Introduction

First introduced in 1995, Microsoft’s DirectX application programming interface (API) was designed to make life easier for developers by providing a standard platform for Windows-based PCs. Before the arrival of DirectX, developers had to program their software titles to take advantage of features found in individual hardware components. With the wealth of devices on the market, this could become a tedious, time-consuming process.

Timbury demo

With this demo in action you see detailed facial expressions

DirectX is composed of a suite of multimedia APIs such as graphics (both 2D and 3D), audio, and input devices. Each API provides developers access to all the features found in the latest hardware without having to program directly for it. This simplifies the development process for developers, which should in theory bring titles to market more quickly.

Competing with Direct3D (the API within DirectX that handles 3D graphics) is OpenGL. OpenGL provides the same capability with the added bonus of being cross-platform; this allows developers to offer their titles across multiple platforms such as the Mac and Linux communities.

Initially Direct3D got off to a slow start, OpenGL and 3dfx’s proprietary API, Glide, were used in many predominant games, but newer revisions of Direct3D have been adopted by an increasing number of software developers. As a result, the majority of today’s gaming titles now take advantage of DirectX rather than OpenGL.

Dawn is replaced by Nalu

Nalu has more hair than Dawn

Note the strands of hair here

Traditionally, NVIDIA has timed the introduction of its latest graphics cards with the release of each new revision of DirectX. When Microsoft released DirectX 7, NVIDIA was ready with GeForce 256. Similarly, when Microsoft unveiled DirectX 8, NVIDIA unleashed GeForce3. Each of these cards was the first of their generation to be released on the market, giving NVIDIA bragging rights and allowing the company to establish a track record that was unmatched for its era.

All this came to an end however with ATI’s RADEON 9700 PRO. ATI had not only beat NVIDIA to market, the RADEON 9700 PRO also predated Microsoft’s own DirectX 9 API. The RADEON 9700 PRO was a breakthrough product, not only supporting 2.0 pixel and vertex shaders but also featured an 8-pixel pipeline architecture with a 256-bit memory interface. This gave the RADEON 9700 PRO extraordinary performance in a wide variety of games and applications. NVIDIA’s most effective reply didn’t come until over six months later with the introduction of GeForce FX 5900 Ultra.

Now NVIDIA is back with its latest GPU, GeForce 6800 Ultra. And unlike the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra refresh, 5950 Ultra, GeForce 6800 Ultra is a true next generation product and is built on an entirely new architecture. NVIDIA has crammed this new graphics core with all kinds of goodies: 16 pixel pipelines, 1.1GHz GDDR3 memory, and an enhanced, rotated-grid AA implementation. Clearly NVIDIA didn’t pull any punches with this card.