Windows 7 to allow DX9 cards and CPU to run DX10 graphics

Windows 7 will end any upgrading woes for the graphics-hungry gamers that are short on cash for an upgrade when the next DirectX Gaming API comes out.

The first new technology introduced is called Direct 3D 10Level9. It allows you to run DirectX 10 applications with a DirectX 9 card and still pump out DX10 visuals. However, visual output will be compensated for decreased performance under a non DX10 card.

The other new technology being introduced is the Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform (WARP), which is an implementation of Direct3D in software form. With this, you are able to run DX10 software with just your CPU, even with anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering. Images generated from the CPU will be near identical to the ones generated by the graphics card. Long Zheng ran a couple of benchmarks to demonstrate the differences in FPS under Crysis when running under WARP.

The CPU results are disappointing, with the most powerful CPU hitting only an average of 7.36 FPS. But WARP may mean more powerful graphics in graphic-heavy applications such as Google Earth.

The big question is whether we will see Direct3D 11Level10 or 11Level9 in Windows 7 as well.

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2. DirectX 11 Confirmed for Windows 7
3. Intel releases official Windows 7 graphics, chipset and AHCI/SATA drivers