AMD shows off world's first DirectX 11 GPU
By Darren Murph 
posted June 3rd 2009 12:00AM
posted June 3rd 2009 12:00AM
AMD Demonstrates World's First Microsoft DirectX® 11 Graphics Processor
− AMD previews significant improvements to the digital media and gaming experience, commits to bring DirectX 11 to market first −
COMPUTEX 2009, Taipei - June 3, 2009 - At a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan today, AMD (NYSE: AMD) publicly demonstrated the world's first Microsoft DirectX® 11 graphics processor. The series of demonstrations shed new light on the significantly improved computing experience set to debut at the end of 2009.1 The fusion of AMD's new ground-breaking graphics processors with the forthcoming DirectX 11 programming interface is set to forever change both applications and PC gaming for the better. To illustrate, AMD showed numerous examples of faster application performance and new game features using the world's first true DirectX 11 graphics processor.
· Get ready for a revolution: Games and other applications are about to get a lot better as a result of AMD's new graphics hardware and DirectX 11. DirectX 11 features such as tessellation will bring consumers higher quality, superior performing games making use of 6th generation AMD technology. Another DirectX 11 feature, the compute shader, will enable AMD's DirectX 11 graphics cards to help make Windows 7 run faster in a wide number of applications and in a manner that's completely transparent to users, for example, in seamlessly accelerating the conversion of video for playback on portable media players through a drag-and-drop interface.2
· DirectX 11 done right on AMD: The development of DirectX 11 has been broadly influenced by AMD graphics technology. Each new version of DirectX builds on the versions that came before it, and many of the capabilities of DirectX 11 were pioneered on AMD GPUs, including DirectX 10.1, tessellation, compute shaders, Fetch4, custom filter anti-aliasing and high-definition ambient occlusion shading.
· Bringing consumers DirectX 11 sooner: The preview of the world's first DirectX 11 graphics processor at Computex 2009 validates AMD's commitment to delivering leading technologies to market before anyone else, and to continuing to foster innovation in computing.
· Fueling developer demand: It's not just consumers who are excited about the prospects of DirectX 11, game developers are also incredibly enthusiastic about taking advantage of new DirectX 11 hardware to bring even better games to market, in large part due to AMD's readiness to meet their DirectX 11 needs. Many developers have indicated their commitment to building DirectX 11 games initially on AMD's DirectX 11 hardware, delivering superior performance and compatibility.
"AMD has a long track record of delivering pioneering features that have gone on to become mainstays in the DirectX experience, and we're doing it again with two mature, AMD-developed technologies in DirectX 11 – tessellation and the compute shader – both of which enable a better DirectX 11 experience for consumers," said Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President, AMD Products Group. "Today, we're previewing AMD's DirectX 11 graphics processor to build enthusiasm for this key technology so developers will have games available at launch and shortly thereafter. With the benefits it delivers to gaming, applications and Windows 7, developers are lining up to get their hands on our hardware, and we're confident that consumers will too."
Go go AMD
I keep forgetting that AMD =+ ATI
i thought amd bought ati
nvm, thought u put a !=
AMD presentation and analysis here: http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=724
YAY 5000 SERIES!!! FINALLY!!!
P.S. Please rename the 5000 series to something cooler. Thanks
the 5000 series is now rebranded as the awesome x1 series.
5850 will now be: Awesome x0.8
5870 will now be: Awesome x1
5870x2 will be the: Awesome x2.
See how much easier are those names?
Is that a direction field? Will the new generation of realia-modeling equipment have support for other physical events such as wind and water current? I'd like to see an outdoor game in which the gusty wind over a harbour near the mountains actually interferes with my weapon's accuracy and maybe even my character's movement... let's start pursuing the subtler parts of reality now...
But Blaine, what will you name the 6000 Series?
WOOOOF!
Awesome. DX11 cards.
Now if someone can name more than 10 games that support DX10 I'll really be impressed. I'll start off:
Crysis
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
World in Conflict
Um...Age of Conan has a Beta client now
....
Forget supported DX 10, name one game that was actually built from the ground up for DX10.
What exactly dose DX11 do so much better then DX10 that it even warrants an update anyway?
