Within Microsoft’s latest Windows 8.1 Preview, the company has rolled out a new version of its DirectX 11.2 software, which brings a host of new features to improve performance in your games and graphics apps. This update is a significant step forward in enhancing the visual and computational capabilities of modern gaming and graphics applications.
However, the new version of DirectX 11.2 will only work with Windows 8.1 and will not support Windows 7 or even Windows 8 users. Microsoft has confirmed that the new DirectX 11.2 software will be exclusive to Windows 8.1 and its Xbox One console. This exclusivity means that users who wish to take advantage of the latest graphical improvements will need to upgrade their operating systems.
Key Features of DirectX 11.2
DirectX 11.2 introduces several new features designed to enhance the performance and capabilities of graphics applications. One of the most notable additions is the separate compilation and linking of HLSL shaders. This feature allows graphics programmers to create precompiled HLSL functions, package them into libraries, and link them into full shaders at run-time. This is essentially an equivalent of C/C++ separate compilation, libraries, and linking, and it allows programmers to compose precompiled HLSL code when more information becomes available to finalize the computation.
“Windows 8.1 Preview adds separate compilation and linking of HLSL shaders, which allows graphics programmers to create precompiled HLSL functions, package them into libraries, and link them into full shaders at run-time. This is essentially an equivalent of C/C++ separate compilation, libraries, and linking, and it allows programmers to compose precompiled HLSL code when more information becomes available to finalize the computation.”
Additional Enhancements and Features
In addition to HLSL shader linking, DirectX 11.2 includes several other enhancements that contribute to its overall performance improvements. These features include:
– HLSL shader linking: This feature allows for more efficient and flexible shader management, enabling developers to optimize their graphics code more effectively.
– Inbox HLSL compiler: The inclusion of an inbox HLSL compiler streamlines the development process by providing a built-in tool for compiling HLSL code.
– GPU overlay support: GPU overlay support enhances the ability to render complex scenes by allowing multiple layers of graphics to be processed simultaneously.
– DirectX tiled resources: Tiled resources improve memory management by allowing textures and other resources to be divided into smaller tiles, which can be loaded and unloaded as needed.
– Direct3D low-latency presentation API: This API reduces the latency between rendering and display, resulting in smoother and more responsive graphics.
– DXGI Trim API and map default buffer: These APIs help manage GPU resources more efficiently, reducing memory usage and improving performance.
– Frame buffer scaling: Frame buffer scaling allows for dynamic adjustment of the frame buffer size, which can help optimize performance for different display resolutions.
– Multithreading with SurfaceImageSource: This feature enables more efficient use of multiple CPU cores, improving the performance of graphics applications that use SurfaceImageSource.
– Interactive Microsoft DirectX composition of XAML visual elements: This feature allows for more seamless integration of XAML visual elements with DirectX graphics, enabling richer and more interactive user interfaces.
– Direct2D batching with SurfaceImageSource: Direct2D batching improves the performance of 2D graphics rendering by allowing multiple drawing operations to be grouped together and processed more efficiently.
For more information on the new DirectX 11.2, jump over to the official Microsoft website for details and a full list of all the features you can expect.
Source: Microsoft
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