Direct3D feature levels (Windows)

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To handle the diversity of video cards in new and existing machines, Microsoft Direct3D 11 introduces the concept of feature levels. This topic discusses Direct3D feature levels.

Each video card implements a certain level of Microsoft DirectX (DX) functionality depending on the graphics processing units (GPUs) installed. In prior versions of Microsoft Direct3D, you could find out the version of Direct3D the video card implemented, and then program your application accordingly.

With Direct3D 11, a new paradigm is introduced called feature levels. A feature level is a well defined set of GPU functionality. For instance, the 9_1 feature level implements the functionality that was implemented in Microsoft Direct3D 9, which exposes the capabilities of shader models ps_2_x and vs_2_x, while the 11_0 feature level implements the functionality that was implemented in Direct3D 11.

Now when you create a device, you can attempt to create a device for the feature level that you want to request. If the device creation works, that feature level exists, if not, the hardware does not support that feature level. You can either try to recreate a device at a lower feature level or you can choose to exit the application. For more info about creating a device, see the D3D11CreateDevice function.

Using feature levels, you can develop an application for Direct3D 9, Microsoft Direct3D 10, or Direct3D 11, and then run it on 9, 10 or 11 hardware (with some exceptions of course, new 11 features will not run on an existing 9 card for example). Here is a couple of other basic properties of feature levels:

A GPU that allows a device to be created meets or exceeds the functionality of that feature level.
A feature level always includes the functionality of previous or lower feature levels.
A feature level does not imply performance, only functionality. Performance is dependent on hardware implementation.
Choose a feature level when you create a Direct3D 11 device.

For information about limitations creating nonhardware-type devices on certain feature levels, see Limitations Creating WARP and Reference Devices.

To assist you in deciding what feature level to design with, compare the features for each feature level.

The 10Level9 Reference section lists the differences between how various ID3D11Device and ID3D11DeviceContext methods behave at various 10Level9 feature levels.

Overview For Each Feature Level

The following table lists the features available per feature level:

	11_11	11_0	10_1	10_0	9_3	9_2	9_1
Shader Model	5.02	5.02	4.x	4.0	2.0 (4_0_level_9_3) [vs_2_a/ps_2_x]5	2.0 (4_0_level_9_1)	2.0 (4_0_level_9_1)
Geometry Shader	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Stream Out	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
DirectCompute / Compute Shader	Yes	Yes	Optional	Optional	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hull and Domain Shaders	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Texture Resource Arrays	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Cubemap Resource Arrays	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
BC4/BC5 Compression	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
BC6H/BC7 Compression	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Alpha-to-coverage	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Extended Formats (BGRA, and so on)	Yes	Yes	Optional	Optional	Yes	Yes	Yes
10-bit XR High Color Format	Yes	Yes	Optional	Optional	N/A	N/A	N/A
Logic Operations (Output Merger)	Yes	Optional1	Optional1	Optional1	No	No	No
Target-independent rasterization	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Multiple render target(MRT) with ForcedSampelCount 1	Yes	Optional1	Optional1	Optional1	No	No	No
UAV slots	64	8	1	1	N/A	N/A	N/A
UAVs at every stage	Yes	No	No	No	N/A	N/A	N/A
Max forced sample count for UAV-only rendering	16	8	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Constant buffer offsetting and partial updates	Yes	Optional1	Optional1	Optional1	Yes1	Yes1	Yes1
16 bits per pixel (bpp) formats	Yes	Optional1	Optional1	Optional1	Optional1	Optional1	Optional1
Max Texture Dimension	16384	16384	8192	8192	4096	2048	2048
Max Cubemap Dimension	16384	16384	8192	8192	4096	512	512
Max Volume Extent	2048	2048	2048	2048	256	256	256
Max Texture Repeat	16384	16384	8192	8192	8192	2048	128
Max Anisotropy	16	16	16	16	16	16	2
Max Primitive Count	2^32 – 1	2^32 – 1	2^32 – 1	2^32 – 1	1048575	1048575	65535
Max Input Slots	32	32	32	16	16	16	16
Simultaneous Render Targets	8	8	8	8	4	1	1
Occlusion Queries	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Separate Alpha Blend	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Mirror Once	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Overlapping Vertex Elements	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Independent Write Masks	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Instancing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Nonpowers-of-2 conditionally3	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Nonpowers-of-2 unconditionally4	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No

1 Requires the Direct3D 11.1 runtime.

2 Shader model 5.0 can optionally support double-precision shaders, extended double-precision shaders, the SAD4 shader instruction, and partial-precision shaders. To determine the shader model 5.0 options that are available, call ID3D11Device::CheckFeatureSupport.

3 At feature levels 9_1, 9_2 and 9_3, the display device supports the use of 2-D textures with dimensions that are not powers of two under two conditions. First, only one MIP-map level for each texture can be created, and second, no wrap sampler modes for textures are allowed (that is, the AddressU, AddressV, and AddressW members of D3D11_SAMPLER_DESC cannot be set to D3D11_TEXTURE_ADDRESS_WRAP).

4 At feature levels 10_0, 10_1 and 11_0, the display device unconditionally supports the use of 2-D textures with dimensions that are not powers of two.

5 Vertex Shader 2a with 256 instructions, 32 temporary registers, static flow control of depth 4, dynamic flow control of depth 24, and D3DVS20CAPS_PREDICATION. Pixel Shader 2x with 512 instructions, 32 temporary registers, static flow control of depth 4, dynamic flow control of depth 24, D3DPS20CAPS_ARBITRARYSWIZZLE, D3DPS20CAPS_GRADIENTINSTRUCTIONS, D3DPS20CAPS_PREDICATION, D3DPS20CAPS_NODEPENDENTREADLIMIT, and D3DPS20CAPS_NOTEXINSTRUCTIONLIMIT.

Direct3D feature levels

Overview For Each Feature Level

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