Windows 7 - Graphics cards

Direct X11 is a key feature of Windows 7, Is your PC ready to take full advantage of the new operating system? Lets look at the Top 11 reasons why you should get a Microsoft DirectX® 11-compliant graphics card for your PC running the Windows® 7 operating system

11. Shader Model 5.0

- How it works: Latest compute and shading language developed by Microsoft, comes equipped with a new, more flexible instruction set, and also supports an object-oriented programming model that simplifies code development.
- Benefit: Thanks to its ease-of-use, developers are transitioning directly from DirectX® 9 to DirectX®11, with numerous DirectX® 11 titles or engines already announced to-date.

10. Faster Frame rates

- How it works: Features such as DirectCompute 11, texture compression and tessellation enable faster gameplay on DirectX® 11-compliant hardware.
- Benefit: Faster game play. For example, performance of the game BattleForge increases by up to 30% just by going from DirectX® 10.1 to DirectX® 11!

9. Tessellation

- How it works: Divides large polygons into a large number of smaller ones for more detailed images.
- Benefit: Smoother, more lifelike characters and more organic-looking objects in games.

8. DirectCompute 11 for game applications

- How it works: DirectCompute11 enables new graphical techniques such as Image Process & Filtering, Order-Independent Transparency (OIT), Shadow Rendering, Physics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Ray-tracing, and also allows game developers to easily move workload from the CPU to the GPU.
- Benefit: More realistic 3D effects, such as transparency, fire, smoke, hair, foilage, etc. More reactive and dynamic environments for a more compelling gameplay experience.

7. DirectCompute 11 for accelerating everyday tasks

- How it works: DirectCompute 11 under Windows® 7 enables GPU-powered acceleration of a wide variety of applications, allowing them to tap into the massive parallel computing array offered by GPUs.
- Benefit: Enables faster conversion of digital media files to different sizes and formats (i.e. transcode) under Windows® 7 than under previous versions of the Windows® operating system.

6. Multithreading

- What is it: With built-in multithreading support, DirectX® 11 enables games running on Windows® 7 to distribute their workload over multiple CPU cores and GPUs for simultaneous execution, leveraging the compute power available from a balanced CPU and GPU platform.
- Benefit: Higher frame rates and more realistic gameplay.

5. Texture Compression

- How it works: DirectX® 11 includes a new technique for compressing and decompressing texture data, including high dynamic range data, to minimize data size and memory bandwidth consumption.
- Benefit: Faster, smoother performance thanks to reduced memory requirements, or more visual detail without increasing your graphics memory footprint.

4. Render Post Processing

- How it works: Post-processing, a term that refers to image manipulation once 3D rendering has been completed, refers to an array of effects that improve the realism of a 3D scene.
- Benefit: Gives your 3D scene more photorealism than ever before. You have to see it to believe it.

3. Unified Driver Support

- How it works: For maximum simplicity, ATI Catalyst™ drivers are designed to deliver a single, unified driver installation for both the Windows® 7 and Windows® Vista operating systems.
- Benefit: Rock-solid stability and enhanced game performance under Windows® 7.

2. DirectX® 11 Games

- How it works: Top-tier AAA developers have already started announcing DirectX® 11 support at this early stage of the DirectX® 11 lifecycle, with around 20 titles in development. Titles announced to-date include: BattleForge (EA Phenomic), S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (GSC Gameworld), Dirt2 (Codemasters), Lord of the Rings Online (Turbine), Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited (Turbine), Aliens vs. Predator (Rebellion), Genghis Khan (Kylin)
- Benefit: A more immersive gaming experience and faster frame rates with an ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 Series graphics card, DirectX® 11 and Windows® 7.

1. Only DirectX® 11 unleashes the full potential of Windows® 7!

- How it works: DirectX® 11 is the latest industry standard programming interface from Microsoft that provides access to the advanced capabilities of new generation GPUs, and will be a key component of the new Windows® 7 operating system.
- Benefit: Enjoy the full Windows® 7 experience with the DirectX® 11-compliant ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 Series cards: Incredible speed and performance, Amazing image quality and Rock solid stability.