diff --git a/intern/ghost/intern/GHOST_ContextVK.cc b/intern/ghost/intern/GHOST_ContextVK.cc
index 7854515af90..84db3abd055 100644
--- a/intern/ghost/intern/GHOST_ContextVK.cc
+++ b/intern/ghost/intern/GHOST_ContextVK.cc
@@ -710,7 +710,7 @@ static GHOST_TSuccess create_render_pass(VkDevice device,
   colorAttachment.storeOp = VK_ATTACHMENT_STORE_OP_STORE;
   colorAttachment.stencilLoadOp = VK_ATTACHMENT_LOAD_OP_DONT_CARE;
   colorAttachment.stencilStoreOp = VK_ATTACHMENT_STORE_OP_DONT_CARE;
-  colorAttachment.initialLayout = VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_UNDEFINED;
+  colorAttachment.initialLayout = VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_GENERAL;
   colorAttachment.finalLayout = VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_PRESENT_SRC_KHR;
 
   VkAttachmentReference colorAttachmentRef = {};
diff --git a/scripts/startup/bl_ui/space_userpref.py b/scripts/startup/bl_ui/space_userpref.py
index 00e82f83685..a45a23a566f 100644
--- a/scripts/startup/bl_ui/space_userpref.py
+++ b/scripts/startup/bl_ui/space_userpref.py
@@ -611,12 +611,6 @@ class USERPREF_PT_system_cycles_devices(SystemPanel, CenterAlignMixIn, Panel):
 class USERPREF_PT_system_gpu_backend(SystemPanel, CenterAlignMixIn, Panel):
     bl_label = "GPU Backend"
 
-    @classmethod
-    def poll(cls, _context):
-        # Only for Apple so far
-        import sys
-        return sys.platform == "darwin"
-
     def draw_centered(self, context, layout):
         import gpu
         prefs = context.preferences
diff --git a/source/blender/draw/engines/image/image_drawing_mode.hh b/source/blender/draw/engines/image/image_drawing_mode.hh
index eacf854ac8b..cfb28d500d0 100644
--- a/source/blender/draw/engines/image/image_drawing_mode.hh
+++ b/source/blender/draw/engines/image/image_drawing_mode.hh
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@
 
 #include "IMB_imbuf_types.h"
 
+#include "GPU_capabilities.h"
+
 #include "BLI_math_matrix_types.hh"
 #include "BLI_math_vector_types.hh"
 
@@ -510,7 +512,9 @@ template<typename TextureMethod> class ScreenSpaceDrawingMode : public AbstractD
             offset++;
           }
         }
-        IMB_gpu_clamp_half_float(&extracted_buffer);
+        if (!GPU_texture_clamp_to_half()) {
+          IMB_gpu_clamp_half_float(tile_buffer);
+        }
 
         GPU_texture_update_sub(texture,
                                GPU_DATA_FLOAT,
@@ -563,7 +567,9 @@ template<typename TextureMethod> class ScreenSpaceDrawingMode : public AbstractD
       }
       BKE_image_release_ibuf(image, tile_buffer, lock);
     }
-    IMB_gpu_clamp_half_float(&texture_buffer);
+    if (!GPU_texture_clamp_to_half()) {
+      IMB_gpu_clamp_half_float(&texture_buffer);
+    }
     GPU_texture_update(info.texture, GPU_DATA_FLOAT, texture_buffer.float_buffer.data);
     imb_freerectImbuf_all(&texture_buffer);
   }
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/GPU_capabilities.h b/source/blender/gpu/GPU_capabilities.h
index 7ba6f6c0536..728853edd61 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/GPU_capabilities.h
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/GPU_capabilities.h
@@ -56,6 +56,9 @@ bool GPU_shader_draw_parameters_support(void);
 bool GPU_mem_stats_supported(void);
 void GPU_mem_stats_get(int *totalmem, int *freemem);
 
