Microsoft Extols Virtues Of Windows 8 Graphics Performance

Keeping everything nice and smooth on operating systems can be a bit of a challenge thanks to the differing hardware used across systems, but Microsoft has pledged to keep everything speedy in Windows 8. Taking to the MSDN blog, a lengthy post details how the company is taking advantage of hardware acceleration to ensure a steady frame rate of 60fps while keeping any graphical glitches and anomalies low.

Microsoft has focused in on a few key areas to help make that fluid experience happen. Text rendering has been dramatically improved thanks to DirectWrite, with performance increases ranging from 131% to 336%. 2D geometry rendering also sees a boost, so any bars or charts rendered in Excel or PowerPoint shouldn't cause any unnecessary slowdown. That's also important for HTML5 rendering in Internet Explorer 10, and for any elements used in Metro apps.

On top of improved image and video rendering, DirectX 11.1 will also be the foundation for all hardware acceleration, so both 2D and 3D elements can take advantage of the technologies on offer. One API will now handle all graphics rendering, which reduces memory usage, and makes things a lot easier for apps trying to get access to the GPU whether it be tablet or traditional PC hardware.