DirectX 10 Hardware Is Now Obsolete

OOAgent

Source: Slashdot
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"SIGGRAPH 2007 was the stage where Microsoft dropped the bomb, informing gamers that the currently available DirectX 10 hardware will not support the upcoming DirectX 10.1 in Vista SP1. In essence, all current DX10 hardware is now obsolete. But don't get too upset just yet: 'Gamers shouldn't fret too much - 10.1 adds virtually nothing that they will care about and, more to the point, adds almost nothing that developers are likely to care about. The spec revision basically makes a number of things that are optional in DX10 compulsory under the new standard - such as 32-bit floating point filtering, as opposed to the 16-bit current. 4xAA is a compulsory standard to support in 10.1, whereas graphics vendors can pick and choose their anti-aliasing support currently. We suspect that the spec is likely to be ill-received. Not only does it require brand new hardware, immediately creating a minuscule sub-set of DX10 owners, but it also requires Vista SP1, and also requires developer implementation.'"

OmegaRED

4xAA compulsory? Ya, that's not gonna catch on too quickly with demanding games like Lost Planet that chug with any AA.

Necrosis

Don't read too much into this folks. Of course the current hardware won't support it. It's just like the older DX9 hardware not supporting Shader 3.0. By the time you'll see games w/ it current DX10 hardware will be old hat.

Judas

I'm looking at other points of the dx10.1 not mentioned that interest me.

Tipstaff

Yeah, same here. One that stands out for me is increased performance on systems running multiple cores. From what I can tell, performance with DirectX apps will increase with each added processor core. If that's the case peformance would increase across the board, because now you aren't having to wait for a game developer to implement multi core support as you will see the benifits of having a multi core processor straight away.

ET3D

Crappy sensationalist news reporting (Slashdot playing off the Inquirer is probably as low as you can get).

I agree with the Inquirer: gamers will be cheesed off. They always are. Anyone who buys the latest hardware only to see it get old tend to get annoyed by that. And then they go buy the latest hardware, to stay ahead of the curve. That's they way it's always been and always will be.

OmegaRED, AAx4 *support* is compulsory. It won't be on by default if you don't want it. What 10.1 enforces is AAx4 done in a specific way, so that games will look the same on all cards when that specific AA mode is in use. That's meant to allow developers to provide good looking AA more simply, since they won't have to consider the quirks of each particular card.

Of course, they will need to for a while, considering the older cards, but the point of 10.1 (and 10 in general) is to make developer lives simpler in the long run, by reducing the number of variations they have to face.

Monkeyboy

As much as I like Vista, this will only serve to further reinforce in peoples' minds that it was not ready when it was released.

blown503

Your right it wasnt ready at all. I say lets keep making the gret dx9 games anyways. What the heck is all the money spent on dx10 stuff anyways? Its like buying a new remote control with 2 power on buttons, because it has more buttons than a old one.

T.N.G.O.G.

DirectX9 Hardware not supporting Shader 3.0?
Am i reading this correctly, you are saying directx9 video cards dont support shader 3.0?

Vikingod

Just that not all DX9 hardware supported SM 3. If memory serves, the nvidia 6xxx series was the first to support it, and the r500 was the first for ATI.

RoyBatty

T.N.G.O.G.: If you mean the Necrosis' post notice the word 'older':
SM 3.0 was introduced in DirectX 9.0c.

Iria

Frankly, this is why I didn't post this myself earlier. Not that everything they post is faux, but if the original source is the Inquirer, I'm not all that I'm inclined to believe it.

Judas

The reason AA is compulsary is this simple fact that i think 99% of the people are forgetting:


AA+HDR= ?

While some games support it now, some don't, and some hardware vs other, i think with make directx demand a more specific form of AA and that level of AA should be able to get us ALL AA while other unique feature should work as well. Be it a combination of AA and Pixel shaders and or HDR and who knows what else down the road as well.

OOAgent

One thing ive been wondering if this is indeed true about Dx10.1 and Dx10, what will future games hold for Dx10 content? does it mean games being developed for Dx10.1 will still have the Dx10 features or just less of them for people who have Dx10 cards ("features" that arent supported in Dx10 but in Dx10.1)? Or will games ship with Dx9, Dx10, and Dx10.1 now? or maybe have a downloadable Dx10.1 patch for those who do own a Dx10.1 card.

T.N.G.O.G.

Yea the Geforce 6200 256MB PCI card has shader 3.0. I would of bought it, but its not really PCI card, they lied on the box The PCI bus is PCI-E.