Can WPF run without DirectX?

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+4 Q:

Can WPF run without DirectX?

This might sound like a stupid question but ... will WPF stop running in absence of a DirectX/Direct3D capable graphics card/drivers or will it just run slower?

I know WPF is based on DirectX/Direct3D (even for simple controls) but I cannot find any reference on the topic which provides a good overview of borderline scenarios.

Any help appreciated!

+9 A:

WPF has a dependency on the DirectX runtime. However, both DirectX and WPF have their own software fallback modes so that, in the absence of suitable graphics hardware and/or drivers, software rendering will be used instead. Some graphically intensive features will also be unavailable when software rendering. WPF allows you to check the rendering tier that it's running under and tailor the UI to suit the current environment.

Stu Mackellar 2009-09-01 16:08:25

thanks - any other good reference on the topic?

JohnIdol 2009-09-01 16:23:46

That link I provided and the subsequent topic (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa970683.aspx) on optimisation are probably the best you'll find unfortunately.

Stu Mackellar 2009-09-01 17:00:52

Also, it's worth bearing in mind that the software-rendered performance can be painfully bad.

Stu Mackellar 2009-09-01 17:03:25

that is precisely why I am asking - I am running WPF on a portable device, drivers are not working and I am getting painful results (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1345805/wpf-listview-on-portable-device-extremely-slow-scrolling). Also not too sure wrt how I can understand if software-rendering kicked-in or not.

JohnIdol 2009-09-01 17:36:40

Checking the tier that you're running under will give you a high-level idea of what performance you're likely to get. If you're in tier 0 then forget it; tier 1 is usually ok if you don't do anything too crazy.

Stu Mackellar 2009-09-02 09:36:49

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Can WPF run without DirectX?

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