DirectX 8 beta out!...Is this official? anyone try it yet?

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
I'll download them tonight...damn 56k modem :|:|

Can't wait to get back on RESNET
 

Mr Pepper

Senior member
Oct 15, 1999
282
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0
I wonder if there is any kind of a frame-rate boost in 3D? I'm a little scared to be honest. Not sure if it's an official beta...

Oh well, there is always the old "Format C:" option :D
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
Ahh, what the hell. I'm downloading it now at 5.06KB/Sec on my PCI WINMODEM:D

I'm downloading the 12.9MB Win98 version b/c I ain't taking a chance on screwing with my lovely WIn2k install ;)

When I get it loaded, I'll do some 3DMark 2000 benchmarks
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
1
0
alienbabeltech.com
Beta - great, that means there are probably bugs.

I am downloading now (3.6K a sec - I love my ISP connection - NOT!) but I will back up everything before installing this weekend (unless I hear how good/bad it is).
 

medic

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,160
0
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Started at 120KB/s and by the time it finished it was 13KB/s!
..better get it before it crashes or Microsoft shuts it down :Q

Good find Mr.Pepper!
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
Well, whaddya know. The email about this download was in my Anandtech inbox at 3:38AM on 6/29 :Q
 

JJ650

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
1,959
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Well, got it installed it and benched it with 3dmark2000

The results:
no improvement in score. In fact, it was down from my previous score.
DX7: 5401
DX8 beta: 5355

Sytem specs:
Abit KA7 eith RY bios
Athlon @700 (.25 die)
128 megs PC100 @ 133mhz, set a turbo speed and 4 way interleave
Leadtek Geforce DDR rev.B (150mhz core, 340 mem (170mhz for all you non DDR types))
Quantum LM+ 10.2 gig
SoundBlaster Live! X-Gamer
10/100 NIC

granted only a 56 point drop but no real improvement. I guess this can be attributed to it being beta version. I'll try it out on some games and see how it does.
Games I will use: Unreal Tournament
TFC
BattleZone (DON'T LAUGH!! Still a kick ass game)

Let ya know how it goes
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
Same results here:

AMD Athlon 600 overclocked to 735MHz
ABIT KA7
256MB PC100
Gigabyte GA-GF2560 32MB SDR GeForce o/c 150/200
Western Digital 27.3 Gig 7200 RPM ATA66 Hard Drive
Philips 4X DVD-ROM Drive
Plextor 8x4x32 CDRW Drive
Best Data 56K Mach 2 PCI Winmodem
Netgear FA310TX 10/100 PCI Ethernet Card
Sound Blaster Live! Sound Card


Win9x, nVidia 5.30 drivers

3DMark2000
DX7 4695
DX8 4678
 

JJ650

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
1,959
0
76
Mr. Pepper, ya, Win98 SE

I decided not to use BattleZone since many of you are unfortunate enough not to have played it. So, I'll stick with UT and TFC.

I always use 1024*768 16bit. I could care less about playing 32bit, but I'll do that next time.
In the flyby for UT, lock up. 2nd time lockup. 3rd time was a charm and got an average of 60.32 fps (my strength and brutality are legendary :p).
PLayed a couple of assualt games and weird things happens when the sh$t hits the fan with an invasion. During extreme fights, everyone and their brother shooting in close quarters, the gameplay slowed way down. Almost like in slow motion. Never had that happen before. I average out in games around 45-55 fps depending on the map and how many bullets are whizzing by my head.
The colors were a bit better and the lighting effects improved that I could tell. Textures looked smoother, in my opinion, and effects such as water improved. Eye candy wise I think it's better. performance wise still not sure.
In TFC nothing really changed. Worked fine just as it did before. Around 70fps with Dx7 and smae thing with this Dx8.

will try other things and let you folks know.
 

JJ650

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
1,959
0
76
Not sure about uninstall. Never tried it but I imagine that loading DX7a would overwrite the Dx8 files wouldn't it?
 

JJ650

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
1,959
0
76
Well I'll be a monkey's uncle.

UT WAS in fact in 32 bit colors. I have no idea when I did that.
Maybe that would explain the color richness being better. :D
 

dawks

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,071
2
81
Of course, it is beta.. and the drivers do not fully support it yet..

I dont think we'll see much in the line of performance anyway, just newer features..
 

vailr

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,365
54
91
If using a TV tuner card, the beta DX8 will disable overlay support. Wait for final.
 

Auric

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
9,591
2
71
I installed it and DirectX Properties now shows version 8 for everything EXCEPT Direct3D which is still version 7. So go figure how there could be any significant improvement in 3D games.
 

Livin4Real

Senior member
Mar 25, 2000
239
0
0
BEWARE Once you go to DX8 there is no turning back. You can't uninstall it, plus it's a beta version and there have already been complaints on this forum about it. If your daring and have no fear of reformatting I say "Go for it" My two cents.
 

Prodigy^

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
4,044
1
0
I'd be careful with installing it.....a guy said UT wouldn't play in D3D.......and as you know, you can't uninstall or "go back" with directX......just wait until the official version comes out :)