Downloading DirectX
To download DirectX, visit the Microsoft website. To save the configuration file on your computer, click on the red "Download" button. Open the executable file dxwebsetup.exe
and complete the installation of DirectX according to the instructions displayed on the Microsoft website or in the DirectX installation program.
Starting DirectX 12
There is no specific setting in the Windows operating system that allows the activation of DirectX 12. You can try to activate it by updating the Windows system settings. Make sure to update the installed GPU driver on your computer if you are still using Windows 7.
Updating DirectX 12 to DirectX 11 on Windows 10
To switch from DirectX 12 to DirectX 11 on Windows 10, select the "Windows Update" option from the list of applications that appears when you click on the "Start" icon, and then choose "All Programs" or "Programs". The update will start automatically assuming the automatic update installation is enabled.
DirectX 12 Compatibility
DirectX 12 Ultimate is supported by NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards and future AMD Radeon cards with RDNA2 architecture. Although the exact release date is not known at the moment, Microsoft will release the new APIs with the Windows 10 20H1 update.
Starting and Installing DirectX
Before downloading the latest version of DirectX, visit the Microsoft "DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer". Select the "Download" button to access the dxwebsetup.exe
file. Then, follow the instructions to download and install dxwebsetup.exe
, which contains the latest version of DirectX.
Changing DirectX Version
You can change the DirectX version by following these steps:
- Press the Win+R key combination on your computer keyboard to bring up the Run panel.
- Type
dxdiag.exe
in the window to display DirectX library information and press Enter on the keyboard.
Updating to DirectX 12
To update to DirectX 12, follow these steps:
- Microsoft provides updates for DirectX through Windows Update.
- Select Settings, then Update & Security, then Windows Update, and click on Check for updates to see if DirectX can be updated.
Installing DirectX on Windows 10
To install DirectX on Windows 10, follow these steps:
- Click on Start and type
dxdiag
in the search box. - Press OK.
- Click on
dxdiag
in the list of results. - Check the DirectX version displayed on the first page of the report in the System Information section.
Updating DirectX 12 to DirectX 11 for Fortnite
If you are using DirectX 12 and experiencing issues while playing Fortnite, you can switch to DirectX 11 by following these steps:
- Open the Epic Games Launcher.
- Select Settings.
- Scroll down and continue to Fortnite.
- In the command line, select the box next to "Additional Arguments".
- Add
d3d11
and start Fortnite.
Removing DirectX 12 from Windows 10
It is not possible to uninstall DirectX from the Apps Settings like we do with common applications since DirectX is now included in Windows 10. You can always use the registry editor to disable DirectX features.