What is DirectX and how does it work? DirectX is the hidden formula behind the scenes that allows some of the best PC games or consoles to run.
DirectX solves a major developer problem by providing a standardized solution for transmitting instructions to your graphics card, and this is the cornerstone of the best graphics cards you can get right now.
In this article, we will travel deep into DirectX, telling you why DirectX 12 Ultimate is important and how you can understand the DirectX version of your PC.
What is DirectX and how does it work?
DirectX is an application programming interface or API developed by Microsoft for Windows and Xbox. A graphical API is an interface that facilitates the sending of software-to-hardware instructions into your computer. In the early days of computers, instructions were transmitted directly to the hardware.
However, as games became more complex over time and security standards became more direct, so did APIs play a more important role in defining the functionality of your graphics card. In the past, developers had to write different drivers for multiple graphics cards. APIs like DirectX are standardized to allow AMD or Nvidia drivers to do whatever they want with your graphics card.
Graphics APIs also allow features such as hardware retrieval to be enabled, and can also enhance performance through a number of optimizations. Of course, DirectX is not the only graphics API, but it is the main example that you should pay attention to. Although this API is exclusive to Windows, some other open source APIs, such as Vulkan, are cross-platform and are supported on multiple platforms.
What is DirectX 12 Ultimate?
DirectX 12 Ultimate is currently the latest version of this API, which is available on Windows 10, Windows 11 and Xbox X and S series.
Microsoft itself defines version 12 ultimate as an add-on to version 12 that allows you to use features such as resizing and shading rates on Xbox and Windows consoles.
We introduce all the additional features available in DirectX 12 Ultimate below:
- DirectX Retrieval (DXR): A prototype version of Retrying to be introduced and used in games such as Fortnite and Battlefield V. Most games now support retrying via DXR. However, Vulcan also has its own retrying feature.
- Variable Shading Rate (VRS): This feature allows the graphics card to allocate different amounts of energy to different parts of a frame. The main idea is to increase efficiency by focusing on the more important parts of a scene, which leads to saving resources in heavier parts.
- Mesh Shaders: Mesh Shaders are a complex subject, but if we want to simplify it, network shaders combine several shading steps in one process. This process prevents switching between your CPU and RAM while mapping networks, thus increasing performance.
- Sampler Feedback: Modern games distribute assets, or indeed assets, within the game world, and the game is forced to predict the next stream or distribution of stars depending on what the player is doing. Sample feedback feeds samples of things that might happen without actually following the instructions. As a result, it allows games to better anticipate and decide which characters to play and display in the future.
Although there are many new features built into DirectX 12 Ultimate, these are for developers and you do not need to worry about them. With these features, developers are now able to optimize games beyond what they were previously able to do with DirectX 11 and 12. The most important feature of the Ultimate version is the DXR, which allows retrying not only on PCs, but also on the Xbox Series X console.
Compare DirectX 11 and DirectX12
At the time of writing, several new games based on DirectX 12 are being released, but there are still more games that are released by DirectX 11 by default. Fortnite, for example, uses DirectX 11, and games like Control and Civilization VI offer both options.
Most of the time you have to choose the latest available API that is supported by your graphics card. The source of this article tries to show the differences between DirectX 11 and 12 by benchmarking Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Overall, the differences are small, but DirectX 12 performs 6.5 percent better in terms of results. The latest version of DirectX usually provides the best possible performance, especially months and years after the release of the new version.
Nvidia’s RTX 30 and RTX 20 series graphics cards and AMD’s RX 6000 series graphics cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate. Since AMD’s RX 5000 graphics cards do not support retrying, there is no support for DirectX 12 Ultimate. However, this series of AMD cards support 12-pin DirectX.
How to install and update DirectX
You can not install DirectX directly. This API comes with Windows and you can only update it with Windows. If you see a suggestion to install DirectX on the web, avoid it. Microsoft has not provided any installers, or in other words, installers for DirectX.
DirectX is installed and updated only through the Windows Update section. Before updating DirectX, you should know the version; To understand your DirectX version, follow these steps:
- Right-click on the Windows icon in the Start bar and select Run. You can also run Run by pressing the “Windows + R” key combination.
- Type dxdiag in it and click OK.
- After going to the System tab of the page that opens, the phrase in front of the DirectX section indicates your DirectX version.
As long as your Windows is up to date, the latest version of DirectX will be installed on your computer. However, if you wish, you can follow the steps below to force Windows to check for new updates to your operating system as well as DirectX:
- Press the “Windows + S” key combination to display the search box.
- In this section, type the phrase Check for updates and select the first option that is displayed.
- Select Check for updates to let Windows check for the latest updates.
- If a new update is available, you can install it by pressing the Install now option.
What is DirectX and how does it work?
