DirectX

[gvayl]

Where can I find out what video cards will be supported in next directX version? I was told that the ATI x800XL will not be supported...

 

[imported_Hi]

All cards that are out right now do not support the next directx


although ATI says their next generation release the R520 will support it

 

[CheesePoofs]

Only the nvidia 6xxx's support DX 9.0C, ati's current cards support DX 9.0B.

 

[Pete]

You want to find out what video cards will or won't be WGF 1.0 compliant? I thought WGF 1.0 was basically SM2 (so the FX series and the 9500+ would be compliant), but recently I've seen forum posts indicating it's been bumped up to SM3, so that would mean only the GF6 and up are "DirectX Next" compliant.

Obviously, no current card is WGF 2.0 ("SM4") compliant.

 

[gvayl]

sp the 6600 would support the next direct x?

 

[rbV5]

What do you mean by "Supported"? DX is usually backward compatable. If you mean which cards will support WGF 1.0 specific features in hardware, we'll probably have to see the final API specs for that I think.

 

[imported_humey]

Can you tell me if ATI's new X850's are dx9c or not, thanks.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avalon aka DX10 aka DX NEXT, lol its just a new application/extention that will run ontop of DX a bit like winFS was to run ontop of NTFS in LongHorn not replace it.

LongHorn is to have a 3D desktop and everyday use of your pc will depend on your gpu power, just like now with PvP Nvidia tried to ofload some en/decoding from cpu to gpu, well next O/S will use gpu more and more not just for gamming and PvP (if nvidia fix it).

On later build of LongHorn alpha (Current 32bit > 4074 / current 64bit > 4083) you can change 2 reg entries to get 3D stars on desktop.

So looks like soon you will need semi decent powered gpu just to run the o/s.

 

[LTC8K6]

9.0C has been out for a while.

No cards support the next version of DX yet.

The difference between 9.0B and 9.0C is currently nothing to worry about.

By the time you need anything better, both NV and ATI will have something better out.

It would be very silly to buy a 6600 over an X800 to get DX 9.0C support.

 

[Gamingphreek]

R520 can not and will not have support for the next DX. However, i have heard that both ATI and Nvidia are supposed to have something a little bit above 9.0C. Not DX10 (or whatever you want to call if) but a little bit above 9.

Additionally DX9.0B is not as good as C. There is most certainly a reason to buy a 6800GT over an X800XL or something to that effect. 9B does not support hardware displacement mapping, and the ATI cards do not have 32bit FP support, as well as SM3.0 spec. While they run just as fast as Nvidia (if not faster) they are less "future-proof" because of the lack of these features.

I will say what i said in everyother thread, if you plan on keeping your card for a while and holding out next gen, then get teh Nvidia card because of the support for those features. If you plan on upgrading next gen first thing, you will probably want all the speed you can get this gen so unless you have a huge lump of money sitting around for SLI, the ATI cards are more than likely the better buy because the features do not matter as because you are upgrading.

More OT: No cards support DXxx because the spec isn't even released yet, hence the reason none of the next gen cards will be able to support it.

-Kevin

 

[imported_humey]

I agree some new games ask to install DX9C Brothers In Arms is 1 and there is prob more and no X800 cards do DX9C and i still cant get a answer on if X850 are DX9B or C ?

 

[Fenuxx]

X850 is essentially the same core as the X800. SM2.0. No SM3.0 until R520 for you ATI guys will have to wait. This means that it is DX9.0b.

 

[LTC8K6]

Having to install DX9.0C does not mean that you need a a DX9.0C hardware card.

Brothers In Arms will run on a Radeon 8500 and a GF4 ti4200.

ATI does not have a DX9.0C hardware card out yet. Currently that means absolutely nothing, and there is no indication that it will mean anything in the future.

Currently no game requires you to have a DX9.0C hardware card.

You might need a card that will work okay with DX9.0C, but many pretty old cards fit that description.

 

[LTC8K6]

DX9.0C compliant = the new geforce 6 series cards

DX9.0C compatible = pretty much every card since the 8500/GF4 series. Excluding the NV GF4MX cards I think, since they are really GF2's

Note that a lot of folks confuse the two, including the BIA site which uses the term compliant when they mean compatible.

I know of no game that requires a DX9.0C compliant card.

 

[Pete]

I'm not sure why people talk about DX9.0a, b, or c, when the subject at hand is SM2, SM3, and the upcoming WG1/SM4/WGF2.

X850 is just an upclocked X800, so it's still SM2.0b (while the GF6 series is SM3.0).

Edit: LTC beat me to the compliant/compatible distinction, another important point.

 

[imported_humey]

LTC8K6, why you telling me something i already know ?

Yes u can play B I A on g force 2mx if you like but it asks to install dx9c as its a dx9c game FACT.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: humey
LTC8K6, why you telling me something i already know ?

Yes u can play B I A on g force 2mx if you like but it asks to install dx9c as its a dx9c game FACT.

it also tells you to install your latest video card drivers. FACT
:roll:

++++++++++++++++++++++
In case you missed it

PRIOR TO ITS LAUNCH, expected in June, we have a few additional details about ATI's flagship R520 chip.

It turns out that R520 won't just have Shader Model 3.0 it will eventually have support for upcoming Longhorn WGF 1.0 specification. WGF does not stand for Which Graphic Freak, it's an abbreviation of Windows Graphic Foundation. This is what Microsoft has decided to call Direct3D in the future.

