Direct X graphics card+Vista launch?

[k2000k]

Will Nvidia and ATI have Direct X capable graphics card come the release of Vista next septemberish?

 

[p8ntslinger676]

They will probably just update all the drivers so they are also Vista compatible, that seems like the most plausible solutio to the problem.

 

[spookz]

Directx isn't limited by the hardware is it? I seriously do not understand how direct x is related to hardware.

 

[k2000k]

Direct IX is one of the things graphics cards have know that give us all out cool visual goodies. Direct X is a step up from that. I do not really care about Vista Direct X support, since it has been said you can do it with Direct IX cards. I care more about the Vista launch because, since it supports DirectX, then DirectX gaming cannot be far away, and I am hopping Nvidia and ATI release a card a little before the launch of Vista. I do not know if the 7900 GT will have Direct X support, hope it will, but I doubt it.

 

[zeekle]

It doesnt sound like new drivers will make a DX9 card a DX10. It didnt for dx8 cards when DX9 came out.

From this article

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1931918,00.asp

DX10 will use much faster dynamic link libraries (DLLs), and won't incorporate older versions of DirectX, as is done today. DirectX 9 will be supported side-by-side, through DirectX 9.L (basically, that's DX9 for the Vista driver model). So right there, without using any new features, DX10 should be more efficient and faster.

Perhaps one of the best features of DX10 is the removal of capability bits, or "cap bits." Today, graphics cards don't have to support everything in DirectX 9 to be a "DX9 graphics card." There are lots of optional features, and the drivers have to report to the OS exactly what it can and can't do with a set of cap bits. This has been a huge headache for developers, as different cards all support different features, or perform the same operations in different ways. In DX10, either you meet the spec or you don't—no more supporting only these or those texture formats, and this or that shader model but only with this level of precision.


Graphics cards will have to produce results within a very small margin of error to be considered DX10 compliant, so developers shouldn't have to worry about the same operation producing different visuals on different cards.

 

[QuantumCompPro]

Basicly Vista has a new Spec called Flip 3D.. and If you don't support DX10.. then this spec is disabled... You can use DX9 with Vista, but everything will be 2D. Somebody Comfirm this. But I've been told this is what DX9 will do.

 

[Vokofpolisiekar]

I'm not sure... From what I've gathered, DX10 will be the first sign of SM4.0. And it makes sense, cos how else will Microsoft sell their new OS? Okay, it's got 64bit and some 3d features, but I'm not interested. If I want to go 64bit, I'll go for Win XP 64bit. So if you ask me, MS and ATI/Nvidia will try and cash in on Vista together.

Personally, I feel that SM2.0 hasn't reached the market share it should in terms of games. SM3.0 isn't even mainstream yet, and if I'm correct about SM4.0 in DirectX10, then it's really too early. Money, Money, Money..... At the expense of us, the gamers out there.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

DX10 =/= Vista.

You need Vista for DX10, but you do not need a DX10 compliant card for Vista itself. And the 3D features of Vista will work on DX9 cards as previously mentioned by M$. They say minimum FX5700 or R9600P, but preferably a GF6+ or X8+ card with 256MB to run the full AeroGlass features.

DX10 will simply be additional requirements ontop of that including additonal graphics card feature needs.

 

[Vokofpolisiekar]

MICROSOFT finally saw sense and decided to drop Windows Graphic Foundation (WGF) and replace it with the more easier and logical DirectX 10 name for its nexgen API.
It gave some details to the developers officially about its upcoming API and we know that it plans to release this API together with Longhorn. Or Visa, as we must learn to call it.

The DirectX 10 API will have completely new and faster dynamic link libraries (DLLs) and is supposed to run much faster. The company decided to cut the backward compatibility with DirectX 9, 8, 7 and lower in this API but there will be a way to use games programmed for those APIs. Microsoft will enable support for DX 9 or lower games through a software layer, meaning it might run slower.

I know that some people do not trust what comes from TheInquirer.net, but this is where I got the stuff mentioned above. Keep in mind it is dated to Sept 2005.

Does anyone have more concrete info on this topic?

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Does anyone have more concrete info on this topic?

Depends on which part you want to be concrete, but the names and dates TG did a blurb on a week ago;

http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/02/28/vista_launch_in_october/

To get a clear, but no longer up to date idea of how WGF/DX9L and WGF2/DX10 work together take a look at Digit-Life's old description;
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/video/longhorn.html

It's very graphical, and while missing some stuff nowadays, does make it easier fo some people to visualize the relationship between things, even if it technically won't work quite that cleanly.