Vista - 32/64 bit questions & DirectX 9/10 questions :)

Hey guys, just have a few questions in regards to Vista x32 vs x64 as well as Direct x10 issues when it comes to gaming.

First off - What benefits do I get by running Vista x64 as opposed to x32 when it comes to gaming. I bought Call of Duty 4 as well as Bioshock, and will be buying some of the new games coming out such as Assassin's Creed and Far Cry 2. Are any of these games 64 bit games?

Second off - Do I get any benefit playing a game made for DirectX 9 on a DirectX10 platform? Or are the graphic increases only visible in games actually made for DirectX 10? Again, are any of the games I listed above made to work with better graphics in DirectX 10?

Thanks guys!

I discovered your inquiry while I was attempting to answer questions similar to yours.

This isn't much help but try reading about Epic Game's 'Unreal' game engine. I'm reading the article on wikipeadia about this game engine. This is the game engine used for Gears of War and Unreal Tournament.

Any way, it seems that if your running the game in a 64-bit environment like Windows Vista 64 the game will be in 64-bit mode.

It uses Directx 10 and Directx 10 also seems to be in 64-bit mode depending on weather Windows is in 64-bit mode.

In related news, it seems that the 'Unreal' game engine and the 'Source' game engine (Used for Half life 2, etc) are optimized to take advantage of multi-threading or in other words optimized for multi-core processors.

Anyway, see what conclusions you come to...I'll post an update as I learn more.

Here's the quick answer to your questions...FarCry 2 supports 64-bit and Multi-threading (dual core, quad, etc). So does any DirectX 10 game. What happens with 64-bit programming and multi-threading translates to more speed...more speed means more data. 64-bit environments allow for greater amounts of memory. Up to 16 GB versus 4 GB for 32-bit environments. With more memory there's less use of the hard disk. The hard disk is very slow. So, with more memory there's less waiting for the hard disk and games run faster...which means more data...more detail to your graphics.

Multi-Threading splits up data processing on machines with multi-core CPUs. You get my point here.

So yea...your graphics are going to be much better...and if you don't have 64-bit windows(with over 4 GB) and you don't have a multi-core processor...your graphics card will have to process all the extra data that comes with the better graphics. So, game performance will suffer...

Here's my refrences:

I found a list of 64 bit and multi-threading applications here: DirectX 10/ 64bit / Multi-Core Games and Applications

Then I read in an article about CryEngine_2 (Used for FarCry 2). This article states that CryEngine_2 Support for 64-bit environments and also multi-threading.

Here's the article: CryEngine 2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here is an article stating the FarCry 2 uses CryEngine_2:

Far Cry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here's loads of technical data on directX and how it includes features for 64-bit programming and multi-threading

Learn

And here's a page that compares a directX 9 game and a directX 10 game:

DirectX® 10

The difference is unbelievable!

Heay There! I posted a very comprehensive reply to your message...

But...it didn't make it. Sorry...all I can say is that try checking wikipaedia about
FarCry's game engine, the CryEngine_2. It supports 64-bit and multi-threading.

So does any DirectX 10 game...try googleing Direct X 10 I came across a page that described tech specs as well as showed a comparison of a directx 9 game with a directx 10 game. The difference is amazing!

What happens when you have a game that supports 64-bits and multi-threading is that you have a marginal increase in data processing performance. With better graphics comes more data. And without benefits of 64-bit and multi-threading your graphics card is going to foot the bill...there's going to also be a performance lag with the hard drive. So great graphics, slow computer...unless you're ready.

Come on now. You can't go to Microsoft's DirectX page for comparison shots. Did you realize they are comparing a game that came out in 2001 to a game that came out in 2007? 6 years in computers is a huge difference, and MS posted that up to showcase and sell their DirectX 10.

Personally from what I've seen, there are some visual differences between DX 9 and 10, but nothing out of this world, and most of the difference is under the hood where you may not immediately see. I'm not sure of the details but I know DX 10 is more efficient in its code, and it's just up to the developers to take advantage of that code.

Well atm my only dx10 game is company of heroes which dont run too well, but looks cool. The main thing i notice is that weather effects look a lot better as well as plant life shading.

Ive gone to 64 bit simply because 32 bit vista doesnt offer many advantages over xp. I chose 64 bit because i can use 8gb ram, dx10, smoother operating system performance & advancing technologically, 32 bit is old news. Tell your 32 bit o/s to climb into the dumpster with its slow 16 bit win3.1 lol. Seriously tho, its good to use this advantage of having both 32 & 64 bit o/s's, you can get ready for when 64 bit becomes mainstream & still use 32 bit while it lives out its last days if you want too.