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DirectX 12 will be exclusive to Windows 10

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DirectX 12 exclsuive to Windows 10

Last night was a knockout for Microsoft. For a press conference with just the Windows 10 tagline, there was certainly a lot more on show than their brand new operating system. For example, DirectX 12, which will boost gaming on all Windows devices through software alone. But only if you have Windows 10 first.

DirectX 12, which will power most future games on PC and Xbox One, will be exclusive to the Windows 10 platform. Anyone running older versions of Windows will not be able to make use of the framework, regardless of whether hardware supports it. This is somewhat softened by Microsoft’s decision to give away Windows 10 for free for a whole year.

As well as requiring Windows 10, DirectX 12 will also need new hardware. Many new graphics cards have already shipped with support for the framework, but it seems that previous reports of DirectX 11 cards also getting some support were false. It’s still a long way away from being an absolute must yet, but it’s still something to consider when upgrading.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer showed off the power of DirectX 12 yesterday with a Futuremark demo, which came to a halt on older DirectX 11 software and continued smoothly on 12. DirectX 12 is said to increase CPU performance by up to 50% in some cases, making it a significant upgrade to games on PC and Xbox One.

Last Updated: January 22, 2015

61 Comments

  1. SSD, SkylakeBroadwell, Windows 10 and next best GPU, gonna be a epic year:-D

    Reply

  2. ToshZA

    January 22, 2015 at 09:34

    So which cards are DX12 capable then? I am planning on upgrading, and since Windows 10 is a free upgrade I will be picking it up when it’s launched.

    Reply

  3. Captain JJ Saga

    January 22, 2015 at 09:34

    Microsoft: Promoting Piracy

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      January 22, 2015 at 09:35

      Wait, what? They give their OS for free to anyone with Windows 7 or 8, legit, and somehow they promote piracy?

      Reply

      • Captain JJ Saga

        January 22, 2015 at 09:36

        *for a year

        Reply

        • ToshZA

          January 22, 2015 at 09:37

          Yeah, so you can try it out. If you like it, you buy it. Most people who own original windows software will anyway, but this delays it by a year and allows you to make the choice on whether or not you want to upgrade, without pirating a copy.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 22, 2015 at 09:39

            All I’m getting at really is that most people are still on Win7 and now there’s already Win10 coming. Whether they give that free year or not, people will pirate. Not everyone can afford to change OS so often.

          • ToshZA

            January 22, 2015 at 09:41

            I bought Win 7 3 years ago, and even then it was a couple years into its lifespan. I don’t think it’s really that bad. It’s the price of 2 CoD games. And people are eager to spend that every year. So, one OS upgrade in 5 years, or 5 CoD games. Hmmm.

            #GamerLogic

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 22, 2015 at 09:42

            But people who actually bought 8 and now within a year or so have to buy 10 again. It’s crazy.
            I’ll probably buy 10, since I’m still on 7, so for me it’s not much of an outlay.
            But that’s only until Steam gets most of their games to run on Linux, then it’s goodbye Windows.

          • Milesh Bhana

            January 22, 2015 at 12:59

            actually piracy is less prevalent for OSs because approx 90% of computers these days are laptops, and most will include an OEM Windows 8.1 in the cost.

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 22, 2015 at 09:44

            When you speak in Call Of Duty terms it makes Windows sound cheap. Hehe. Then again, I’ve only ever owned one COD.

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            January 22, 2015 at 09:47

            My sister worked with someone who’s hubby worked for MS, got it for R150. 😀

          • ToshZA

            January 22, 2015 at 09:54

            LOL. Nice one 😀

          • Admiral Chief

            January 22, 2015 at 09:57

            Lucky, picked mine up for R900

        • Ghost In The Rift

          January 22, 2015 at 09:38

          LOL the question is how many gamers got a legit version of windows 7/8, upgrading is not gonna work lol

          Reply

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 22, 2015 at 09:39

            That too. Haha

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            January 22, 2015 at 09:46

            I dooooooooooooo. Free Win upgrade for me.

          • ToshZA

            January 22, 2015 at 09:54

            Me too 😀

          • Kensei Seraph

            January 22, 2015 at 09:57

            I wonder which is cheaper, getting Win 7, Win 8 or Win 10?

