WDDM provides the functionality required to render the desktop and applications using Desktop Window Manager, a compositing window manager running on top of Direct3D. With the removal of XDDM from Windows 8, however, WDDM became the only option. Display drivers in Windows Vista and Windows 7 can choose to either adhere to WDDM or to XDDM. It is a replacement for the previous Windows 2000 and Windows XP display driver model XDDM/XPDM and is aimed at enabling better performance graphics and new graphics functionality and stability. Windows Display Driver Model ( WDDM) is the graphic driver architecture for video card drivers running Microsoft Windows versions beginning with Windows Vista.
