Don't be alarmed! this is from a somewhat humorous opinion piece from
http://www.overclockers.com/articles1375/.DirectX 10 is coming, and to enjoy the fruits of Microsoft's pixel-bullying labors, you'll need a few minor hardware upgrades. You need to throw out that entry-level, mid-grade, or pinnacle video card you're currently using and buy one that requires probably four times as much power and outputs who knows how much more heat. That's going to necessitate some augmented cooling in your case and possibly your computer room, so be prepared to either play with your fan setup if you have a good case, or buy a new case if you don't.
I especially got a kick from this line:
I'm also not going to be buying Half Life 3 or Unreal Tournament 2009 or SimCity 5, etc... because I'm not going to buy a video card that requires fuel rods or an operating system that requires more hardware just to sit there and drool prettiness compared to the games I play today.
I have also heard that Microshitz will offer an upgraded DX9, incorporating some DX10 into it, for Windoze XP systems. :shrug: