DX11-enabled DiRT 2 PC demo released, full version arriving this week

The new ATI Radeon HD 5000 series of graphics cards may have given AMD a nice long head start on DirectX 11, but it isn't like compatible games are flooding the stores right now. So far we've only seen the release of two DirectX 11 games and benchmarking tools, among them S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, which we recently ran on our Radeon HD 5970 review, but a bunch of full-fledged games are definitely on their way.

Read the whole story

Now if the new DX11 Radeon cards would actually become available, we'd be good to go!

It would be nice to see DirectX 9 screenshots being compared to DirectX 11 screenshots. Most of the time, games that support older versions of DirectX are only slightly better when running with a newer version of the API.

I'm downloading the demo now. I'm surprised that Codemasters was able to churn out a DX11 game this quickly. I wonder just how well Dirt 2 takes advantage of the DX11 features and what I'll miss with my dual 4770 setup.

looking good. although I can't really tell too much difference unless you put the dx10 and dx11 side by side

I can hardly tell the difference between dx9, 10, or 11 personally. I'd need someone to explain to me how it's different. I know they render differently, but I just don't know how it supposedly looks differently.

Still neat that they're putting out DX11 games though.

I hope we start seeing some more DX11 games soon. Looking forward to that.

Most of the difference I notice in comparison between DX9, 10, and 11 have to do with subtle detail... Fluids, reflections, smoothing, some lighting effects. It's a lot like watching a DVD on a good high-def TV, then watching a Blu-Ray of the same movie. There is just a bit more clarity and sharpness to the details, that you don't notice in the DVD playback until you have the Blu-Ray to compare to.

Heretic, here's a good article on the specific advantages of DX11 over DX10: http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/directx-11-475655

Unfortunately, screenshots don't do it justice. I've seen a number of screenies that you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two (and even DX9 for that matter). However, it's the animation where DX11 really shows it's stuff. The fill rate is MUCH faster and efficient than DX10. Allowing for more sophisticated and realistic display.

If only i were to win a ATI 5850 video card....then i could test the DX11 performance.

Nice to see advances in the graphics world. We've come a long ways from 8-bit Nintendo.

I would love to see some side-by-side shots with DX9, DX 10, and DX 11. The Unigine Heaven Benchmark shows some pretty impressive increases in detailed with DX 11 tessellation enabled but it came at a big hit to your performance. Personally I can't tell a difference going between DX 10 and DX 11. If it is the same with DX 11 it would make it a lot easier to hold off on a graphics card upgrade.

The difference is harder to tell than Dx9 Vs Dx10..
Actually I don't really see any diff at all!!

Great, i haven't yet played Dirt 2 yet.

So to play that game you need win7 and a directx11 compatible card? Or just the os?

You will be able to play the game on a non-DX11 card but you won't be able to enjoy the DX11 features.

I really never saw a huge difference between DX9 vs DX10 games. I highly doubt i'll see a difference between DX10 and 11 games. lol

Lets say you have a dx11 card. Whats the performance difference for 9/10/11? Thats my first question. After that, does 11 really make a visual difference over 10?

Check out Unigine Heaven Benchmark - http://www.fileshack.com/file.x/15512/Unigine Heaven Benchmark

[H] also has a pretty good writeup that shows some side-by-sides.
http://www.fileshack.com/file.x/15512/Unigine Heaven Benchmark

It looks like there is definately some potential there but it will depend on how much the game developers decide to use the DX11 features.

i just tried out the demo, and it runs great.
i have a core duo e6600 oc'd to 3ghz 4gb ram and radeon 5770 and played on 1680/1050 all settings on max, it was as smooth as a babies bottom.

Wait, did you guys have the FULL version of STALKER: COP?