DirectX 10 and DirectX 9 card

[AKJ]

Will DirectX 10 improve performance on my 7900GTX?

I know its NOT a DX10 Card, but i would just like to know if it would run current and future games even better using DX10.

 

[megame255]

No.

If your card wasn't designed to run DX10 code than it simply can't. Your card will run every game, including any future DX10 games, in DX9 mode.

Even though Windows Vista will use DX10, a DX10 video card and a "Vista Ready" video card are not necessarily the same thing.

 

[AKJ]

OK, but heres what i was thinking:

Surely DX 10 has more features than DirectX 9. But, it must have ALL of DX 9's features plus the extra new stuff.

So, one would assume that DX 10 should be be more optimized and efficient than its DX 9 counterpart. So, if my card can only use the features of DX 10 that DX 9 had, it should run games better, right?

Example: If DX 9 consisted of A B C D.
DX 10 should also have A B C D plus E F G H........
But DX 10's ABCD is more efficient/optimized than the DX9 version, my card will run better using DX10, right?

 

[enforcer22]

Direct x 10 is NOT going to improve the praformance of your card. Your card is dx9 it will not run the enhanced dx10 fetures which are behind all the praformance gains. It will simply run as it does now. direct x is a api that your card is only compatable with 9.0c and below. Wishfull thinking is basicly all this is.

 

[AKJ]

Haha, ok. Sorry.. My bad. Was just grasping at straws i guess.

So i cant even install DX10?

 

[enforcer22]

If you have vista it comes installed. Not sure if they are making dx1 for anything else yet. I read some places they were making a new dx9 for xp but no idea what that is. Im sure someone else has more info on that.

 

[Mach5Motorsport]

If you have vista it comes installed. Not sure if they are making dx1 for anything else yet. I read some places they were making a new dx9 for xp but no idea what that is. Im sure someone else has more info on that.

As it has been reported in the media....

DX10 is not compatible with previous versions. A very dramatic departure. DX9.0L is only for Vista so that current users with DX9.0 cards can use Vista. Microsoft is going to pull support from XP in the next few years as it has already done with 98 and earlier OS. There was a "road map" as to the timetable on one of the user sites a while back.

I can't see where an update to DX9.0c will be of any use to current XP users in this climate