+/* Check if the active GPU backend automatically clamp values to fit in 16F. */
+bool GPU_texture_clamp_to_half(void);
+
 /**
  * Return support for the active context + window.
  */
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/intern/gpu_capabilities.cc b/source/blender/gpu/intern/gpu_capabilities.cc
index 6fe3ee21449..b97f7decd2d 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/intern/gpu_capabilities.cc
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/intern/gpu_capabilities.cc
@@ -202,6 +202,11 @@ bool GPU_transform_feedback_support(void)
   return GCaps.transform_feedback_support;
 }
 
+bool GPU_texture_clamp_to_half(void)
+{
+  return GCaps.texture_clamp_to_half;
+}
+
 /** \} */
 
 /* -------------------------------------------------------------------- */
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/intern/gpu_capabilities_private.hh b/source/blender/gpu/intern/gpu_capabilities_private.hh
index 8134c39871d..b6d5c39ef18 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/intern/gpu_capabilities_private.hh
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/intern/gpu_capabilities_private.hh
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ struct GPUCapabilities {
   bool use_hq_normals_workaround = false;
   bool clear_viewport_workaround = false;
   /* Vulkan related workarounds. */
+  bool texture_clamp_to_half = false;
 
   /* Metal related workarounds. */
   /* Minimum per-vertex stride in bytes (For a vertex buffer). */
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_backend.cc b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_backend.cc
index 1712532a1e4..8c0a0f3f4cb 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_backend.cc
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_backend.cc
@@ -199,6 +199,7 @@ void VKBackend::capabilities_init(VKDevice &device)
   GCaps.compute_shader_support = true;
   GCaps.shader_storage_buffer_objects_support = true;
   GCaps.shader_image_load_store_support = true;
+  GCaps.texture_clamp_to_half = true;
 
   GCaps.max_texture_size = max_ii(limits.maxImageDimension1D, limits.maxImageDimension2D);
   GCaps.max_texture_3d_size = limits.maxImageDimension3D;
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_batch.cc b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_batch.cc
index 2d7e04db72a..d65dcf285f6 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_batch.cc
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_batch.cc
@@ -11,12 +11,12 @@
 #include "vk_context.hh"
 #include "vk_index_buffer.hh"
 #include "vk_state_manager.hh"
+#include "vk_storage_buffer.hh"
 #include "vk_vertex_attribute_object.hh"
 #include "vk_vertex_buffer.hh"
 
 namespace blender::gpu {
-
-void VKBatch::draw(int vertex_first, int vertex_count, int instance_first, int instance_count)
+void VKBatch::draw_setup()
 {
   /* Currently the pipeline is rebuild on each draw command. Clearing the dirty flag for
    * consistency with the internals of GPU module. */
@@ -38,26 +38,53 @@ void VKBatch::draw(int vertex_first, int vertex_count, int instance_first, int i
   if (draw_indexed) {
     index_buffer->upload_data();
     index_buffer->bind(context);
-    context.command_buffer_get().draw(index_buffer->index_len_get(),
-                                      instance_count,
-                                      index_buffer->index_start_get(),
-                                      vertex_first,
-                                      instance_first);
   }
-  else {
-    context.command_buffer_get().draw(vertex_first, vertex_count, instance_first, instance_count);
-  }
-
-  context.command_buffer_get().submit();
 }
 
