PC Gamer - Win 7 Will Not Support DirectX 12

Aubrielle

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There aren't many PC gamers that don't use DirectX. But the next generation of DirectX won't be available for those of us who use Win 7.

Speaking at a PDXLAN presentation earlier this month, AMD's Chief Gaming Scientist Richard Huddy said Windows 7 remains Microsoft's most popular operating system: 52 percent of all Microsoft OS users are still on Windows 7, and that number is actually growing. "It's a very, very popular operating system," he said in comments starting around the 20:30 mark of the video.

But in spite of that, or perhaps because of it, he continued, "One thing that's not going to happen to it is DX12. Yup, DX12 is not coming to Windows 7."
More information.

More information.
 
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Seems like a typically stupid, annoying, and customer unfriendly MS move.

Why would developers adopt Dx12 if almost no customers will have it?

My wife has 8.1 on her new laptop and it smokes for business apps and boot up - it's insane. But I wouldn't upgrade to it from win 7 64 when I'd have to buy a full copy of pro and reinstall - and when I regularly read about problems with running games on it.

Who other than enthusiasts and people who are compelled to have the latest just to have the latest and new PC buyers are going to get the upcoming MS OS when it hits? There's a reason why 7 is more widespread - because there were reasons to get off XP - which was like pulling teeth with some (like new types of RAM, SSDs, 64 bit finally becoming mainstream), and there's no real reason to move up to 8 - it's the Vista to XP - an unnecessary and crappy looking bump full of too many bad ideas (at least to me, I don't want my desktop to look like a tablet or phone).

MS OS prices are always high, they keep dumbing windows down to be like Mac (which is brilliant given that Mac is the LOSER with under 10% market share on desktops - copying the LOSER is genius), they keep adding more mobile-like money grab crapware elements, and the chances of the latest MS OS in 2015 running all of your existing software if it's so special it can run Dx12 when Win 7 cannot, is very unlikely.

So my question is, and I'm not an expert on OpenGL vs DirectX but it seems like they're pretty close, and I think PS4 uses OpenGL, so does a move like this make OpenGL more attractive to developers, especially when so many developers have consoles and controllers prioritized above PCs anyways when it comes to developing games?

Wouldn't it be better if the graphics library PCs AND consoles used wasn't tied to any particular operating system? I like MS but on this it seems like DirectX is generally a hassle and if OpenGL is close enough in appearance and performance then...who needs DirectX?
 
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I don't see this as big deal to be honest. DirectX 12 isn't due to be released until the end of 2015. Windows 7 will be more than 6 years old by then, and mainstream support for that OS officially ends in January. Microsoft stopped producing new copies last month.
 
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Update;

AMD and MS have stated that Richard Huddy misspoke when he said that win 7 won't support DX 12. MS said It's not definite, but not out of the question. So win 7 users, don't panic ................. yet.
 
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DX12 doesn't equal more fun. DX9 does and DX11 has to, since coders are used to these so DX12 will be an experimental run anyway and it concentrates mainly on speed not on features. Features rarely mean fun gameplay, only if it is incorporated into gameplay intelligently. I would be excited for a Prey 2 or XCOM 2 or a turn based party based tactical RPG supporting DX12.
 
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This is a typical pattern by MS; push come to shove they will make a final decision based on market reaction when directX 12 is released. I.e, it is just as likely to be on win 7 as not. Short memory folks; think back to 11, 10, ....
 
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Bah.
Game developers know exactly percentages of OS on gamers' side.
If Win 10 doesn't "kill" Win 7, no developer who wants to sell the game will care for DX12.
 
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im with joxer. i dont think many care about dx12. computer graphics have matured so much that incremental improvements become less revelant. my 6 year nvidia gtx 200-series still plays all modern games fairly well.
 
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Amazing that Win 7 is still supported, frankly. I have it, love it, but in pure tech, it's outdated. A decade ago you were basically required to buy a new computer every other year just to play current games because the platform and technology were advancing so fast. Now, I only have to rebuild my system every 4 years and do a GPU swap every 2-- plus I can be running a 6-year old version of Windows that's still considered mainstream.

Are we grinding to a halt?
 
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I hope this gives developers the reason to look for alternatives to direct x. Anyway, microsoft trying to force customers to upgrade is a dick move, but as others said, most games will not take advantage of it for years anyhow, and the mainstream will still be on direct x 11.
 
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I do take an interest in this. I use Linux as my main OS, and I only keep Windows 7 around as a gaming platform. I don't really want to buy another Windows licence for as long as possible (perhaps ever again if Valve can take Linux mainstream, but that's a big IF.)

I think DX12 will be a significant version, in a way that 10 and 11 weren't, because it introduces such a major architectural change. It's being designed to get the most performance out of the hardware, particularly on the low end, which is a hugely important part of the market. I think we will see a major shift to DX12, in due course.

I would prefer DX12 to be added to Windows 7, so that I don't have to shell out for another OEM Windows licence when I build my next PC.
 
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DX12 is the most important version DX in the last 10 years. It's clear most of the people commenting on it don't really understand why or what DX12 brings to the table.
 
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Amazing that Win 7 is still supported, frankly. I have it, love it, but in pure tech, it's outdated. A decade ago you were basically required to buy a new computer every other year just to play current games because the platform and technology were advancing so fast. Now, I only have to rebuild my system every 4 years and do a GPU swap every 2— plus I can be running a 6-year old version of Windows that's still considered mainstream.

Are we grinding to a halt?

It's 'cause Windows 7 is the Windows 8 killer…
 
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DX12 is the most important version DX in the last 10 years. It's clear most of the people commenting on it don't really understand why or what DX12 brings to the table.
Is that so?
We're also totally ignorant on the fact Firewire is utterly superior to USB yet noone is buying it.
 
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DX12 could very well be a technological breakthrough, by removing those awful CPU bottlenecks in unoptimized games. But I'm not upgrading to Win10 if games will run just fine on DX11 as well. And I'm sure I'm not alone.

With the majority of gamers still on Win7/DX11, my prediction is that DX12 will be the next DX10. An experimental (often glitchy) setting in a couple of demanding PC games.
 
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I expect that adoption of DX12 will be somewhat similar to DX11. Games will ship with support for both for a good long while, but some will start to have graphic features or performance differences which will show in DX12 only.

I can't blame Microsoft for working on new functionality for their new operating system. Windows 8 was a failure and they want a real incentive for people to move to Windows 10. Without a real reason to switch, people will stay with Windows 7 forever (as happened with Windows XP) and they will be forced to either extend security updates/patches for far too long or end support while too many are using it.

I would guess that the price point of Windows 10 as an upgrade will be far less than it has been in the past. When Windows 7 came out, they were really only competing with Mac (not iOS and Android).
 
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Er… USB 3.0 is faster than Firewire. :)
3.0?
It's not faster than Firewire 800. But then Thunderbolt eats them both for breakfast.

In any case, coming here and stating "commentors are unaware of DX12 amazingness" is underestimating the audience on this board.
The economy doesn't care who has bigger balls, but what will sell better.
 
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Is that so?
We're also totally ignorant on the fact Firewire is utterly superior to USB yet noone is buying it.

Yes it is so. DX12 gives to all developers what consoles give to developers which is access much closer to the actual hardware instead of a higher level, resource wasting API. That is a huge deal and if you don't get that, I'm not going to try and explain it to you.
 
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