Graphics Archives | DirectX Developer Blog

Demystifying Fullscreen Optimizations

Hannah FisherDecember 17, 2019Dec 17, 201912/17/19

We wrote this article to explain the difference between Fullscreen Exclusive and Fullscreen Optimizations. This article goes details the roll out and the benefits that come with Fullscreen Optimizations.

Direct3D team office has a Wall of GPU History

Shawn HargreavesJanuary 7, 2019Jan 7, 201901/7/19

When you are the team behind something like Direct3D, you need many different graphics cards to test on. And when you’ve been doing this for as long as we have, you’ll inevitably accumulate a LOT of cards left over from years gone by. What to do with them all? One option would be to store boxes in someone’s office: But

DirectX Raytracing and the Windows 10 October 2018 Update

Jacques van RhynOctober 2, 2018Oct 2, 201810/2/18

DirectX Raytracing and the Windows 10 October 2018 Update The wait is finally over: we’re taking DirectX Raytracing (DXR) out of experimental mode! Today, once you update to the next release of Windows 10, DirectX Raytracing will work out-of-box on supported hardware. And speaking of hardware, the first generation of graphics cards with na

Announcing Microsoft DirectX Raytracing!

D3D TeamMarch 19, 2018Mar 19, 201803/19/18

If you just want to see what DirectX Raytracing can do for gaming, check out the videos from Epic, Futuremark and EA, SEED. To learn about the magic behind the curtain, keep reading. 3D Graphics is a Lie For the last thirty years, almost all games have used the same general technique—rasterization—to render images on screen. While the

Announcing new DirectX 12 features

Jacques van RhynNovember 7, 2017Nov 7, 201711/7/17

Announcing new DirectX 12 features We’ve come a long way since we launched DirectX 12 with Windows 10 on July 29, 2015. Since then, we’ve heard every bit of feedback and improved the API to enhance stability and offer more versatility. Today, developers using DirectX 12 can build games that have better graphics, run faster and that are mor

GPU plugins, improved SDK layers, and hang debugging: Bringing DirectX 12 tools to the next level

D3D TeamMarch 1, 2017Mar 1, 201703/1/17

If you are a Windows game developer using DirectX 12, you know that great tools are essential for getting the most out of the graphics hardware. In the past few months, we’ve been making rapid progress on delivering the tools you’ve requested. At the Game Developers Conference today, we demoed new features for both PIX, our premier tool fo

DX12 performance tuning and debugging – PIX on Windows (beta) released!

D3D TeamJanuary 17, 2017Jan 17, 201701/17/17

Continued commitment to gaming on Windows 10 With Windows 10, we promised to build an OS designed for PC gaming, with DirectX 12 as one of the cornerstones of the Windows 10 gaming experience. In the 18 months since our release, DirectX 12 has seen very rapid adoption, with nearly 20 AAA games now available with DirectX 12 support. Much of th

Rise of the Tomb Raider, Explicit DirectX 12 MultiGPU, and a peek into the future

Andrew Yeung - MSFTJuly 8, 2016Jul 8, 201607/8/16

Rise of the Tomb Raider is the first title to implement explicit MultiGPU (mGPU) on CrossFire/SLI systems using the DX12 API. It works on both Win32 and UWP. Using the low level DX12 API, Rise of the Tomb Raider was able to achieve extremely good CPU efficiency and in doing so, extract more GPU power in a mGPU system than was possible befo

GRFX at //build 2015: What will you build?

D3D TeamMay 5, 2015May 5, 201505/5/15

Hi all! Wow, we've had a busy year for the graphics teams here at Microsoft. In addition to busily building the graphics features and upgrades you’ll get your hands on with Windows 10, we've been out and about. We've run into you at standout events like GDC, XFest, and, most recently, //build.Read on for a high-level recap of the

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