Nvidia will unveil the world's first DirectX10 GPU, codenamed 'G80' but expected to ship as the GeForce 8800, in the middle of this coming November, it has been claimed.

According to a DigiTimes report which cites graphics card maker moles, the part will support the upcoming Microsoft technology's Shader Model 4.0. It will almost certainly boost Nvidia's own video processing system, PureVideo.

DirectX 10 is due to ship sometime next year, probably after Windows Vista hits store shelves and new PCs. Games that use the new technology are likely to be even further off. Nvidia was the first GPU maker to support DirectX 9's Shader Model 3.0. ATI, by contrast, waited the best part of a year before introducing SM 3.0 support, largely, it claimed at the time, because of limited game support in the early days. ®