Kamokazi has a point im still useing my 9800gt because theres no games out there right now that its crippled by. i mean even crysis plays 30fps. could some one make a game that uses directx10 to full potential before we start talking DX11 cards.otherwise whats the point of buying the new gen cards there just going to be obsolete before any games come out to push them.
BioShock. Albeit only the water.
I'll just leave this here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_DirectX_10_support
DX10 was just as ill conceived as Vista.
DX11 is supposed to fix what DX10 should have been, much like how Windows 7 is supposed to fix what Vista should have been.
Personally, I see no reason to "develop for DX10 first". It really sucks and there's a reason why no games only use it (besides Vista only crap). I can understand frustrations with having to buy new cards but really it'll be 2 years before that happens and by then if we don't need new cards (meaning Nvidia 8 series isn't good enough anymore) well, PC gaming is pretty much dead.
Remember the switch to DX9? It took a little bit to get going but the rest is history. Hopefully DX11 will be such an upgrade as DX9 was over 7/8
Wow, you're ignorant. This is really important: DX11's compute shader technology allows for on-GPU calculations, which significantly accelerate computations due to the massively parallel nature of graphics cards, not only that but there are a host of games that support DX10, and a bunch that support DX10.1.
Not only that, but nVidia doesn't even support DX10.1 features, and they're likely just going to skip to DX11 (late, of course).
Oh, for reference, here's a list of DX10 games:
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, Alliance of Valiant Arms, Assassin's Creed, BattleForge, BioShock, Call of Juarez, Company of Heroes, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor, Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason, Crysis, Crysis Warhead, Devil May Cry 4, Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach, Far Cry 2, Flight Simulator X, Flight Simulator X: Acceleration, Gears of War, Hellgate: London, Lord Of The Rings Online: Shadows Of Angmar, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Prince of Persia, PT Boats: Knights of the Sea, Rise of the Argonauts, Shadowrun, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, Stormrise, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., Universe at War: Earth Assault, World in Conflict, World in Conflict: Soviet Assault.
Not to mention the up-coming DX10 games:
Alan Wake, Arcania: A Gothic Tale, Chrome 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Duke Nukem Forever (vaporware? lol), Guild Wars 2, Mafia II, Shattered Horizon, Stargate Worlds, THEY, and Warhound
So, how important is the graphics framework Windows is built on? I'd say a smidgen. Now, I like OpenGL, but it's CLEAR that DirectX is integral to game development for MANY studios.
Oh, and I almost forgot: AMD provides the GPUs for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, which runs on DirectX. So, it's kind of important that they're ahead of schedule.
@Andrew
No, I'm not ignorant. The list of games you presented is pathetic in the grand scheme of things (Listing expansions(even standalone) to make the list longer is kinda funny). DX10 has had the slowest adoption rate of any DX version ever (MS is partially to blame here, tying it to Vista). Even with DX11's great features, games will still be crippled due to backwards compatibility needs, and only a few standouts will really cater to the crowd that likes to have the latest hardware, because we are in the minority (Yes, I'm one of those idiots who buys high-end GPUs near launch..my GTX 280 will be a year old this month). About the only thing you said that made any sense was the fact ATI needs to be DX11 ready for the next Xbox. Also, you seem to have inferred I don't think DirectX is important. That's not the case at all.
My overall point being ATI waving around their shiny DX11 chips is pretty moot, because by the time it matters, nVidia will have them too. Supporting the next version of DirectX should not really be a bragging point of a card. They're just using it to distract the press from realizing they have been behind nVidia by a significant margin in single GPU vs single GPU for 3 generations now. Sure, they have great value cards, which is kind of like their CPUs having good value vs Intel (I love building cheap AMD 64 X2 machines), but the Phenom is almost a joke compared to anything based on Conroe without a gimped cache.
You can call me a fanboy if you want, but really I'm just kinda pissed AMD/ATI had failed to be competitive, and therefore allowing Intel and nVidia to get lazy and greedy. (Overpriced X58 as the only chipset for Core i7's? F**k you Intel). I build plenty of PCs for others, and often use AMD and ATI products because they are good price/performance...but on the high end, rarely are they competitive when you look at real world benchmarks.
Okay, that was much longer than intended. Oh well.
