If you are not sure which DirectX version is installed in your system, follow these steps to quickly check the DirectX version in Windows 10, 8, & 7.
Windows comes pre-installed with DirectX. In fact, DirectX has been a part of Windows for a long time now. In case you don’t know, DirectX is widely used in almost all the games you play on Windows. Add to that, DirectX is also used by many applications for different graphics components and content.
Depending on your Windows version and its update, the DirectX version will be different. For some games or applications, you need a specific version to run it. This is especially true of older or brand new games. For example, if you have an older version of DirectX, you might not be able to play the newer games without first updating DirectX in Windows 10.
Thankfully, most game installers and launchers automatically install the latest version of DirectX just to be sure. However, that might not be the case of every game. So, if you are unable to play games or receiving DirectX errors, it is important that you check the DirectX version on Windows 10.
In this quick and simple article, let me show how to check the DirectX version in Windows 10.
Steps to check DirectX version in Windows
To find the DirectX version in Windows, follow the steps shown below.
- Open the Start menu.
- Type “dxdiag” in the Start menu and press Enter.
- Select the “System” tab at the top.
- You will see the current DirectX version next to “DirectX Version”.
- Click “Exit” to close dxdiag.
Detailed steps
To check the DirectX version, you can use a built-in tool called DxDiag. This is a DirectX diagnostic tool. Being a diagnostic tool, this application will tell which version of DirectX is installed on your machine. In fact, you can also use DxDiag to find your graphics card manufacturer and model number.
1. First, we need to open the DxDiag tool. To do that, open the Start menu, type “dxdiag” and click on the result. This action will instantly open the DxDiag tool.
2. After opening the DxDiag tool, click on the “System” tab appearing on the top bar.
3. In this tab, you will see your current DirectX version next to “DirectX Version” appearing at the bottom.
4. After finding out the version number, click on the “Exit” button at the bottom to close the DxDiag tool.
As of writing this, the latest version is DirectX 12.
If you are running an old system, you might see DirectX 11 or even DirectX 9. If you want to update the DirectX version, download the official DirectX web installer and it will install the latest DirectX version. Do keep in mind that the web installer will only install the latest compatible version. So if you are using Windows 7, you might not be able to install DirectX 12.
If you want to, you can also download DirectX offline installer directly from the official website. However, it might not be up to date. That being said, once installed, Windows will update it to the latest version as and when needed.
That is all. I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.
