Direct X 11?

So simple question, will the likes of the 280m GTX and 260m GTX support Direct X 11? Or is now the time for portable gamers to wait for a new release?

 

Simple answer: no.
Neither the Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series nor the GeForce 200M series support DirectX 11 - you'll be waiting until the next generation for that.
(especially considering the GTX 260M/280M are just rehashes of the same core that's been used since the 8800M GTX)

 

Even if the next release of graphic cards supports DX11, don't expect them to be much faster than the current graphics cards. It will take 2-3 years to fully utilize DX11. Most of the games will be released with DX9, 10 and 11 support. In the beginning the DX11 will be just a gimmick. There is no point of waiting, I understand your worry but with this frame of mind, you will always wait, there always be something new coming out of the tech corner.
After all, the first the DX11 mobile cards will be slow, not at all as fast as the 260M or the 280M, trust me on that. They have to sell the DX11 spec first and then they will release the DX11 really fast cards.

 

Considering DX10 has not really caught on yet, I wouldn't worry about 11 just yet.

 

But for instance, I'm a heavy gamer and planning to buy a Clevo M860TU for portable gaming in boarding school, and I have just read Colin McRae Dirt 2 has been delayed until December for Direct X 11 tweaks.. And this game is number 1 on my list of new games to buy.

 

Well you can wait then until next year (first half) when you will be able to buy a laptop with a decent GPU DX11. GPU are still strangling with the DX10 now, imagine with the DX11. Although they have promised that DX11 will be very efficient (hmmm.... reminds of something)

 

Yeah.. But does that mean in a years time we will be able to get the GPU as good as the current 280m GTX for next nothing?

 

Thatll be the late first half.

 

There is always a new technology that is just lurking around the corner.

If you wait until DirectX 11 capable cards come out, then Intel's new processor line might just be lurking around the corner or that rumored new Sager model is coming out in just a month.

In short, you'd never buy a laptop if you wait for all of the new technologies to come out.

Considering how there are basically no DirectX 10 games out there yet, I'd say you're fine. Even if DirectX 11 is a hit and games start using it more and more, I doubt that DirectX 10 support will be abandoned.

 

No - just because a GPU uses the latest DirectX version doesn't make it better than top-level GPUs on the previous generation. For example, a GeForce 8400M GS is not automatically better than a Go 7950 GTX because the 8400M is on DX10, while the 7950 is on DX9.0c.

 

ATI is building their newest cards on a 40nm process with DX11 compatibility. Rumor has it that they plan to launch their mobile cards near the same time as their desktop cards. That would be because of the manufacturing process, if it's true.

The leaks floating around the internet are that the performance of the new stuff is about 135%-150% better performance per watt than the current 40nm parts (4770 desktop, 4860 mia notebook). Potentially, you could see a 15000 3dmark06 score on a 35w notebook gpu within the next 6 months.

Going from DX9 to DX10 was a big change because of the structural changes. Microsoft removed the Hardware Access Layer in Vista, among other changes. DX10-DX11 shouldn't be as hard for programmers to grasp and should add some distinct advantages over DX10.

Oh, and some new features will be added to older DX10 and DX10.1 hardware but they won't be fully compatible with DX11.


SHORT ANSWER: If you can't wait, buy now. I'm waiting for usb3, dx11, windows 7 (not upgrade), and whatever new processors will be out. Hopefully I'll see all of that by the end of the year.

 

Doubt you will see USB3.0 or DX11 anytime this year. While there are some desktop prototypes, it also requires cables, enclosures, etc. As said before, DX10/10.1 doesn't even have strong support, let alone DX11. Supposedly nVidia already has 40nm parts out in some notebooks... I'm going to wait until I see benchmarks but the performance boost won't be up to 50% better per W (refer to past history with 80 to 65nm or 65 to 55nm, etc).

 

Sorry, going to have to correct you there. What you said was wrong and you didn't even read what I said. The claims are 135-150% performance per watt over their current 40nm chip. That's 40nm to 40nm.

For what you said though, take a look here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4770,2281-13.html
The ati 4770 uses less power than the 4830 and 4850 with much higher clock speeds. Even nvidia expects huge power savings from 40nm.

I couldn't tell you what a 9800m GT power consumption is (comperable to a GTS 250m) but a 9650 GS is supposed have the same TDP as a GTS250. That's low power consumption right there.

USB3.0 doesn't require cables to connect to usb 2.0 devices but will be usable when more 3.0 are available. ASUS just recently cancelled the USB3.0 board they were producing but most still companies expect 3.0 devices and computers to be out by the end of this year. It's future proofing friend.

 

Ah I did misread, but I still don't see/believe their 135-150% increase against their current 40nm GPUs though (the 4860 isn't even available, though 4770 for desktops has multiple reviews).

The GTS 250/260M (40nm) should have 28-38W compared to the 9800M GT's 65W but then again the 9800M GT is 65nm vs. 40nm and TDP doesn't really reflect actual measured power consumption as noted that nVidia still kept the 75W TDP for the 55nm 9800M GTS.

As I said before USB 3.0 has been demo-ed several times but consumer products won't be available until 2010 since controllers are just starting to ramp up to mass production now. While there will be backward support with 2.0, to fully support 3.0, you will need USB 3.0 capable wires, a controller on the motherboard or expresscard and also connector on the device itself. Have yet to see any preproduction Calpella notebooks with built-in USB 3.0, though since Calpella isn't slated for 2010, that might change. Either way, without a significant platform change, USB 3.0 won't pick up until at least 2010.

 

Even if Nvidia GPUS doesnot use DX11, still there are some benefits and tweaks which will help while gaming.

 

Yes, but this is done for all recent GPUs via software drivers. There isn't any specific new hardware that will make it better for certain games.

 

I've been in the market for a new laptop for about 3 years now...

My current excuse is: waiting for tax refund, cheaper SSD's, Calpella, 40nm, and better LCD's

I am now adding DX11 support to my list of requirements before purchasing...

Anyone have a good estimate on when they think I will actually buy a new laptop?

 

Well....the rate that you're going.....maybe never....lol

 

DX11 doesn't even bring many improvements to the table when you compared it to DX10. The main "goal" of DX11 is to expand the purpose of the GPU to doing more work apart from just games and 3D graphics. For instance, DX11 will utilize recent graphics hardware (DX10 hardware) for general purpose applications such as photo editing and multimedia work. It's not so much about improving performance or render technique as it is extending the functionality of the GPU over to other applications apart from games. The GPU is essentially become another processor.

 

Ya, I am just talking about the software drivers. For DX11 cards, Nvidia needs to release 40nm 380m or 480m cards!