-void VKBatch::draw_indirect(GPUStorageBuf * /*indirect_buf*/, intptr_t /*offset*/) {}
-
-void VKBatch::multi_draw_indirect(GPUStorageBuf * /*indirect_buf*/,
-                                  int /*count*/,
-                                  intptr_t /*offset*/,
-                                  intptr_t /*stride*/)
+void VKBatch::draw(int vertex_first, int vertex_count, int instance_first, int instance_count)
 {
+  draw_setup();
+
+  VKContext &context = *VKContext::get();
+  VKCommandBuffer &command_buffer = context.command_buffer_get();
+  VKIndexBuffer *index_buffer = index_buffer_get();
+  const bool draw_indexed = index_buffer != nullptr;
+  if (draw_indexed) {
+    command_buffer.draw_indexed(index_buffer->index_len_get(),
+                                instance_count,
+                                index_buffer->index_start_get(),
+                                vertex_first,
+                                instance_first);
+  }
+  else {
+    command_buffer.draw(vertex_first, vertex_count, instance_first, instance_count);
+  }
+  command_buffer.submit();
+}
+
+void VKBatch::draw_indirect(GPUStorageBuf *indirect_buf, intptr_t offset)
+{
+  multi_draw_indirect(indirect_buf, 1, offset, 0);
+}
+
+void VKBatch::multi_draw_indirect(GPUStorageBuf *indirect_buf,
+                                  int count,
+                                  intptr_t offset,
+                                  intptr_t stride)
+{
+  draw_setup();
+
+  VKStorageBuffer &indirect_buffer = *unwrap(unwrap(indirect_buf));
+  VKContext &context = *VKContext::get();
+  const bool draw_indexed = index_buffer_get() != nullptr;
+  VKCommandBuffer &command_buffer = context.command_buffer_get();
+  if (draw_indexed) {
+    command_buffer.draw_indexed_indirect(indirect_buffer, offset, count, stride);
+  }
+  else {
+    command_buffer.draw_indirect(indirect_buffer, offset, count, stride);
+  }
+  command_buffer.submit();
 }
 
 VKVertexBuffer *VKBatch::vertex_buffer_get(int index)
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_batch.hh b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_batch.hh
index bdea6ab9bae..714c0fcf916 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_batch.hh
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_batch.hh
@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@ class VKBatch : public Batch {
   VKVertexBuffer *vertex_buffer_get(int index);
   VKVertexBuffer *instance_buffer_get(int index);
   VKIndexBuffer *index_buffer_get();
+
+ private:
+  void draw_setup();
 };
 
 }  // namespace blender::gpu
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_buffer.cc b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_buffer.cc
index dad8797b712..3f32c69e701 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_buffer.cc
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_buffer.cc
@@ -131,7 +131,9 @@ void VKBuffer::unmap()
   BLI_assert(is_mapped());
   const VKDevice &device = VKBackend::get().device_get();
   VmaAllocator allocator = device.mem_allocator_get();
-  vmaUnmapMemory(allocator, allocation_);
+  if (allocator != VK_NULL_HANDLE) {
+    vmaUnmapMemory(allocator, allocation_);
+  }
   mapped_memory_ = nullptr;
 }
 
@@ -143,7 +145,9 @@ bool VKBuffer::free()
 
   const VKDevice &device = VKBackend::get().device_get();
   VmaAllocator allocator = device.mem_allocator_get();
-  vmaDestroyBuffer(allocator, vk_buffer_, allocation_);
+  if (allocator != VK_NULL_HANDLE) {
+    vmaDestroyBuffer(allocator, vk_buffer_, allocation_);
+  }
   return true;
 }
 
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_command_buffer.cc b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_command_buffer.cc
index 1e5b3898735..0ce6ea6974f 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_command_buffer.cc
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_command_buffer.cc
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include "vk_index_buffer.hh"
 #include "vk_memory.hh"
 #include "vk_pipeline.hh"
+#include "vk_storage_buffer.hh"
 #include "vk_texture.hh"
 #include "vk_vertex_buffer.hh"
 
@@ -258,7 +259,7 @@ void VKCommandBuffer::draw(int v_first, int v_count, int i_first, int i_count)
   state.draw_counts++;
 }
 
-void VKCommandBuffer::draw(
+void VKCommandBuffer::draw_indexed(
     int index_count, int instance_count, int first_index, int vertex_offset, int first_instance)
 {
   validate_framebuffer_exists();
@@ -268,6 +269,28 @@ void VKCommandBuffer::draw(
   state.draw_counts++;
 }
 
