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[Stefan]

Fermi and Kepler DirectX API Support
Answer ID 3196   |    Published 12/18/2012 01:03 PM   |    Updated 12/19/2012 07:47 AM

Both Fermi and Kepler GPU generations (GeForce 400, 500 and 600 series) support the Microsoft DirectX 11.1 (DX11.1) API.

On future GeForce 600 series boxes, you will see support listed like this: Microsoft DirectX 11.1 API (feature level 11_0).

One of the main benefits of the DX11.1 API is that it exposes a lot of capabilities that have existed in our GeForce GPUs since Fermi but were not available in the first revision of DX11.

Here is the full list of the new features available in the DX11.1 API:

    OutputMergerLogicOp
    UAVOnlyRenderingForcedSampleCount
    DiscardAPIsSeenByDriver
    FlagsForUpdateAndCopySeenByDriver
    ClearView
    CopyWithOverlap
    ConstantBufferPartialUpdate
    ConstantBufferOffsetting
    MapNoOverwriteOnDynamicConstantBuffer                                                                 
         MapNoOverwriteOnDynamicBufferSRV
    MultisampleRTVWithForcedSampleCountOne
    SAD4ShaderInstructions
    ExtendedDoublesShaderInstructions
    ExtendedResourceSharing
    UAVs in the vertex, geometry and tessellation shaders
    UAVOnlyRenderingForcedSampleCount supports 16x raster coverage sampling
    TIR - aliased color-only rendering with up to 16x raster coverage sampling

These features are exposed through various "hardware feature levels" each of which has a set of required and optional features for that level. Most features have been exposed as added optional features available at feature level 11_0 and 11_1.

The last three features :

    UAVs in the vertex, geometry and tessellation shaders
    UAVOnlyRenderingForcedSampleCount supports 16x raster coverage sampling
    TIR - aliased color-only rendering with up to 16x raster coverage sampling

are only exposed through the hardware feature level 11_1, as a group of three features:

See http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/hh404457%28v=vs.85%29.aspx for more information.

Fermi and Kepler GPUs do not support two of these features:

      UAVOnlyRenderingForcedSampleCount supports 16x raster coverage sampling
TIR - aliased color-only rendering with up to 16x raster coverage sampling

These two features are intended as path rendering acceleration aids for Direct2D, used optionally if the hardware supports feature level 11_1. We felt that for Fermi and Kepler, it was more important to maximize our investment in work that is more important to 3D graphics and therefore chose not to implement support for those two features.

The third feature…

· UAVs in the vertex, geometry and tessellation shaders

is supported by Fermi and Kepler GPUs however because this is only exposed through the hardware feature level 11_1, as a group of three features, we currently do not support it via the DX11.1 interfaces. We may expose support for the UAVs in the vertex, geometry and tessellation shaders feature on an app-specific basis in the future.

We look forward to working with game developers to expose the new 3D graphics features and help take PC gaming to the next level of visual fidelity.