WinVista -> DirectX10 -> Hardware -> Questions!

[K2Storm]

As the new Generation Operating System Windows Vista comes near Im planning to upgrade my old PC, or purchase a new System that will be compatible with the new OS. This means spending a lot of money for the new PC that will be soon outdated just after I buy it.

Anyway when I was surfing the internet the other day I found out some information about the new DirectX
DirectX 10
- Will be included with Windows Vista
- And will require DirectX10 hardware that doesn't exist yet!
- And it won't be backward compatible!

More info on DX10 here : http://www.thezbuffer.com/articles/

Okay now my question is: What other hardware will the new DirectX10 control, besides the Video Card???

If the new DirectX10 will only control the Video Card, do you think it's good idea to buy the Hardware now and buy the Video Card in January or wait till January and buy all the hardware that will be compatible with the new OS then???

Thank you for all the help!

 

[gygabite]

I'd buy the hardware then, beause till the realease date of Vista, the prices for current hardware will have fallen into "groundless"

 

[AceFactor]

There is never a good time to upgrade lol but i would follow gygabite's advice and wait until the release of the new Windows. That way you can insure compatibility, or wait and see about any major teething problems before you go and spend your hard earned cash

-Adam

 

[{JNT}Raptor]

I'm running the New Vista Beta 5384 with DX10 on my X850XT....Most If not all DX9 based games run on DX10..It'll be the Newer DX10 based games that'll pose an Issue.

Vista will run fine on a DX9 card....It just won't be able to Utilize any DX10 features..or run newer games that'll soley depend on DX10.

 

[Alec§taar]

Windows Driver Model (WDM & WHQL) SHOULD help this, some... but!

Like anything else, it means driver coders VERY POTENTIALLY having to make some changes to their code (shouldn't be - this was the goal of the WDM & WHQL really, see subject/title line):

BUT, I've already seen something "phunny" go down w/ code that bears drivers, & w/ the host of this forum, W1zzard's, code in his 64-bit recompile for Windows XP 64 users of his ATI tool, but it really wasn't his driver code in his case, but instead, driver-signing features in VISTA 64 (you have to release drivers, much like you get warnings on now about signing drivers during their installations)!

I.E.-> XP64 bit users could install & run it, no problem, but VISTA64 users couldn't!

(In the end - what I am certain of, is that nothing will be as slow as the Win16 -> Win32 transition, where not only drivers changed (16-bit to 32-bit .vxd type for 9x, & 32-bit .sys type for NT-based OS), but software had to as well & this, took time!)

This will take a bit of time, but I doubt as much as which I just mentioned during that transition period thru the early to late 1990's last century (feels ODD saying that, lol)...

APK