DirectX 11 is heralded as to usher in yet another new generation of GPU goodness, especially for games. New features such as tessellation will enable artists to make smoother and less blocky models in 3D games. DX11 is also better able to take advantage of CPUs with multiple cores.
Games aside, the biggest addition of all could be the compute shader, which will finally bring in the GPGPU that’s been all the buzz lately.
So right now, we've been waiting for the first DirectX 11 supporting game to come by to wow us – and now it's finally here.
A new patch for the EA free-to-play fantasy card game BattleForge enables DirectX 11 functions and promises smoother framerates along with new graphical effects on DX11 systems with DX11 hardware.
Of course, Windows 7 has yet to officially launch, and DX11 support for Windows Vista hasn’t yet been released. For hardware, only the recently launched ATI Radeon HD 5800 series support DX11, and those are just hitting stores now.
While we're glad that DX11 software is here, we're still waiting for that killer app that'll make us upgrade.