WGF 1.0 is actually Direct3D 9.0+ or just beyond the DirectX 9.0c specification. It's also called DX 9.L where L possibly stands for Longhorn.

We are not sure which kind of Shader support you need to be WGF 1.0 compliant, but we are quite sure that we are talking about Shader Model 3.0, as it's time for ATI to go down that road.

We also know that this chip is built on a 90 nanometre process and that even the R530 and RV515 will be based on the same marchitecture.

R520 is expected to perform twice as fast as the X800 generation, will have digital HDTV support, and will come in 256MB and 512MB variants.

I guess that WGF 1.0 support comes for all the developers who want to play with it prior to the launch of Longhorn, but be aware there is also a WGF 2.0 spec that is also known as DirectX 10 or DirectX Next, so that is going to be the real stuff.

Hardware supporting this feature comes in a year's time, in 2006, sometime before the Microsoft Longhorn launch. It might be called R620 but it's still too early to talk about that.

So TECHNICALLY even ati's r520 won't have [final] support for Dx"10" but it WILL have support for the NEXT dx9 spec. .. . . which NONE of the current card have.

 

[LTC8K6]

BIA cannot be played on a GF2 MX, according to the website.

Having to install DX9.0C does not mean the game is a "DX9.0C game".

Since it lists R8500 and GF4 as the minimum cards, that makes it a DX8.1 game, I believe.

 

[LTC8K6]

DP

 

[LTC8K6]

The major difference between DX9.0B and C is SM3.0

If BIA used SM3.0, it would be big news.

 

[imported_humey]

I used the g force 2mx as a example, the games DX9C i got it here on box, completed it last night, yes game will run on dx8.1 cards.

I dont see the big deal, you got a dx9c card you install xpsp2 you are then on dx9c, you install a new game it may ask you to install dx9c if you not got it already or it may auto sence your on dx9c.

Done deal.

 

[gsellis]

Apoppin's link has it as the current state of affairs is. Avalon and Aero are no longer just a Longhorn thing and are now referenced as WGF 1.0, not DX10. It now appears that DX10 is post-Longhorn. In defense, MS was saying DX10 at the last WinHEC. Also, remember that DX10 is not just video, but audio too. WGF also covers the monitor and there are some minimums there too (or at least did at WinHEC 2004).

 

[LTC8K6]

I still doubt that BIA is a DX9C game. Does it use any DX9C functions?

The reviews I have seen of the PC version were not thrilled with the graphics, which they should have been with a DX9 class game.

Having to install DX9C doesn't mean much.

Curiously, UBI's UK BIA site says you only need a DX8 card, and correctly uses the term "compliant":
__________
Operating System: Windows 2000/XP (only)
Processor: 1 GHz Pentium® III or AMD Athlon (2.5 GHz Pentium IV or AMD recommended)
Memory: 266 Mb
Video Card: DirectX® 8 compliant 32 MB
(64 MB recommended)
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c (included on disc)
DVD/CD-Rom drive: 4x
Sound Card: 16-bit card (32-bit recommended)
Hard Disk: 5Gb
Peripherals: Windows keyboard and mouse only
Multiplayer: 56.6 kbps modem or LAN (Broadband with 64 kbps upstream recommended)
__________

The terms DirectX 8 compliant, and DirectX 9.0C compatible would be correct for the game, imo. DX9.0C compliant is incorrect, imo. There is no need for a DX9.0C compliant card, and having one does not benefit you with this game, imo.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: gsellis
Apoppin's link has it as the current state of affairs is. Avalon and Aero are no longer just a Longhorn thing and are now referenced as WGF 1.0, not DX10. It now appears that DX10 is post-Longhorn. In defense, MS was saying DX10 at the last WinHEC. Also, remember that DX10 is not just video, but audio too. WGF also covers the monitor and there are some minimums there too (or at least did at WinHEC 2004).

Aero is the GPU-drawn UI that uses dynamic compositing, heavy alpha-blending and shader effects, Avalon is "WinForms 2.0", a UI API/scripting thing. Avalon is going to be available for XP (think of it as the natural evolution of the "Windows Common Controls DLL" - some apps will require it). Aero is still, AFAIK, Longhorn-only, unless that has changed in the last 4 months.

 

[gsellis]

I have the kit, and it def is Avalon, but you may be right about Aero not included. Too tied to video with my NLE and animation stuff to be brave enough to install it though

 

[live2game]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
R520 can not and will not have support for the next DX. However, i have heard that both ATI and Nvidia are supposed to have something a little bit above 9.0C. Not DX10 (or whatever you want to call if) but a little bit above 9.

Additionally DX9.0B is not as good as C. There is most certainly a reason to buy a 6800GT over an X800XL or something to that effect. 9B does not support hardware displacement mapping, and the ATI cards do not have 32bit FP support, as well as SM3.0 spec. While they run just as fast as Nvidia (if not faster) they are less "future-proof" because of the lack of these features.

I will say what i said in everyother thread, if you plan on keeping your card for a while and holding out next gen, then get teh Nvidia card because of the support for those features. If you plan on upgrading next gen first thing, you will probably want all the speed you can get this gen so unless you have a huge lump of money sitting around for SLI, the ATI cards are more than likely the better buy because the features do not matter as because you are upgrading.

More OT: No cards support DXxx because the spec isn't even released yet, hence the reason none of the next gen cards will be able to support it.

-Kevin

You are a Nvidia fanboy. SO why can't they support it.