When and whenever we hear about DirectX, a lot of questions arise deep in our minds. Some of these are:
- What is DirectX?
- How to use DirectX?
- Why it is important?
- How to install it?
- How to check it version?
- How to use DX for games and video editing?
There are a few more questions that we need to know answers, for years; yes for years. We have been hearing about DirectX for years and we know it is required to install and play games, but what it actually is?
There are lots of answers but most of them are coated inside jargon and complicated technical terms which make no sense to most of us.
Let’s solve this mystery in a simple and easy to understand way. If you still have questions, throw it in the comment box and we will try to make things easier for you.
DirectX – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are frequently asked questions and confusions about DirectX for Windows.
DirectX is a kind of bridge which allows you obtain maximum advantage of computer hardware, especially graphics and sound.
Technically, DirectX is a software for Windows which allows software (especially games) to directly access video and audio hardware of computer. It improves overall multimedia performance by using multimedia accelerator feature which is built-in to video and audio hardware.
If you are a developer, you need to use DirectX API (Application Programming Interface) in order to make use of DirectX components. But if you are a computer user and want to use DirectX for playing games or multimedia content, then you just need to install compatible version of DirectX according to specific game or software requirements.
DxDiag is actually DirectX Diagnostic Tool which shows a report about the DirectX components and drivers currently installed on computer. It shows detailed system information including system manufacturer, BIOS and DirectX version.
The game and software developers learn how to use DirectX API and design the game according to API. When they design according to API functions, they are actually integrating the super powers of DirectX. It means the game developers have to design their game or software in such a way that can directly access video and audio hardware, and DirectX makes this direct access possible.
If the game or software is designed using DirectX API but the end user computer either has an old version of DirectX, then the user will face weird errors. The game will not start and show error messages.
The newer version usually contains most of old version components, but not necessarily. Sometimes, new technology has to abandon some old components to perform better. So, you will need to install the required version components, even if you have newer or latest version of DirectX installed on your computer.
It essentially means two facts; first the game was developed using DirectX 9 API. Secondly DirectX 12 is missing some components or files which were a part of DirectX 9. This is not strange that new versions might adopt new technology and replace old components with better ones. Therefore, you will need to install the missing component, there is no way to skip because the game had designed with old version and requires components or files of corresponding version.
Open DirectX Diagnostic Tool (DxDiag) and it will show the DirectX version installed on your Windows.
If you still have a question, throw your question in comments below.