It looks like the only big thing to come out of the upcoming DX10.1 release that will be available in Vista SP1, is the sound.  As Ryan mentioned in last weeks podcast, DX10.1 should fix the problems created in Vista when Microsoft changed the way Direct Sound worked, which negatively effects any DSP or surround effects created via EAX.

As far as the video component goes, the big news is that you will have to buy new hardware to support DX10.1, not a single DX10 card supports the new version.  On the other hand, the new version adds nothing to be excited about, and the chances are good that game developers will continue to program to the DX10 spec.  The Inquirer tells you about the few things that have changed here.
“Microserfs were there to espouse the greatness of DirectX 10.1, the next revision to the DX graphics spec, which is due to arrive with Windows Vista SP1.

Here’s the thing. DX10 hardware – such as the GeForce 8800 or the Radeon 2900 – won’t work with the new 10.1 features. The 0.1 revision requires completely new hardware for support, thus royally cheesing off many gamers who paid top whack for their new hardware over the last few months on the basis of future game compatibility.

But these gamers shouldn’t fret too much – 10.1 adds virtually nothing that they will care about and, more to the point, adds almost nothing that developers are likely to care about. The spec revision basically makes a number of things that are optional in DX10 compulsory under the new standard – such as 32-bit floating point filtering, as opposed to the 16-bit current. 4xAA is a compulsory standard to support in 10.1, whereas graphics vendors can pick and choose their anti-aliasing support currently.”

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