What's so special about the compute shader? We've been able to do GPGPU for a long time without it and there are better options for that sort of thing which are cross platform like OpenCL. It should also be pointed out that while a decent number of games have "DX10 support" I haven't seen one yet that is actually notably improved by running it in DX10 mode. Usually it's a small difference that is completely unseen. I've personally seen no real world benefit to DX10 - yet.
I'm honestly curious - what real benefit will DX11 bring besides redundant tech and tessellation?
Wow. What a passionate bunch of gamers.
One question though... what happens when graphics technology gets so good that it looks like real life? Where can it go from there?
I mean... we had printers that evolved over time. Once printers could print realistic photographs... they kinda reached their limit.
Gears of War for the PC was Direct x 10.
@Michael
Hard to say, but it will be awesome.
I would guess AI will be a big one. Pysics, of course, level of interactivity with objects in the game world. Also the scope of the game. I can't wait for the day that games like Oblivion and Fallout are considered limited :-) For that there will need to be some really good procedural content engines (automatically generated). There are a lot of simplistic ones in place, but they can go so much further.
And as far as printers, we're just cracking the surface of 3D printers :-) Once you hit the limit on one dimension, you open up a new one. Games will do the same thing.
@Andrew, you had a good start, but when you said that Nvidia doesn't support DX10.1 and then start complaining I stop reading.
Everything afford in DX10.1 Nvidia GPU card with DX10 can do it just as good, even better. So putting DX10.1 would be a downgrade.
Also DX10.1 feature aims at CAD... nothing about it is remotely linked to gaming.
Nvidia will adopt DX11 with the GTX 300 card, that is for sure. Nvidia is also not in a hurry, as currently less people use Win7 RC than Vista. And that it will take months before Win7 comes to Vista level in market share, and it give them an opportunity to see what AMD has in store and decide to skip a GPU to another already made, or release the current one and release the better one after. (YES, all hardware companies have plan B and C already ready for launch when they are about to release something. So when you get the top most video card, they is another one or otherS from the same company that are better waiting to be released when sells go down.
@Kamokazi
Nvida has NOT dominated within the last 3 generations. ATi/AMD made ground with their 3XXX series, and has captured HUGE amounts of market share with their 4850/4870 lines, garnering much attention from enthusiasts and mainstream alike. The 4870 1GB and the 4890 outperforms similarly priced Nvidia offerings by a significant margin. Just look around for reviews. ATi's Crossfire technology is also significantly more effective then Nvidia's SLi which runs through an obsolete Nvidia chipset.Two 4890s in Crossfire would be quite a bit quicker then two GTX 275s in SLi.
The fact of the matter is; AMD/ATi has a better long term road map in place, meanwhile Jen Hsun is just lighting fires left and right. AMD will soon eclipse Nvidia in the coming generation of GPUs, as they are ready to move into a new architecture (R800 specs have been closed, suggested to have 3-4gb of DDR5 ram) meanwhile the Nvidia architecture has remained largely the same for the last 2+ years. DirectX 11 is the future, it can only be in AMD's favour if Nvidia shows up late to the party, no strides/money was made in resting on one's laurels, especially in a fast paced market like the GPU market. Look at the Domestic auto makers, they rested on their laurels through the 80's-90's and gave themselves a bad rep, and now they are reaping what they sow.
I have to agree with kam on this. I love the heck out of my 4890 HD, but this thing just sounds like a big bag of "look look, we haz teh elevenz first!!" All that crap the anal guy above was going off about, parallel processesing etc, that's all software and drivers, which the current gen should be able to take advantage of in a world that wasn't dominated by artificially shortened upgrade paths. Where is the monumental leap in hardware that gives you the real edge AMD? I'm glad to see you first at something, but I'd rather it be something that mattered, instead of this paper trophy you've proudly presented to the world, like it means something outside the R and D labs.
If someone names 10 games that run on OS X... THEN I'll be impressed.
@Michael
They can make them smaller and cheaper.
"What exactly dose DX11 do so much better then DX10 that it even warrants an update anyway?"
It will REQUIRE Windows 7 of course! ...This will be because some older piece of software just wouldn't be able to handle the extra speed. Yeah, that's it.
