What is DirectX? How to Install it? How to check DirectX version in your system?

DirectX made its initial appearance in 1995 as a feature rolled out with Microsoft Windows 95. Earlier to Windows 95, games had direct access to graphics cards and the motherboard, and you could directly edit the configuration file to make changes at hardware level. This was a huge security concern. But with Microsoft DirectX debut, the company introduced a middleman that can communicate between a game and a video card, thereby restricting games’ direct access to low-level hardware.

DirectX basically is a feature that allows games to communicate to graphics cards. It is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Games that use DirectX can use multimedia accelerator features built-in to your hardware more efficiently which improves your overall multimedia experience.

How to install Microsoft DirectX in your Windows System?

As stated earlier, DirectX is a Windows feature which is delivered by Microsoft through regular Windows update. If Windows Update is Turned On on your system your OS should have the latest version of DirectX automatically installed. There are no stand-alone package versions of DirectX.

How to check the DirectX version in your system?

Following below steps you can check the current version of Microsoft DirectX installed on your computer:

1. On your computer, click on the Start menu.
2. Type ‘dxdiag’ in the search box.
3. A menu will open named ‘DirectX Diagnostic Tool’.
4. Under the ‘System’ tab you will see ‘DirectX Version’ installed on your system.

 
The DirectX Diagnostic Tool will also provide basic information about the inbuilt graphics drivers, information about your external GPU, sound drivers and input devices attached to your computer.