Microsoft has announced a beta release of PIX for Windows 10 (not to be mistaken with the company"s iPhone app), a tool aimed at developers for capturing and analyzing DirectX 12 games. PIX has historically only been available to run on the Xbox console, which utilizes the same graphics API.
The software will provide five primary features.
- PIX will be able to make GPU captures: this provides developers with an insight into the performance of Direct3D 12 graphics rendering on the graphics card.
- PIX can make timed captures: this enables developers to analyze the demands of all aspects of the game, placed on the processor and graphics card.
- PIX can provide a "Function Summary" which collects information on any game functions, recording their call frequency and call length.
- A callgraph feature "traces the execution of a single function".
- A memory allocation feature gives developers a breakdown of the memory allocations made by the game.
Along with this free beta release, the team at Microsoft has provided a video tutorial series available on YouTube. The series includes five introductory videos to help developers get started on the platform. The PIX team is receptive to suggestions and has provided a feedback button in the top left-hand corner of the program. A roadmap of future plans for the software has also been published.
The beta-release of PIX is available to download from the Microsoft Developer Network.
Source: Microsoft Developer Blog | Image: Microsoft