The evolution of PC gaming couldn´t have been possible without DirectX . This set of drivers contains all the necessary files to run games properly. Although some games include DirectX on their CD/DVD, others may not, so make sure you always have the latest version to play the latest games.

DirectX

Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms.
DirectX contains several APIs and these are constantly updated by Microsoft as they add new features to some of the APIs.

The components of DirectX are:

- DirectDraw: for drawing 2D Graphics (raster graphics). Now deprecated, though still in use by a number of games and as a video renderer in media applications.
- Direct3D (D3D): for drawing 3D graphics
- DirectSound: for the playback and recording of waveform sounds. DirectInput: for interfacing with input devices including keyboards, mice, joysticks, or other game controllers.
- DirectPlay: for communication over a local-area or wide-area network.
- DirectMusic: for playback of soundtracks authored in DirectMusic Producer.
- DirectShow for multimedia playback and streaming media, DirectX Transform for web interactivity, and Direct3D Retained Mode for higher level 3D graphics.
- DirectSetup: for the installation of DirectX components.

DirectX updates enables PC users to run the latest games. Among its features, it supports Pixel Shader and Vertex Shader – as long as they are supported by the video card. The first a type of shader program, often executed on a graphics processing unit. It is typically used for effects such as bump mapping and color toning, which provide crisper and more realistic graphics. Vertex Shader on the other hand is a graphics processing function used to add special effects to objects in a 3D environment.

As previously stated, DirectX is updated regularly, so it´s important to check for new versions from time to time.
On the other hand, we can access DirectX control panel by typing “dxdiag” on “Run…”. To do so, click on start > Run… and type dxdiag. Once there you can perform several tests for API (i.e. sound, graphics, network, etc).

Nowadays DirectX has become a must-have for any PC gamer out there since games implement new features as Microsoft releases new API updates. The latest versions of Direct3D, namely, Direct3D 10 and Direct3D 9Ex, are only officially available for Windows Vista, but still you need to update DirectX 9 even if you´re running Vista.

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