Imagination launches brand new line of high-performance GPU IP with DirectX

IMG DXD is a scalable GPU IP tailor-made for desktop, laptop and cloud gaming graphics experiences.

November 7, 2023 -- Imagination Technologies launches IMG DXD, the first product in a new line of high-performance GPU IP with support for DirectX^®*.  Starting with a hardware-based implementation of DirectX 11 Feature Level 11_0, the new IMG DXD has the API coverage to run popular PC games as well as other Windows-based applications and mobile titles. It has already been licensed for use in the desktop market. 

“This is a significant milestone in Imagination’s desktop journey,” says Simon Beresford-Wylie, Chief Executive Officer, Imagination Technologies.  “Hardware-based support for DirectX is an essential element of a desktop GPU and, for us, IMG DXD with Feature Level 11_0 is just the start; we are continuing to invest in our API coverage and feature set so that our customers have the GPU IP they need to compete successfully in the desktop market.” 

IMG DXD offers 2.25x the per-core graphics performance of IMG BXT, the GPU currently shipping in PCIe factor boards. An IMG DXD dual-core configuration delivers 5 TFLOPS FP32 and 144 GTexel/s, more than enough to satisfy mainstream gamers with smooth frame rates.  Licensees can leverage Imagination’s innovative multi-core technology to continually scale this performance to higher levels.   

Three factors come together in IMG DXD to make it particularly appealing for cloud gaming companies looking to optimise service volume and service quality per watt: 

• IMG DXD’s approach to multi-core is highly flexible. Each individual core can operate independently as a separate GPU instance which, in a cloud gaming scenario, helps maximise the number of gamers that each GPU can host. Alternatively, for maximum quality for a single user (in either a cloud gaming or desktop scenario), the power of all cores can be combined together.
• Imagination’s HyperLane virtualisation technology takes this further, enabling each core to host up to eight gamers with full security and flexible performance management. 
• It features the inherent energy efficiencies of the PowerVR tile-based deferred rendering architecture, originally designed to deliver high quality 3D graphics to markets where power consumption is limited by battery life and packaging. 

When compared with its closest equivalent IMG BXT configuration, IMG DXD offers 40-60% higher peak performance. This improvement is thanks to the inclusion of key performance efficiency features such as dual-rate FP16 for higher compute performance and power efficiency; Fragment Shading Rate to reduce the amount of processing required per frame without impacting the visual experience; 2D Dual-Rate Texturing to speed up post processing effects in games; support for ASTC HDR to minimise bandwidth when using high quality textures; and a modern RISC-V based firmware processor with up to 40% higher GPU management performance.

Zhimin Tang, Chairman of Xiangdixian Computing Technology (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. says “There is a growing demand in the Chinese market for versatile, high performance and power-efficient graphics cards. Xiangdixian is pleased to see Imagination’s efforts to incorporate essential desktop features, such as DirectX support and modern gaming optimisations, into their newly released IMG DXD GPU IP products. Xiangdixian is committed to developing tailored graphic products aligned with these enhancements, to ensure they meet the evolving needs of customers.”

The graphics card market is rapidly diversifying, particularly in China. Ambitious companies are accelerating their time to market while giving their engineers the opportunity to focus on the differentiation that really matters to desktop and cloud gaming customers by working with a feature-rich, high-quality IP solution from an experienced supplier such as Imagination. IMG DXD works alongside all popular CPU architectures, including RISC-V. It supports Linux, Android and Windows as well as emerging operating systems such as UOS and Kylin OS. 

Join Imagination at ICCAD Booth #B62 from 10 November to see the latest IMG GPU IP cloud gaming demonstration and to find out more about IMG DXD in our talk “A New Horizon in Cloud Gaming”. 

_{*IMG DXD is a GPU IP based on the published DirectX and Khronos API specifications. Hardware designed with this IP is expected to pass conformance testing.}