DirectX

Microsoft DirectX 10 is a group of technologies designed to make Windows-based computers an ideal platform for running and displaying applications rich in multimedia elements such as full-color graphics, video, 3D animation, and rich audio. DirectX includes security and performance updates, along with many new features across all technologies, which can be accessed by applications using the DirectX APIs.

Many former parts of DirectX API were deprecated in the latest DirectX SDK and will be preserved for compatibility only: DirectInput was deprecated in favor of XInput, DirectSound was deprecated in favor of the Cross-platform Audio Creation Tool system (XACT) and lost support for hardware accelerated audio, since Vista audio stack renders sound in software on the CPU. The DirectPlay DPLAY.DLL was also removed and was replaced with dplayx.dll; games that rely on this DLL must duplicate it and rename it to dplay.dll.

Here are a list of some improvements and modifications to the DirectX series up until the release of DirectX 10:

Direct3D 9: emulates Direct3D 9 behavior as it was on Windows XP. Details and advantages of Vista's Windows Display Driver Model are hidden from the application if WDDM drivers are installed. This is the only API available if there are only XP graphic drivers (XDDM) installed, after an upgrade to Vista for example.

Direct3D 9Ex: allows full access to the new capabilities of WDDM (if WDDM drivers are installed) while maintaining compatibility for existing Direct3D applications. The Windows Aero user interface relies on D3D 9Ex.

Direct3D 10 for DirectX 10: Designed around the new driver model in Windows Vista and featuring a number of improvements to rendering capabilities and flexibility, including Shader Model 4.

Overall: Due to the new driver model in Windows Vista and continuing through Windows 7, DirectX 10 is specially designed around those specifications, especially around ATI and nVidia cards.



You can also find DirectX 9.0C on this page or stay on this page and select the DirectX 10 free download link to the right hand side.

From Microsoft:

Microsoft DirectX is a group of technologies designed to make Windows-based computers an ideal platform for running and displaying applications rich in multimedia elements such as full-color graphics, video, 3D animation, and rich audio. DirectX currently includes security and performance updates, along with many new features across all technologies, which can be accessed by applications using the DirectX APIs.

Video cards available today which support DirectX 10 download are some ATI (AMD) and...

DirectX 10 is licensed as Freeware for the Windows operating system / platform without restrictions. DirectX is available to all software users as a free download (Freeware).

DirectX Virus and Malware Tests:

For security reasons, you should also check out the DirectX virus and malware test that has been uploaded; additional DirectX screenshots may be available, too.

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• Directx 10 Free Download
• Microsoft Directx 10 Download