DX9 on a DX10 card?

[matt.modica]

If I'm running on a DX10 card but using DX9 in XP, then will I still get the benefits of the increased shader operations of the DX10 card architecture (shader operations use the dedicated shader processor clock rather than the core clock)? Thanks.

[Radiator]

Using lets say a 8800 GTS in DX9 will give you far greater performance than using a X1950 XTX , because it's a more powerful card . The DX10 cards use unified shader architecture , so it's more flexible , you can run DX9 games , aswell as DX10 games ( if you've got vista ) . And yeah... you'll get the benefits of unified shaders in both DX9 and DX10 .

[matt.modica]

Thanks, I just wanted to make sure it was worth future proofing and getting an 8600GTS even though I will be running XP for the near future.

[KARacing]

Not only yes but in most cases reported so far you will get better performance in XP with the 8xxx (DX10) cards that you will in Vista....

The Vista drivers are continuing to improve but performance is still better in XP with most games. As the shift to native DX10 games continues and improvements in the drivers happen you will see a shift in performance numbers.

You will be fine with a current DX10 card for some time...