A few weeks ago we released a version of PIX that includes a Preview release of a new implementation of Timing Captures.  This release represents a significant reboot of our CPU performance tools in PIX.

We’ve gotten a lot of feedback over the last few years about how our CPU tools in PIX compare with other AAA game-focused profiling tools.  Developers told us they needed longer capture times, faster capture open speed, better analysis tools and numerous improvements to our UI, among other things.  Clearly we had a ways to go.

It quickly became apparent to us that the architecture we had in place for Timing Captures didn’t allow us to easily add the features we needed to address the feedback.  So we essentially started over: Ctrl-Alt-Del!  This new architecture has allowed us to address the most common pieces of customer feedback and, just as importantly, sets us up to continue adding features based on your feedback.

If you’re building a game on PC and have a need to look at CPU performance, check out our new captures and tell us what you think (hit the Feedback button on the upper right corner of PIX).

I intend to create a series of posts that provide tips for using our new PIX CPU captures to solve common performance problems.  Stay tuned for more posts.

Steven Pratschner Program Manager – PIX team