The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

AMD previews DirectX 11 GPU

Tech demo'd six months ahead of availability

Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

Computex AMD has shown off what it claims is the "world's first" GPU capable of supporting the new graphics technologies implemented by Microsoft's DirectX 11 framework.

We're sure Nvidia has one of these in its lab too, and the real test of the two arch-rivals will be who gets the darn thing into the hands of gamers first. AMD's offering, at admitted yesterday, won't arrive until "the end of 2009".

Plenty of time for a DX11 GeForce in the meantime.

DX11-capable games will take while to arrive, as titles that can take advantage of new DirectX technology always do. But Windows 7 will make use of the framework, using API's CPU-on-GPU workload shifting to accelerate processor-intensive tasks, a technique both AMD and Nvidia have been touting for some time.

AMD may have the edge on DX11's tessellation feature, having already implemented in the Radeon HD series in anticipation of the technique's implementation in DX10. It never made the cut, but tessellation will appear in DX11. It brings the promise if much more complex geometries - essentially, more detailed models than we've seen before. ®

Customer Success Testimonial: Recovery is Everything

More from The Register

Samsung Galaxy Note 8: Proof the pen is mightier?
Sammy’s iPad Mini killer has a stylus to stab other rivals too
Microsoft lures buy-curious vixens, corduroys with a cheap fondle
Surface slab sales latest: Will no one rid Ballmer of these turbulent tabs?
First look: iOS 7 for iPad
No, Apple hasn't released it yet, but that doesn't stop intrepid devs
 breaking news
Curtain drops on Apple Store ahead of WWDC: What lies behind?
Steve Jobs watching from on high. No pressure, lads
 breaking news
Cold, dead hands of Steve Jobs slip from iPhones: The Cult of Ive is upon us
Billionaire biz baron's death clears way for uber-shiny iOS 7
Airbus imagines suitcases that find themselves
Point your mobe at your smalls to track their every move
Surprise! Intel smartphone trounces ARM in power trials
Tests show equal performance while sipping significantly less juice
Samsung plans LTE Advanced version of Galaxy S4
1Gbps download capability could stiffen drooping S4 sales forecasts
Apple said to be 'exploring' 5.7-inch iPhone
Who's the copycat this time, Mr. Cook?
Google Chromebooks now in over 6,600 stores
Major, worldwide retail push begins this summer