+void VKCommandBuffer::draw_indirect(const VKStorageBuffer &buffer,
+                                    VkDeviceSize offset,
+                                    uint32_t draw_count,
+                                    uint32_t stride)
+{
+  validate_framebuffer_exists();
+  ensure_active_framebuffer();
+  vkCmdDrawIndirect(vk_command_buffer_, buffer.vk_handle(), offset, draw_count, stride);
+  state.draw_counts++;
+}
+
+void VKCommandBuffer::draw_indexed_indirect(const VKStorageBuffer &buffer,
+                                            VkDeviceSize offset,
+                                            uint32_t draw_count,
+                                            uint32_t stride)
+{
+  validate_framebuffer_exists();
+  ensure_active_framebuffer();
+  vkCmdDrawIndexedIndirect(vk_command_buffer_, buffer.vk_handle(), offset, draw_count, stride);
+  state.draw_counts++;
+}
+
 void VKCommandBuffer::pipeline_barrier(VkPipelineStageFlags source_stages,
                                        VkPipelineStageFlags destination_stages)
 {
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_command_buffer.hh b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_command_buffer.hh
index e84d6f94f9b..f63425a2ad2 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_command_buffer.hh
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_command_buffer.hh
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ class VKPipeline;
 class VKPushConstants;
 class VKTexture;
 class VKVertexBuffer;
+class VKStorageBuffer;
 
 /** Command buffer to keep track of the life-time of a command buffer. */
 class VKCommandBuffer : NonCopyable, NonMovable {
@@ -188,8 +189,16 @@ class VKCommandBuffer : NonCopyable, NonMovable {
   void fill(VKBuffer &buffer, uint32_t data);
 
   void draw(int v_first, int v_count, int i_first, int i_count);
-  void draw(
+  void draw_indexed(
       int index_count, int instance_count, int first_index, int vertex_offset, int first_instance);
+  void draw_indirect(const VKStorageBuffer &buffer,
+                     VkDeviceSize offset,
+                     uint32_t draw_count,
+                     uint32_t stride);
+  void draw_indexed_indirect(const VKStorageBuffer &buffer,
+                             VkDeviceSize offset,
+                             uint32_t draw_count,
+                             uint32_t stride);
 
   /**
    * Stop recording commands, encode + send the recordings to Vulkan, wait for the until the
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_common.cc b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_common.cc
index 4f85ad2e618..5c22184e862 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_common.cc
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_common.cc
@@ -58,9 +58,12 @@ VkImageAspectFlagBits to_vk_image_aspect_flag_bits(const eGPUTextureFormat forma
     case GPU_DEPTH_COMPONENT32F:
     case GPU_DEPTH_COMPONENT24:
     case GPU_DEPTH_COMPONENT16:
+      return VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_DEPTH_BIT;
+
     case GPU_DEPTH32F_STENCIL8:
     case GPU_DEPTH24_STENCIL8:
-      return VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_DEPTH_BIT;
+      return static_cast<VkImageAspectFlagBits>(VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_DEPTH_BIT |
+                                                VK_IMAGE_ASPECT_STENCIL_BIT);
 
     /* Texture only formats. */
     case GPU_RGB32UI:
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_data_conversion.cc b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_data_conversion.cc
index 661b71420b3..3a78eeb955a 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_data_conversion.cc
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_data_conversion.cc
@@ -243,6 +243,7 @@ static ConversionType type_of_conversion_uint(eGPUTextureFormat device_format)
     case GPU_RG32UI:
     case GPU_R32UI:
     case GPU_DEPTH_COMPONENT24:
+    case GPU_DEPTH24_STENCIL8:
       return ConversionType::PASS_THROUGH;
 
     case GPU_RGBA16UI:
@@ -284,7 +285,6 @@ static ConversionType type_of_conversion_uint(eGPUTextureFormat device_format)
     case GPU_RGB10_A2:
     case GPU_RGB10_A2UI:
     case GPU_R11F_G11F_B10F:
-    case GPU_DEPTH24_STENCIL8:
     case GPU_SRGB8_A8:
     case GPU_RGBA8_SNORM:
     case GPU_RGBA16_SNORM:
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_descriptor_set.hh b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_descriptor_set.hh
index 454c03653ac..abf1404a592 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_descriptor_set.hh
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_descriptor_set.hh
@@ -169,6 +169,7 @@ class VKDescriptorSetTracker : protected VKResourceTracker<VKDescriptorSet> {
   void bind(VKTexture &texture, VKDescriptorSet::Location location, VKSampler &sampler);
   /* Bind as uniform texel buffer. */
   void bind(VKVertexBuffer &vertex_buffer, VKDescriptorSet::Location location);
+
   /**
    * Some shaders don't need any descriptor sets so we don't need to bind them.
    *
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_framebuffer.cc b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_framebuffer.cc
index 924fcf8875c..9dbbfe2c5b4 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_framebuffer.cc
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_framebuffer.cc
@@ -470,8 +470,11 @@ void VKFrameBuffer::render_pass_create()
   render_pass_info.pSubpasses = &subpass;
 