@blah
I already said ATI can be competitive in price vs performance. I'm not talking about value, I'm talking about raw power.
What I have stated, is when you compare top-end single GPU cards versus eachother, the past three generations (ATI 2xxx and nVidia 8xxxx through current), ATI has not been able to make a GPU that can put out real-world benchmarks that compare. Look at the GTX 285 vs the 4890...on average, you're looking at a 10-20% performance gap:
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-2009/compare,1200.html?prod%5B2458%5D=on&prod%5B2488%5D=on&prod%5B2478%5D=on
Yes, the 285 is significantly more expensive...by about 40%. And the reason it is more expensive is because ATI does not have an even competitor, so nVidia can set whatever price they want. That is what annoys me most. (However, prices are currently half what the GTX 280 was at launch) This was not always the case, however. It used to be ATI and nVidia's top cards were neck and neck in most cases, one coming out slightly ahead in one game, and the other in a different one.
@Michael Scrip
"what happens when graphics technology gets so good that it looks like real life? "
Graphics technology has always looked as good as real life. Sometimes even better. On a few occasions, it was even beyond 3D!
http://i43.tinypic.com/2co37t1.jpg
...that fad has faded though, apparently.
@ Andrew and Kamokazi - Exactly, once they have realistic 2D games, they will start pushing 3d. I'd assume the first thing they'd tackle with that is to get true 3D screens (no glasses) produced. Once they have THAT down... well I'm just waiting to see how long it will be before I am 'jacking in' to me games (Matrix style).
It seems that DX11 will be more of a broad non-gaming api. Allowing the gpu to be used in regular applications. Think of it as Microsoft's answer to openCL. (In a paradox that surprisingly did not result in the destruction of the universe, Microsoft is going more proprietary than Apple's openCL)
DirectX 11 isn't exactly being hidden away. It's running in Windows 7 right now. You make it sound like nobody knows about it.
yup...just run "dxdiag" in win7 - there it is....DirectX 11
It is hidden away, in the sense that it's proprietary and one of the tools that Microsoft employs to keep people within its ecosystem. They've pumped untold sums of money into in trying (very effectively) to kill off open and far more elegant solutions (OpenGL) which work on all operating systems and platforms.
So, what are they going to call it? HD 5850/70?
or they can follow nVIDIA's confusing naming and called it the GTA360
NVIDIA's new naming scheme is meant to be simpler.
@JohnTitor
GTA360 . . GTA IV Xbox 360? subtle advertising or what, how much are microsoft/rockstar paying you? :P
Has nVidia even added 10.1 support yet?
11!
I still haven't played a single DX10 game that looks different enough from the DX9 version to warrant the slowdown (undoubtedly due to incomplete/poorly implemented DX10 programming).
I am all for new features (especially nerdy GPU ones) but DX10 has gotta be the slowest adoption for fancy new graphics technologies I've seen yet.
It's partially true but in order for you to see any difference you need to crank up the details. I don't know what hardware you're using but a lot of people simply cannot do that. As far as adding support for a standard ... hum that means absolutely nothing. It's the performance that counts and AMD is comparing their new hardware with geforce 9500 which is old and slow. I really hope that was an oversight.
Too bad AMD likes boys.
I can has linux drivers?
considering your name is sales and your post makes no sense, i think ill just not click your links
I don't know. I see this + Natal working very well together (with another rehash of Xbox) for "next-gen" gaming (pardon the cliche). Seeing as 360 uses ATI cards, maybe it's only fitting that Natal and DX11 are announced right about now. Call me a fanboy or whatever you want, but I'm excited for the future of gaming.
You are a FANBOY! Natal is an interesting concept although I'm not so sure that MS can pull it off but the important point here is that the new hardware announced by AMD has nothing to do with xbox. The 360 is not getting upgrades any time soon so you are stuck with the same old hardware for at least 2 years. Plus games on the 360 look great and the addition of some bs new standard and is not going to do anything for them.
Is it just me or did they say Direct X11 waaay too much? Every sentence seemed to say it. Seriously, it's in there, like, 10 times too many.
AM I THE ONLY ONE WORRIED ABOUT THIS???!!!
Agreed I just skimmed the article it is in there alot.