DirectX 11 Now Available for Windows Vista

Jason Cross
Nov 2, 2009 12:00 pm





Microsoft has long said, and we have reminded users, that DirectX 11 is not just a Windows 7 technology. The company promised that DirectX 11 will be availalbe for Vista around the same time as the release of its latest and greatest operating system.

And so it has come to pass. Vista users who check Windows Update should see a rather generic "Platform Update" with the reference KB971644. The update is available for Windows Server 2008 as well. In addition to adding DirectX 11, this update adds and XPS document printing library, the Windows Automation API, and an update to the Windows Portable Devices Platform.

Note that DirectX 11 adds DirectCompute, which comes in three flavors - DirectCompute shader model 4.0, 4.1, and 5.0. The 4.0 version contains features allowing it to be run on most DirectX 10 graphics hardware. The 4.1 version is similar, but for DX 10.1 hardware. The 5.0 version of DirectCompute shaders requires DX11 hardware, and is far more robust.

My point is, this update could be useful for Vista users even if you don't have one of those nifty new Radeon 5000 series graphics cards that will run DirectX 11. You'll need it to run DirectCompute accelerated apps (when they start to appear) even on DX10 hardware, and the update contains some other nice updates.
By the way, the update is listed as "Recommended" and may not be automatically applied if you have Windows Update set only to apply critical updates. You may want to check manually.

More at: DirectX 11 Now Available for Windows Vista - PC World

Try dropping DX 9c on. Elements from that are needed for OpenGL support and other things when running older titles. The separate download for Vista mentioned there will be mainly for new titles coming out as well as any that require 10.

this come out last week via the vista platform update

platform update for vista, anybody notice any difference?

I haven't seen any Vista updates for months now first running Vista on the new Virtual PC along with the 7 RCs and now have the retail 7 as the primary OS while still running the 64bit RC on a second drive in order to make comparisons there.

This will be good if I decide to see a Vista reference install go back on at some time however since Vista won't be seen on the next build coming up there. But seeing this made available as a separate download for those still running Vista should be a help.