The best test is perhaps to spend the same amount of time on both the D3D and OGL apps. Direct3D gives a much more low level impression and it is maybe easier to write card specific code with it but that takes time!

The interesting thing to compare is how much you would get out of spending X hours trying to optimize. Good OpenGL code is pretty fast so in most cases would it be better trying to optimize something else.

Writing D3D8 code without the framework and utility library is very time consuming and low level.

If an extension in OpenGL is being accepted will it be an ARB extension and finally be in the API. DirectX is by 100% controlled by MS and they put in what they think is good for them at the moment.

The cheap crap cards does not have any good 3D support even in D3D. They are extremly slow and I have not seen a game that will be correctly rendered by such a card.

If you are interested in 3D is the only solution to get a decent card no matter of what API you prefer.

There is no real way to compare OpenGL and Direct X. It depends so much on the application, video card and what specific functions are being called (which can vary from card to card in speed in executing the functions).

Really, the best way to compare them would probably be to find some game/apps which support both D3D and OGL, and find the average difference in those on a single video card. Then you have a general idea which COULD be faster on that card.

IT DIFFERS FROM CARD TO CARD!

Ultimately, the small difference in performance between Direct3D and OpenGL is pretty much negligable to a good programmer.

About the T-Buffer, I''m almost sure you can use it through the multi-sampling properties of D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS...

i didn''t mean to get into a DirectX / OpenGL fight here!!!
is that all anyone ever does!!

jeez one person says they like something and then 9,000,000 people tell them they are wrong for liking it!!!!!!!!

i meant that i took a look at directX and from what i see it seems to be faster than OpenGL in general. Also, FROM WHAT I SEE, AND FROM WHAT I HAVE HEARD, it seems to be a more powerful API, no im not saying that anybody who uses OpenGL is a moron for doing so. If you like OpenGL, use it. I like it too so I use both, i just think DirectX is better. Let me reword that, I prefer DirectX to OpenGL

lets grow up a little here

Cobra: You should be able to find the SDK at http://www.microsoft.com/directx/

hope that helps..

- JN

If someone post in a OpenGL forum that Direct3D is awesome and has the ability to go twice as should not be offended by the replies.

Merry christmas to you and everybody else here

PSioNIC:


An interesting note:

Today I''ve installed new Detonator drivers on my pc, the new one was ver 6.31 the older one was ver 6.18

Strangely enough I got very poor performance in D3D8 with the 6.31 drivers while 6.18 was much faster (very much).
OGL is in both drivers very fast.

So I think you''ve got the wrong drivers and maybe that''s why D3D runs faster on your pc?