AMD Expects DirectX 11 and Windows 7 in 2009, More in Store

[btarunr]

AMD conducted a presentation at CEATEC Japan, where the company took a sneak-peak at how the role of GPUs would become critical to the PC of tomorrow. This of course revolved around the company's newly adopted "The Future is Fusion" slogan, integrating all of AMD's technological expertise into object and function oriented solutions for the PC industry.

Among the numerous slides that formed part of the presentation, one such slide, shows some very interesting points on what the year 2009 looks like, from AMD's perspective. It shows a lot of things slated for much later to make it to the industry. To begin with, the DirectX 11 API and Windows 7 (Vienna) operating system could make it to the industry in 2009. However, there's no mention of them being "released" as such, or if they could just be working prototypes, such as alpha releases for use by select parts of the industry for mutual technology development.



For AMD to be ready with compatible hardware as and when the software hits the store, it needs the software way before-hand, so its hardware could be tailored to the software. The second most interesting bit is about OpenCL, and its propagation. OpenCL is a high-performance computing (HPC) API that finds competition in NVIDIA's proprietary CUDA. The API could be "open" for use by all players in the industry, and it could as well drive AMD's Stream Computing initiative. This also forms base for GPGPU applications that would well be compatible with AMD and any other HPC hardware vendor that chooses to implement it. The company also hints at the implementation of the 40nm silicon fabrication process for its upcoming graphics processors.

GDDR5 memory technology could propagate, and there are already indications of NVIDIA implementing this technology in its upcoming products. Also in line, are HD+ video standards, that take the HD video display resolution beyond the 1080i, multi-touch technologies that are human interface screens which are sensitive to touch at multiple points (zoomed into an image on an iPhone?).

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Fitseries3]

Windows 7 beta 1 is supposed to be out this month. nice to see a cuda equivalent on the way for ATI.

 

[wolf2009]

nice , always wondered what was beyond HD

 

[sttubs]

Figures, just got 64bit Vista Ultimate on all my pc's.

 

[Atnevon]

I wonder how well this could tie into other development software. I remember the announcement how NVIDIA has their GPU assist in the Adobe CS4 suite, but outside of that, I wonder how well this new outlook could affect graphic hardware, software, and development in the future. The Open Source would make this a much more powerful reality.

 

[phanbuey]

I wonder how well this could tie into other development software. I remember the announcement how NVIDIA has their GPU assist in the Adobe CS4 suite, but outside of that, I wonder how well this new outlook could affect graphic hardware, software, and development in the future. The Open Source would make this a much more powerful reality.

True... Cuda is free but not open source... and with the announcement of Open CL i wonder what intel is doing right about now. I think alot of people saw this coming when AMD acquired ATI.

 

[btarunr]

True... Cuda is free but not open source... and with the announcement of Open CL i wonder what intel is doing right about now. I think alot of people saw this coming when AMD acquired ATI.

I don't know a lot about OpenCL, but the "Open" bit in OpenGL and OpenAL don't refer to "open-source". Open = any authorised provider can release his version of the API with a few additions / subtractions. For example, the extension GL_NV_distancefog is a NVIDIA addition to the OpenGL it gave its customers, that is exclusive to it (at least when it came out), vendor-specific API extensions came along with vendor-'neutral' ones, usually with the "ARB" (architecture review board) title. Just for the know.

 

[substance90]

What do I need a new DX API for?! Have you seen Crysis Warhead in DX9 mode? Beats everything released in DX10 so far, except crysis itself ofcourse.

 

[mdm-adph]

Windows 7 beta 1 is supposed to be out this month. nice to see a cuda equivalent on the way for ATI.

Hasn't ATI always had some sort of GPGPU processing? Isn't that what the ATI Folding@Home client is? (It's been out for years, I'm pretty sure.)

I remember the announcement how NVIDIA has their GPU assist in the Adobe CS4 suite...

It's not just Nvidia cards -- it's any OpenGL-enabled card: http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects/opengl.html

 

[Baum]

Is directX 11 an addition to dx10.1? or does it mean i need a new gpu?
the day's around dx 9.0c where nice

 

[Kreij]

Figures, just got 64bit Vista Ultimate on all my pc's.

Not to worry, you probably will want to wait for Windows 7 SP1 before upgrading.

 

[H82LUZ73]

could have sworn DX11was also coming to XP.....

 

[phanbuey]

I don't know a lot about OpenCL, but the "Open" bit in OpenGL and OpenAL don't refer to "open-source". Open = any authorised provider can release his version of the API with a few additions / subtractions. For example, the extension GL_NV_distancefog is a NVIDIA addition to the OpenGL it gave its customers, that is exclusive to it (at least when it came out), vendor-specific API extensions came along with vendor-'neutral' ones, usually with the "ARB" (architecture review board) title. Just for the know.

ahh thanks for clearing that up.

