Hi, I''m new to this so please bear with me... I am wondering if the Nvidia GeForce 2 MX 400 video chipset with its Detonator XP upgrade will allow me to use all the features of DirectX 8. That is, it is my understanding that DirectX 8 is the first veriosn of the API that integrate 2D & 3D into Direct 3D, so I''d like to start off with that. The original Nvidia GeForce 2 MX 400 claimed DirectX 7 support. But it now has the Detonator XP upgrade, and I''m having a hard time knowing if that means I can use the new DirectX 8 API with that card. (Sorry for the wordy question- the difference between card & API etc is still a bit fuzzy in my mind) Thanx!

Defenitly! All you need are the DIrectX 8 run-times, and the latest Detonator drives. Although, some features might not work correctly or not work at all on a GeForce 2 MX. Listen, if you want to get a good card (GeForce 2 Ti 32mb), http://www.nanosys1.com has one for $89 (or $79).

quote: the difference between card & API etc is still a bit fuzzy in my mind
-The drivers have hardware spacific code that talks to the card.
-The API has driver spacific code that talks to the drivers.

- err, the last signiture sucked bigtime!

dohh! I have to touch-up on my BBS code

- err, the last signiture sucked bigtime!

Thanx for your reply!

It seems I have to get the GeForce 2 MX 400 to be compatible with a very fussy software (Pro-Engineer).

I asked at a hardware site and they say NO DirectX 8 API calls will be supported..... I don''t care if I miss a few features such as pixel shaders etc. But I ready don''t want to have to revert to DirectDraw procedures.

Yes u can use the DX8.x interfaces but not all features are supported in hardware. Pixel Shaders, Vertex Shaders are not supported in hardware, so if u use them u will see performance problems because they are emulated in SW on the CPU. You could always make two code paths, one for the fixed function pipeline and one for the programmable (shader) pipeline. This way anyone with pre-DX8.x hardware aren''t left out.

-potential energy is easily made kinetic-

Great! Thank you both! I figure it''ll take me a few months to get advanced enough for pixel shading etc anyway