For any graphics card or SoC designer targeting Windows-based platforms, DirectX is non-negotiable. It is the dominant graphics API for PC gaming and professional visualization, underpinning everything from AAA titles to CAD applications. DirectX ensures compatibility with the vast ecosystem of Windows software, making it essential for OEMs and cloud providers who want to deliver rich, immersive experiences to end users.
A GPU IP block with robust DirectX support solves a critical problem for new hardware designers: it removes a barrier to entry for Windows markets. Without it, even the most capable silicon cannot run mainstream PC games or enterprise workloads. In short, it makes your solution relevant to the largest graphics software base in the world.
Over the past few years, Imagination has been on a major journey—evolving from a long‑established provider of mobile and embedded GPUs to a company that also delivers desktop‑class GPU IP solutions. We only launched our first desktop‑oriented product in 2023, and while DirectX 11 is familiar territory for established PC graphics cards, for us - and companies interested in GPU IP - it marks a first step in a longer roadmap aimed at bringing fully featured, high‑performance graphics capabilities to desktop, workstation, and cloud environments.
Claims of DirectX support are easy to make; proving it is harder. That’s why we’re moving beyond theory and shown real performance.
We released our first GPU IP with hardware based support for DirectX 11 FL11_0 at the end of 2024: Imagination DXD. This is now available in silicon designed for desktop workstations and professional rendering.
In our new demo, you can see Imagination’s D-Series GPU running 3DMark Fire Strike, a DirectX 11 benchmark designed to stress modern graphics hardware. Fire Strike is not a lightweight test—it renders a scene packed with high-polygon models, dynamic lighting, volumetric effects, and complex shaders. These are the same techniques used in demanding PC games.
Achieving over 30 frames per second in this environment demonstrates that Imagination's DirectX drivers are not just functional, they are capable of handling intricate, real-world graphics workloads. This is a level of maturity that hardware designers can trust when planning products for Windows or cloud gaming markets.
Among GPU IP vendors, Imagination stands alone in delivering demonstrable DirectX support. We have a working driver stack capable of rendering one of the most demanding synthetic benchmarks smoothly.
For SoC designers, this means confidence. For OEMs and cloud providers, it means access to Windows gaming and visualization without compromise. And for end users, it means richer experiences powered by efficient, scalable GPU IP.
And we’re not stopping here. While our latest GPU IP generation, E-Series, features hardware based support for DirectX 12 FL11_0, we are continuing to look forward and build an ambitious roadmap which gives graphics card and SoC designers the API coverage that they need to succeed in personal and cloud computing.