Some programs will require it, and those that don’t will be fully backward compatible. On the software side, DirectX 11 improves rendering performance, enhances support for gamer controllers and other input devices and added support for other devices, such as mobile and the Xbox One.Īs a rule of thumb, if your Windows PC supports DirectX 11, then you should upgrade. DirectCompute, on the other hand, gives developers additional processing power and even allows them to perform operations that aren’t well suited to the CPU or standard GPU pipeline. Tessellation lets developers manipulate aspects of polygons rather than entire structures, which allows for much greater detail than previous methods. At the hardware level, it now supports DirectCompute and tessellation. In order to appreciate DirectX 11, one must consider what new features this version provides. Microsoft DirectX 11 configures itself behind the scenes and runs as needed without user interaction. He or she can install this package with confidence. The average user doesn’t have to worry about these.

The DirectX software development kit or SDK includes everything. However, this particular version is streamlined and includes only what is necessary for programs that need DirectX 11 to run. DirectX is also backward compatible, so after installing 11, your PC can still support games and applications that rely on older versions.ĭirectX 11 is intended for both developers and end-users. If you have a game or other multimedia application that was built using DirectX 11, then you need DirectX 11 installed in order for it to run. DirectX 11 is an integration of this API package that was released alongside Windows 7. These APIs handle a wide range of tasks related to game programming, video and other multimedia. DirectX 11 is an API collection that helps game and multimedia developers deliver better experiences through better rendering options and a wide array of optimized tools.ĭirectX is a set of application programming interfaces or APIs.

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