DirectCompute Support

[Matt Houser]

Can many video cards be made DirectCompute compatible with a driver update?
Or is it a hardware thing?

I have an ATI Mobility HD 4760 video card and would like to try
DirectCompute. I am trying the DirectCompute benchmark from here:
http://en.expreview.com/2009/11/05/first-directcompute-benchmark-released.html,
but it says that my card does not support DirectCompute.

Am I out of luck, or is it likely that updated drivers will help me?

--
Matt Houser
http://www.insidercoding.com

[Richard [Microsoft Direct3D MVP]]

[Please do not mail me a copy of your followup]

"Matt Houser" <ma...@houser.ca> spake the secret code
<F24090E5-08A3-4117...@microsoft.com> thusly:

>Can many video cards be made DirectCompute compatible with a driver update?

Only if they are cards that will support D3D10 or later.

>Or is it a hardware thing?

Yes, its a hardware thing.

>
>I have an ATI Mobility HD 4760 video card and would like to try
>DirectCompute. I am trying the DirectCompute benchmark from here:
>http://en.expreview.com/2009/11/05/first-directcompute-benchmark-released.html,
>but it says that my card does not support DirectCompute.
>
>Am I out of luck, or is it likely that updated drivers will help me?

First, you will need Vista or Windows 7. Next, you will need an
appropriate driver (WDDM). ATI's web site says the 4600 series
supports D3D 10.1 games, so you should be OK on the hardware side.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>

Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>

[Matt Houser]

The driver says it's WDDM 1.1.
I have Windows 7.
The benchmark program says D3D_FEATURE_LEVEL_10_1, so I guess it's a 10.1
card.

As far as I can tell, I have the latest drivers for the card installed
(8/25). I guess I just have to wait for later drivers.

--
Matt Houser
http://www.insidercoding.com

"Richard [Microsoft Direct3D MVP]" <legaliz...@mail.xmission.com> wrote
in message news:evCh$UIbKH...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

[Chuck Walbourn [MSFT]]

Try the DirectX SDK (August 2009) version of the DirectX Caps Viewer. Under
the DXGI 1.1 node find your graphics card and look for the Direct3D 11 API
node. That lists the four driver optional features including Compute Shader
4.x support. All DX 11 class video cards support Compute Shader 5.0, but
support for Compute Shader 4.x is an optional feature for Direct3D 10.0 or
Direct3D 10.1 class video cards.

The Graphics Cards Capabilities spreadsheet in the DirectX SDK (August 2009)
lists the driver support based on the drivers included in the box with
Windows 7. None of them include Compute Shader 4.x support, so you may be
using one of these. Have you tried installed the latest vendor-supplied
driver set?

Most of the ATI 10.1 cards and many of the NVIDIA 10.x cards should be able
to support CS 4.x with appropriate drivers, but you should contact the
vendor vendor for a comprehensive list.

--
--
-Chuck Walbourn
SDE, XNA Developer Connection

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

[Matt Houser]

Under
Direct3D11/D2D_FEATURE_LEVEL_10_1/...
I have
Compute Shader Optional (No)

There is also an entry:
Note This feature summary is derived from hardware feature level

So, is this a representation of the current driver, or the hardware itself?

Installing the latest drivers from Dell actually installs an older driver
than when I install the latest from Microsoft (currently installed).

--
Matt Houser
http://www.insidercoding.com

"Chuck Walbourn [MSFT]" <chu...@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:e1C9YlIb...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

[Chuck Walbourn [MSFT]]

BTW, it should not say "D2D_*" anywhere...

Look up one level under the Direct3D 11 node and see the "Compute Shader
4.x" entry will be "No". This means you lack driver support for Compute
Shader 4.x on your part. You might try getting the latest driver directly
from the card vendor.

If you look under the D3D_FEATURE_LEVEL_10_1 node as you did, you see a
summary that is derived from the feature level plus the relevant driver
optional feature detection. Hence why it says "Optional (No)" rather than
just "No".