          • Admiral Chief

            January 22, 2015 at 10:19

            8 is cheaper than 7 when last I checked

        • Alessandro Barbosa

          January 22, 2015 at 09:45

          No, it’s available to pick up for free for a year. So if you grab it, it’ll be yours for good, forever.

          Reply

          • Kensei Seraph

            January 22, 2015 at 09:47

            Interesting.

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 22, 2015 at 09:48

            Oh wow, that’s changes things.

          • Hammersteyn

            January 22, 2015 at 09:51

            That’s very strange…… where’s the catch?

          • Brady miaau

            January 22, 2015 at 09:52

            Seems to be none. Perhaps they will drop Win 7 /8 support faster than they dropped Win Xp Support

          • Hammersteyn

            January 22, 2015 at 09:53

            Which. pardon my cynicism, is strange

          • Brady miaau

            January 22, 2015 at 10:14

            Well, from a business perspective I think I sort of get it. Give away the glasses, but control the access to the milk. I.e. Shared online store for Xbox, tablet, PC, phone

            I think they are trying an itunes.com attack here. And I suspect it may work, may not topple itunes.com or google play but be strong enough to make this more than worthwhile.

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 22, 2015 at 10:32

            Their end user profits don’t come from the general public, it comes from contracts with companies who pre-install windows to their products. So I can see how this can work.

            iTunes is the buggiest thing I have on my pc, but it’s actually nice to use, so yea. I use it.

          • ToshZA

            January 22, 2015 at 11:15

            The only reason I have iTunes installed is for my iPad. Otherwise I keep away from that shit.

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 22, 2015 at 09:52

            This is Microsoft, not Apple. That’s why.

          • Jaded_Reprobate

            January 22, 2015 at 09:52

            it’s a Microsoft product…. how many more catches do you need?

          • Alessandro Barbosa

            January 22, 2015 at 09:52

            They’ve changed their business model to a more service based one. So there’s no reason to charge for OS adoption.

            Apple has been doing the same for years now. All of their operating systems are free.

          • Ir0nseraph

            January 22, 2015 at 09:53

            The conspiracy is only in your mind this time Hammer.
            Raid night tonight hey don’t forget.

          • Hammersteyn

            January 22, 2015 at 09:53

            Already replied 😀

          • Matthew Holliday

            January 22, 2015 at 10:15

            microtransactions:
            all programs and games are payable DLC using Windows 10 as DRM.

            Ryanza is coming.

        • Vulcha

          January 22, 2015 at 12:12

          Nope. If you upgrade within that year, it’s free forever.

          Reply

  4. Blood Emperor Trevor

    January 22, 2015 at 09:39

    Okay AMD, tell us about the 300 series now already.

    Reply

    • HairyEwok

      January 22, 2015 at 09:55

      The R3 380X is coming out in July. Instead of GDDR5 it’ll sport DRAM. In other words this thing will have alot of woema. More woema than what zuma can steal money.

      Reply

  5. RinceThis

    January 22, 2015 at 09:44

    “give away Windows 10 for free for a whole year” *Beta tester for a year.

    Reply

    • Ir0nseraph

      January 22, 2015 at 09:49

      You can actually join the beta testing currently if you like.
      So I hope it would be a pretty stable launch.

      Reply

    • Brady miaau

      January 22, 2015 at 09:49

      Yes and no. I bought Windows 8 upgrade when they had it super cheap for the first year, both for work and home. I installed over a year later, but the point is I “upgraded” almost at once

      Reply

    • Blood Emperor Trevor

      January 22, 2015 at 09:51

      Oh you.

      Reply

  6. Kensei Seraph

    January 22, 2015 at 09:47

    It has an even number so I’m a bit suspicious of how stable it will be and how long it will take to become stable.

    Reply

  7. Pieter Kruger

    January 22, 2015 at 10:27

    Again…..

    Reply

  8. DrKiller

    January 22, 2015 at 11:04

    Interested to see how this changes the whole Xbone vs PS4 thing

    Reply

  9. Maxiviper117

    January 22, 2015 at 12:41

  10. Galbedir

    January 22, 2015 at 13:19

    Meh, always great when you buy a new gfx card, only to hear 2 months later that your purchase was pointless for the future.

    Reply

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