What exactly is DirectX, and do I need it?

Question

So what does DirectX really do? My games have been lagging very much lately, and I just got Hunting Unlimited 2008. After trying everything I could, I've decided to ask about DirectX. On the back of the box my game (GTA: San Andreas) it says reccommended is DirectX 9 Compatible Surround Sound. I have never installed it as I figured it was something to do with sound and I didn't really care. Could not having this installed be the reason my games lag so much?
And if I do need to install it which one. My games all reccommend DirectX 9, but I know there is a DirectX 10 now, and I am also on a Vista computer, and I've heard that DirectX 10 is supposed to work with Vista. Any help is appreciated.
Matt

Answer 1

DirectX is a set of multimedia Application Programming Interfaces (API's) written by Microsoft. It is a collection of Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) that contain functions useful to a wide range of multimedia programmers, but are all almost entirely platform independent. This allows programmers access to fast graphics, sound, and input functions while not needing their apps to test for the capabilities of the computer on which their program is running. DirectX will evaluate these capabilities and if they are not present, DirectX may attempt (in many cases) to emulate the functions in software instead of hardware.



DirectX provides a key set of tools and commands to enhance games and other multimedia applications allowing the hardware and the software to "talk" to each other with much greater ease. The API gives multimedia applications greater access to the advanced features of high-performance hardware such as three-dimensional (3D) graphics acceleration chips and uber sound cards. They also control many other lower-level functions; this includes two-dimensional (2D) graphics acceleration; support for the wide range of input devices such as joysticks/joy-pads, keyboards, mice, controls sound mixing and sound output on a vast range of audio hardware, controls networking and multiplayer gaming, and control over various multimedia streaming formats.



MAJOR COMPONENTS OF DIRECTX INCLUDE:

* DirectDraw - 2D Graphics

* Direct3D - 3D Graphics

* DirectSound - 2D Sound

* DirectSound3D - 3D Sound

* DirectMusic - Music

* DirectPlay - Network/Multiplayer

* DirectInput - Input Devices

Answer 2

DirectX is IMPORTANT for your CPU's Operating system to function smoothly and effectively. DirectX serves as the control center for your computers multimedia functions like graphics, sounds, and various hardware and plug and play devices. It is the "link" between software and hardware for the Windows based operating systems. Games require updated versions of DirectX to work properly. From game controls to shaders and to sound... DirectX directs all of these functions. Graphics cards also require DirectX to be able to function well! Rgarding DirectX9 and DirectX10, yes the two are different. DirectX 10 is the latest version of DirectX for the Windows Vista platform. All the eyecandy that you see on Vista is all thanks to DirectX. But if you don't have a DirectX 10 capable video card (like NVIDIA's Geforce 8 series and or ATI's Radeon 2000 series) then you won't be able to harness the full potential of DirectX 10's features like shader model 4, 16x Anti-aliasing, and unified shader architecture technologies. Actually DirectX 10 is DirectX 9 improved and pumped up. That is why your old GPU still works under Vista considering it's a DirectX9.0c compatible hardware. If you do have a DirectX 9 video card then what your GPU uses is the DirectX9 feautures of DirectX10. Well, that's it. It is important to install and update your DirectX software to be able to run your games and other programs smoothly. If you want to harness DirectX 10's features then upgrade to the latest DirectX 10 capable GPUs! God bless!

Answer 3

Eh. I've never really been sure what DirectX actually does. I know Internet Explorer has to use it as well as games. And you probly should install it. As for which one, any, including the recommended, or higher will be fine. (So, install 10 so that you won't need to install it later for newer games ^_^ )

Answer 4

It's almost always automatically installed whenever you install a game. Your problem might lie with your graphics card.

Answer 5

Here is an article about it .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_x