   const VKDevice &device = VKBackend::get().device_get();
-  vkCreateRenderPass(
+  VkResult result = vkCreateRenderPass(
       device.device_get(), &render_pass_info, vk_allocation_callbacks, &vk_render_pass_);
+  if (result != VK_SUCCESS) {
+    BLI_assert_unreachable();
+  }
 
   /* We might want to split frame-buffer and render pass. */
   VkFramebufferCreateInfo framebuffer_create_info = {};
@@ -483,8 +486,11 @@ void VKFrameBuffer::render_pass_create()
   framebuffer_create_info.height = height_;
   framebuffer_create_info.layers = 1;
 
-  vkCreateFramebuffer(
+  result = vkCreateFramebuffer(
       device.device_get(), &framebuffer_create_info, vk_allocation_callbacks, &vk_framebuffer_);
+  if (result != VK_SUCCESS) {
+    BLI_assert_unreachable();
+  }
 }
 
 void VKFrameBuffer::render_pass_free()
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_pipeline_state.hh b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_pipeline_state.hh
index 7f891fc4e8a..55d0828a49d 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_pipeline_state.hh
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_pipeline_state.hh
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ namespace blender::gpu {
 class VKFrameBuffer;
 
 class VKPipelineStateManager {
+
  private:
   GPUState current_;
   GPUStateMutable current_mutable_;
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_storage_buffer.cc b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_storage_buffer.cc
index 0fc95f9b396..85024971d7c 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_storage_buffer.cc
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_storage_buffer.cc
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ void VKStorageBuffer::allocate()
 
 void VKStorageBuffer::bind(int slot)
 {
+  /* TODO: move Storage buffer bindings to state manager to reuse bindings.*/
   VKContext &context = *VKContext::get();
   if (!buffer_.is_allocated()) {
     allocate();
@@ -41,8 +42,9 @@ void VKStorageBuffer::bind(int slot)
   const std::optional<VKDescriptorSet::Location> location =
       shader_interface.descriptor_set_location(
           shader::ShaderCreateInfo::Resource::BindType::STORAGE_BUFFER, slot);
-  BLI_assert_msg(location, "Locations to SSBOs should always exist.");
-  shader->pipeline_get().descriptor_set_get().bind(*this, *location);
+  if (location) {
+    shader->pipeline_get().descriptor_set_get().bind(*this, *location);
+  }
 }
 
 void VKStorageBuffer::unbind() {}
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_storage_buffer.hh b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_storage_buffer.hh
index 4e798d00dca..4c92a5efb88 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_storage_buffer.hh
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_storage_buffer.hh
@@ -49,4 +49,9 @@ class VKStorageBuffer : public StorageBuf {
   void allocate();
 };
 
+static inline VKStorageBuffer *unwrap(StorageBuf *storage_buffer)
+{
+  return static_cast<VKStorageBuffer *>(storage_buffer);
+}
+
 }  // namespace blender::gpu
diff --git a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_vertex_buffer.hh b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_vertex_buffer.hh
index 6660cdedb84..796dd374347 100644
--- a/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_vertex_buffer.hh
+++ b/source/blender/gpu/vulkan/vk_vertex_buffer.hh
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include "vk_buffer.hh"
 
 namespace blender::gpu {
+class VKTexture;
 
 class VKVertexBuffer : public VertBuf {
   VKBuffer buffer_;