More info on DirectX 10 or "Direct3D10"

AppleEater

Junior Member
Mar 19, 2006
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So, I've heard varied things, do you guys know if DX9 cards will work well with DX10? I am contemplating a system upgrade and I do not want to sink $500 into a new graphics cards and then buy another one in a few months.
 

Extelleron

Diamond Member
Dec 26, 2005
3,127
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Originally posted by: AppleEater
So, I've heard varied things, do you guys know if DX9 cards will work well with DX10? I am contemplating a system upgrade and I do not want to sink $500 into a new graphics cards and then buy another one in a few months.

That's why you sell it on the FS/T forums a few days before the new cards come out, like so many people did w/ their 7800GT's. They sold them for $280~ and for $40-50 got a overclocked 7900GT aka 7800GTX 512 w/ 256MB of V-RAM. Anyway, it's going to be a long time, probably late 2007/early 2008, before having a DX10 card becomes a requirement. It wasnt maybe 2 years ago or so when DX9 cards become a must-have.
 

Continuity28

Golden Member
Jul 2, 2005
1,653
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Originally posted by: AppleEater
So, I've heard varied things, do you guys know if DX9 cards will work well with DX10? I am contemplating a system upgrade and I do not want to sink $500 into a new graphics cards and then buy another one in a few months.

DirectX10 will be Windows Vista only, and no current video card would handle the featureset. You can use your current video card in Windows Vista, but you'll only be playing in DirectX9 mode.

Vista is designed a lot smarter than XP is, many things are being changed at the kernel level... and DirectX10 takes advantage of that, meaning DX10 won't ever work on Windows XP. Vista will essentially have two branches... DX10 and DX9/8/7/6 etc. Only the new cards at that point that say DX10 and later will work with DX10.

That said though, this is at least a year away to be worrying about it, so I say feel free to upgrade now. Just realize that no card today will do DX10.