Imagination Technologies has recently made a noteworthy stride in the realm of graphics processing by successfully demonstrating the 3DMark Fire Strike benchmark running on its D-Series GPU, utilizing the DirectX 11 API. While this achievement may appear modest at first glance, it marks a pivotal moment for the company as it seeks to align its entire GPU intellectual property (IP) family with the Windows ecosystem, facilitating seamless gaming experiences.
Advancing Compatibility and Performance
DirectX stands as one of the most influential graphics APIs in the industry, and Imagination Technologies is keenly focused on achieving comprehensive DirectX 11 support. The successful implementation on D-Series GPUs, which are built upon the PowerVR architecture, underscores the potential of these processors to handle more demanding desktop workloads and gaming scenarios, moving beyond their traditional lightweight or embedded graphics tasks.
For context, the PowerVR architecture has a rich history, initially powering Apple’s system-on-chip (SoC) solutions before evolving into a fully customized offering. It stands alongside notable architectures such as AMD’s GCN and NVIDIA’s CUDA in terms of influence and capability.
Imagination has introduced the DXD as its inaugural D-Series product featuring hardware-based DirectX 11 Feature Level 11_0 support. This development is indicative of the company’s ambition to showcase that its GPUs can adeptly manage demanding DirectX workloads in actual silicon, rather than merely theoretical performance metrics.
The DXD is tailored for desktop graphics and cloud gaming, boasting compatibility with a range of APIs including DirectX 11, DirectX 12, Vulkan 1.4, OpenGL 4.6, and OpenCL 3.0. This broadens its software target significantly compared to earlier mobile-centric GPU designs, positioning Imagination Technologies favorably in a competitive landscape.
Additionally, the company’s E-Series GPU IP includes DirectX 12 Feature Level 11_0 support, hinting at the possibility of further DirectX 12 enablement as the groundwork for DirectX 11 functionality is solidified.
Notably, some Chinese GPU manufacturers have already begun to adapt Imagination’s GPU IP into various formats. A prime example is the DXTP architecture, which was originally designed for efficiency in smartphones and power-constrained platforms. Remarkably, just nine months later, a derivative of this technology emerged in discrete formats aimed at workstation applications.
At the recent International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD) 2025 expo, Xiang Dixian showcased their Fuxi A0 graphics card, with demo units operational within a working system. The localized version of the Lenovo New Vision Z-engine 3D platform was successfully demonstrated on this hardware, further illustrating the practical applications of Imagination’s innovations.
For those interested in witnessing the capabilities of the IMG D-Series GPU, a video demonstration of it running 3DMark Fire Strike with the DirectX 11 API is available through the provided link below.
