Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Pix for Windows 10 will help developers ensure great gaming performance

Mark Coppock
By
Intro to PIX on Windows, 1/5 - Launch UI
There was a time when the future of PC gaming was questioned, with many assuming that consoles would completely take over and the PC would be relegated to running Microsoft Office and sending email. That dire circumstance never happened, of course, and today PC gaming is perhaps as vibrant as it’s ever been.

Certainly, Microsoft has demonstrated its own commitment to PC gaming in Windows 10, with DirectX 12 and Xbox Play Anywhere and the Game Mode coming in Creators Update providing ample evidence. Now, Microsoft is once again making an effort to ensure that Windows 10 is a great gaming platform, by releasing its Pix on Windows 10 tool for game developers.

Recommended Videos

Pix is a free utility that helps game developers take a look at a game’s performance in rendering a single frame by a process called GPU capture. By peering into the details of the process, developers can assess how each rendering component contributes to the total frame time and then optimize their code as needed.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!
Privacy Policy

GPU capture also lets developers identify any correctness issues, including corrupted data in the rendering process caused by synchronization issues. A Resource History view is one example of how developers can look at the entire lifetime of a frame to gain an understanding of how the rendering process utilizes buffers and textures.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Other Pix tools include timing captures to see how well the CPU and GPU are performing, function summary captures to monitor the length of function runs, callgraph captures to trace a single function’s execution, and memory allocation captures to compile details on a game’s memory allocations. It’s all quite complex and the details are mostly of interest to developers.

Nevertheless, Pix’s release is still a good thing for PC gamers because it’s yet another tool in the game developer’s utility belt to help make Windows 10 games as well-performing as possible. If you’re a developer, then you can check out the Pix blog for more information and download the utility here. Note that the tool is still in beta and requires Window 10 with Anniversary Update, and Microsoft recommends a pretty beefy system with 32GB of RAM.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock
Computing Writer
Mark has been a geek since MS-DOS gave way to Windows and the PalmPilot was a thing. He’s translated his love for…
How to buy a gaming PC for the best performance and value
asrock killed overclocking intel skylake nonk gaming motherboard

A gaming PC is a big investment -- and in the case of a gaming desktop PC, it can be a big piece of equipment, too. That's why consulting a comprehensive gaming PC buying guide like this one is a great way to figure out what you need and where you should focus your budget. Between your graphics card, processor, RAM, and storage, there's a lot to consider, but not all of it requires the same level of investment. That's why we're here to show you how to buy a gaming desktop.

Putting together a gaming rig for the first time is daunting, but it doesn't have to be difficult. As long as you know what to look for and where to look for it, you can buy the pre-built gaming PC of your dreams or even build your own gaming rig. Either way, with our know-how, you'll surely end up with a gaming PC that fulfills all your wants and needs.
How big a PC do you want?
This PC is so big it has two computers inside! Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Read more
PC gamers — Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 are officially dead
Windows 10 running on the Steam Deck.

We all knew it was coming, but it's still sad to see Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 go. Valve announced that it ended support for the three operating systems on January 1, 2024, essentially ending the life of the storied operating systems for the small batch of PC gamers still using them. We had a great run.

Before we cry foul that Valve is shuttering Steam support for potential users, understand that Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 only make up a total of 0.89% of all Steam users. That's not an insignificant number of users -- there are 31 million online users on Steam at the time of writing, nearly 10 million of which are playing games -- but I'd wager a large number of those users either have other, newer PCs, or aren't active on Steam most days.

Read more
Microsoft plans to charge for Windows 10 updates in the future
Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating system logos are displayed on laptop screens.

Microsoft has confirmed it will offer security updates for Windows 10 after the end-of-life date for the operating system for consumer users but for a fee.

The brand recently announced plans to charge regular users for Extended Security Updates (ESU) who intend to continue using Windows 10 beyond the October 14, 2025 support date.

Read more