Reza Infotech

19/01/2017

Microsoft Releases Xbox PIX Game Performance And Debugging Tool For Windows 10

Microsoft has some good news for game developers, and especially those who are taking advantage of its DirectX 12 API. The Redmond outfit announced that PIX, its premier performance tuning and debugging tool for Xbox, is now available for free on Windows 10. The standalone tool for Windows 10 is built on the Xbox version, so developers targeting both platforms can get started optimizing their Windows titles, too.

"It has become increasingly clear that, with low-level APIs such as DirectX 12, attaining the best performance requires deep insight into every step of the rendering process. On Xbox, we have a long running history of providing some of the most in-depth graphics analysis tools in the world to help game developers build the best games possible. Our developer community has repeatedly asked us provide the same kind of tooling for Windows," Microsoft stated in a blog post.

One of the key features of PIX is the GPU capture. This gives game developers a detailed breakdown of how the game renders a single frame. Developers can examine each of the many steps and API calls, which are accurately timed, to gain a better understanding of how each part of the rendering contributes to the overall frame time. Armed with that information, developers can tweak and optimize as necessary to improve performance.

GPU captures can also help developers track down and fix errors that might crop up, such as rendering problems that occur when there's a synchronization issue causing corrupted data. By enabling the Resource History view, developers can see how buffers and textures are used throughout the lifetime of a frame.

To use the tool, Microsoft recommends a system with a 32GB of RAM, a DX12 GPU with the newest drivers, and Windows 10 with the Anniversary Update installed.

One thing to keep in mind is that this is a beta release. Microsoft says it's probably that developers will encounter bugs, and that there are features it wants to implement that have not yet been added.

19/01/2017

Google’s attempt to flood emerging markets with low-cost Android One smartphones has been met with limited success since launching the initiative two years ago. The idea was to partner with local manufacturers to build affordable handsets and then commit to supporting them with updates for 18 months. Google is not giving up on that goal, but with an eye towards expanding into program into the United States, it might be shifting its focus a bit.

Inside sources at Google told The Information about Google's plan, which includes the launch of its first Android One smartphone in the U.S. sometime before the second half of this year. It is not known what company will manufacturer the handsets (LG is a possibility), though pricing is expected to be $200 to $300. Google will fund an ad campaign to promote the program's expansion and new phone launch.

The expected price point is an interesting one. At somewhere between $200 to $300, the Android One destined for U.S. shores is comparatively expensive to what Google sells in other territories. At launch in emerging markets, phones built to Android One specifications ran about $100. Google later rebooted the program with a focus on getting the price down to $50, a much more palatable cost for consumers in emerging markets.

Raising the price for a U.S. launch is risky, though if the hardware and features are decent, Google should not have a lot of trouble finding buyers. As a point of reference, flagship phones can run $600 or more. The big draw for consumers will be timely updates direct from Google, along with its commitment to support Android One smartphones for a year and a half to two years.

To give an idea of where things are at outside the U.S., buyers in India can grab a Google Lava Pixel V1 for around $100. It has a 5.5-inch HD IPS display (1280x720), 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage + microSD, 8MP front-facing camera, 13MP rear camera, and a 2,650mAh battery.

With a launch price that is two or three times higher, whatever Google has in store for the U.S. presumably will be a bit higher end.

18/01/2017

31/12/2015

12/10/2015

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