DirectX itself already manages the loop and locks the framerate for ya at your monitors refresh rate. With vb.net 2008 you can learn directx9. Im already making 2D based tutorials on it based on the vb6 DX8 tutorials I made shown in my signature. Its just a slow process cause of my personal life but soon it'll be done even with a new improved tile engine tutorial designed to create massive size worlds no matter how big and it'll never slow using my personal algorithm I designed on my own. So keep a look out