’s hardware thread scheduler, orchestrates a tailored scheduling strategy for specific application scenarios and applications, thereby enhancing the guidance of application resources.

As of now, this feature is exclusive to the 14th-generation K and HX series processors. Once activated, it has yielded performance improvements of 13% and 16% in the games “Rainbow Six Siege” and “Metro Exodus,” respectively. According to PCGamer, Intel plans to extend the APO functionality to older processors, at the very least to the 12th and 13th generation K-series.

The crux of APO technology is to optimize the utilization of E-Cores, ensuring these cores are not only employed in gaming but also accelerate task execution speeds. Given that the E-Cores in Intel’s 12th to 14th generation Core processors are based on the Gracemont architecture, it is entirely feasible to enable APO support for the 12th and 13th generations.

The current roster of games compatible with APO includes “Rainbow Six Siege,” “Metro Exodus,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “F1 22,” “Contraband Police,” “World War Z,” “Dirt 5,” and “World of Warcraft.” During CES 2024, Intel announced that the next version of APO would support 14 games. However, the number of games that support APO remains limited, with hopes that the list will continue to expand over the coming year.

Regarding the timeline for enabling APO on older processors, Intel has not provided specific details. Nevertheless, the new version of the DTT driver might offer support. Additionally, users will need to update their motherboard BIOS to activate APO on 12th and 13th-generation processors, as this feature requires a harmonious collaboration between BIOS and software to function.