PIX on Windows

Performance tuning and debugging for DirectX 12 games on Windows

Converting previous versions of Timing Captures

April 29, 2021 Apr 29, 2021 04/29/21
Steven Pratschner
In some releases of PIX, the Timing Capture file format must be changed as new features are added. Such a format change was made in the 2104.20 release of PIX on Windows. If you attempt to open a capture that contains an older file format, a dialog will be displayed with the following text: Please use the Convert menu to migrate this ...

Usability improvements to the Timing Capture Metrics View

April 22, 2021 Apr 22, 2021 04/22/21
Steven Pratschner
The 2104.20 release of PIX on Windows includes several usability improvements to the Metrics View in Timing Captures.  These usability improvements make it easier to manage the set of metrics that are currently graphed.  Metrics analysis is also improved through the ability to customize the minimum and maximum values for the y-axis for each...

New CPU Sampling Profiler C++ Source Code View

April 22, 2021 Apr 22, 2021 04/22/21
Steven Pratschner
Starting with the 2104.20 release of PIX on Windows, the Sampling Profiler that is built into Timing Captures includes a C++ source code view. The source view uses coloring to attribute the collected CPU samples with source lines, thereby identifying the hot spots within a function. The source view is available when viewing Sampled ...

PIX Timing Captures require full PDBs

February 26, 2021 Feb 26, 2021 02/26/21
Steven Pratschner
PIX Timing Captures require a title’s PDBs to be generated using the /DEBUG:FULL linker switch. PDBs generated with the /DEBUG:FASTLINK linker switch are not sufficient. Note that, depending on the version of Visual Studio you are using, the linker switch /DEBUG specified without the FULL or FASTLINK option, may default to FASTLINK...

Finding memory leaks using Timing Captures

February 23, 2021 Feb 23, 2021 02/23/21
Steven Pratschner
PIX Timing Captures include several analysis features aimed at making it easy to find memory leaks in your title.  These features, coupled with the ability to take captures for extended periods of time, are a compelling combination for finding leaks, even those that can take a considerable amount of time to manifest themselves. To enable ...

WinPixEventRuntime 2102.09: Minor fixes and optimizations

February 16, 2021 Feb 16, 2021 02/16/21
Matt Amert
It’s hard to believe it’s been over a year since our last update to WinPixEventRuntime! This update brings a couple of minor fixes and optimizations, which should hopefully lead to a slightly better quality of life when using the runtime 😊 You can download the new runtime here. Release notes: Known Issue...

Filtering CPU Samples by one or more PIX Events

February 3, 2021 Feb 3, 2021 02/3/21
Steven Pratschner
The Sampling Profiler included in the 2101.27 release of PIX on Windows includes a novel new feature that allows you to filter the analysis of CPU samples down to just those samples that were collected during the time when one or more PIX events was running.  This capability is particularly useful for seeing which functions ran the most ...