DirectX 10.1 needs new hardware

[Broken]

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/6364/directx26vs.gifWell, it looks like those early adopters might be left somewhat in the lurch, as Microsoft has recently announced that Windows Vista SP1 will include a minor version upgrade to DirectX – DirectX 10.1. This includes some features originally intended for DirectX 10 but which had to be left to one side, and as such DirectX 10.1 is a superset of DirectX 10 – supporting all of DirectX 10’s features with some additions and enhancements of its own.

DirectX 10.1 offers greater application control of the GPU’s shading and filtering resources, especially multi-sampled and super-sampled antialiasing. The shader model is updated from 4.0 to 4.1, and floating point technology is beefed up from 16-bit to full 32-bit, which should demonstrate a direct improvement in quality for HDR (High Dynamic Range) lighting effects. In addition, all DirectX 10.1-capable hardware should be able to run 4xAA (antialiasing) as a mandatory setting.

So all this is great news, right? If you lashed out on a DirectX 10 card, then perhaps not. Although DirectX 10.1 is fully backwards-compatible with DirectX 10 features and hardware, the reverse isn’t true. Neither NVIDIA’s GeForce 8 series nor ATI’s Radeon HD 2x series of GPUs support DirectX 10.1. ATI’s new products – the Radeon 3870 and 3850 – do support DirectX 10.1, but NVIDIA apparently has no plans to release a DirectX 10.1-capable GPU. Their next product range, codenamed GT200, will support DirectX 11, but as this is due for release before DirectX 11 itself it will be interesting to see how well early products based on this GPU will support the new DirectX technology.

:source: Source: http://apcmag.com/7790/vista_sp1_needs_new_hardware

[leebSaMmY]

interesting... i've always been an nvidia user. i may have to switch for 10.1

[mbucari1]

Damn :(

I've known for months that DX 10 cards will not support DX10.1, but I was under the impression that the Geforce 9000 series WOULD support DX10.1. I've been planning on upgrading my gpu in a few months and had my eye on the 9800GX2.

Well, maybe I'll start looking at ATI. This will be a new experience.

[Cabalo]

first time i hear about DX11... my good old 7950GX2 soon will need to be replaced.

[Daniel]

Seeing as I'm not planning to update my operating system to Vista any time soon, this news won't cost me much besides a strained smile :)

I suppose I can play this game of delaying for some months or even a whole year yet until games start popping out with no DX9 support anymore.

[chival4ry]

About Vista SP1 Refresh (v744 - 17128)

[Info1 : http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=529d992a-d69e-4c73-9213-7a7f3852c0ca&DisplayLang=en ]
[Info2 : http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=612414&st=75 ]

[100%]

well that will prevent a lot more people using vista.

[lynx]

Well, this just reinforces my decision to switch back to 64bit XP.

The conclusion is obvious, the people at Microsoft are running Vista, and performance problems have prevented them from processing the fact that this is a bad idea.

[true_neo]

The title is misleading.
SP1 does NOT require new hardware.
They simply updated the DX version so that those with a compatible GPU will be able to take advantages of even more advanced GFX features.

The ignorance of people today astounds me.

[tesco]

well that will prevent a lot more people using vista.they'll stay away from vista because it offers an update to directx?:blink:

I fixed the ignorant title.

[Broken]

I did not create the title. Most people took the time to read the article before posting.
It is the exact one from the news story on MSN.
or at least it was....

[jokzor]

i was finding really strange, so people that bought vista ready directx 9 and 10 cards aren't ready anymore? lol i understand it's not your mistake broken but fst has been one of the few reliable sources and i'd miss it if i didn't feel compeled to read the news here

[Broken]

For everyday users of Vista (all 20 of them) a new version of DX10 for Vista means almost nothing.
For the gamer that recently spent 300 or 400 dollars on a video card this is a real kick in the balls.

[jokzor]

the gamer and almost everyone knows computers become, gladly, more effective and cheap, i wouldn't want it otherwise altough yes i agree directx10.1 came a few months later and it is frustrating now for those o rushed for dx10..
but anyways that never meant that dx10 users couldnt run vista anymore, and saying that they need new hardware is only to fill them with more money