 

[rampage]

im more excited about the move to 40nm and "digital walls"... i want one

 

[OnBoard]

Is directX 11 an addition to dx10.1? or does it mean i need a new gpu?
the day's around dx 9.0c where nice

New GPU. But every DX11 game will support DX10 too, so no worries. The whole backwards compability should come again now that DX9(+DX8/DX7) will get ditched away.

 

[rampage]

one other thing that comes to mind is that games are only just starting to come out in DX10 and quite often only in a patch wich offer a few more pices of eye candy here and there, so when DX11 come out i can only see this as being the same thing over again and developers either just skipping over dx 10 or just not worrying about dx 11 for a while (i dont see them just droping dx9 too many people would crack the shits) pluss who wants to have to support dx 9,10 and 11 cards when coding games.. and have one group of people (dx 9/10/11 card owners) winging and bitching that the game isnt coded right to support the hardware and all that crap

hardware is out running software way to fast these days, i think the software needs time to catch up, just think about it everytime new games are released there is already a new OS or a new DX generation being released wich will render the game nearly obsolete or they rush in some new quick fixes and release a bugy piece of software

 

[PCpraiser100]

I hope Windows 7s makes better use with ATI's AFR-Rendering, they were mostly focussed on that when Vista first came out, bit of a shame that nothing really happened after that. As for DX11, I had a strong feeling that ATI was mostly committed in the development of Windows 7 and DX11 compatible cards, which explains why ATi only releases cards if they are expected to or to compete with Nvidia's budget line.

BTW, I seriously think that Nvidia is referencing ATI as a test subject when they upgrade to new memory technologies. Now they are being hypocrites saying that GDDR3 still has a lot of life in it. Look what happened.

 

[Mussels]

one of the features of DX11 you should all wet your pants about, is they're splitting the rendering over multiple CPU threads now. It helps alleviate the problem of game designers getting stumped on how to render for multi core CPU's.

 

[Triprift]

Not to worry, you probably will want to wait for Windows 7 SP1 before upgrading.

Exactly im sure Windows 7 we be like every other ms os and only come good after at least 1 sp.

 

[laszlo]

New GPU. But every DX11 game will support DX10 too, so no worries. The whole backwards compability should come again now that DX9(+DX8/DX7) will get ditched away.

i don't think dx9 will be gone so soon... only a small % of today's pc are dx10 fully (hard &
os )

 

[H82LUZ73]

I just thought of this Windows 7 uhm you mean Service Pack 7 ?

 

[OnBoard]

i don't think dx9 will be gone so soon... only a small % of today's pc are dx10 fully (hard &
os )

Yes that's true, but once Windows 7 comes out there will be more people on Vista already and some people will go from XP to 7. Windows 7 should bring Vista's price down more and make it yet again easier to update. Hardware isn't the problem anymore, you almost get free DX10 cards when you buy a mouse pad

DX9 will hang in there with more budget games, as we've yet to see a DX10 only game. Will take a while to see a DX10/DX11 only game too. We'd just need a DX10 game(s) that is FASTER than DX9 mode like it was supposed to be and people would transition more happily.

 

[Hayder_Master]

i think windows 7 will be more efficient than vista , maybe like xp when release , so this is good support for ati with dx11 , amd foregoing the happening that's cool

 

[AMDCam]

I've been holding my breath for too long for this to happen. I mean my top computer is still a 7950gtx+ Core 2 T7200. Not TOO bad, but now double the power is out for an affordable price I really should be upgrading. The only thing stopping it is software. DX10 was never something big, and it was Vista-only which crippled it anyway, so I've been waiting for 10.1 hardware, but now that Nvidia doesn't want to support it and it's just incrimental, DX11 (and as a bonus maybe an operating system that performed well too). But I'm sitting with a DX9.0C card still running pipelines instead of USA, dying for an upgrade but I know as soon as I do Windows 7/DX11/OpenGL5.0 will be out and I'll have to drop another couple thousand in a laptop. But this is more of a problem for laptop-reliant owners though I guess, seeing as how it'll be a couple thousand dollar upgrade compared to a couple hundred with a desktop owner for compatibility in the future (even with MXM).

So people like me are waiting a full 3 generations (4 if you count Nvidia's pointless and unworthy naming scheme of the desktop 9xxx series) for new hardware, 2 new DirectX versions, and even 2 OPERATING SYSTEMS because Microsoft can't get it's act together and hardware companies have to wait for standards to be set to claim compatibility...so I can't buy the new hardware and WAIT for the software, everything's just stuck. So stupid

 

[Mussels]

AMDcam - microsoft OS's originally came out every 2-3 years. 95,98, me/2000, XP (2002), XP MCE, XP64...

MS has *always*constantly had new OS's coming, and each version gets capped at what drivers and what directX they support. its nothing new. XP just had a really long run.