Will a Direct X10 video card such as the 8600GTS work on Windows XP?

Answer 1

While the card will work on XP, keep in mind that it will not utilize the DirectX10 capabilities. Microsoft has decided to keep DirectX10 as a Microsoft Vista only offering (link below). From the link:

"Since these new interfaces rely on the WDDM technology, they will never be available on earlier versions of Windows."

Note that WDDM = Vista Display Driver Model and they will not be including it in XP or any older OS releases (convenient for them to essentially force people to upgrade to run the latest games). Fortunately some open source projects are working to bring DirectX10 to older and alternative operating systems. Keep an eye out for the Alky Project (now under Falling Leaf Systems) that is writing a version for multiple operating systems.

Also below is a link analyzing Microsoft logic (or illogical) decision to keep DirectX10 for Vista only. From their analysis, we could still see a release of it for XP if game manufacturers pressure Microsoft enough.

Oh, to answer your question about the 8600GTS on XP, this nVidia link indicates that it is supported on XP (both the 32 & 64 bit versions)

Answer 2

Yes. Theres no problem, but if your're thinking of playing Direct X 10 games, you need to install Direct X 10 onto your XP computer. I dont know but it might come with the game.

Answer 3

hamdy