In: Categories » Computers and technology » Microsoft OS family » How to Update DirectX ~ Advantages
|
Although most Windows applications place fairly low demands on the display system, putting up fairly static displays and updating them relatively infrequently, interactive games and video displays are very graphics intensive. Game players pay big bucks for fps, or frames per second, which is a measure of how fast the hardware and software can generate new images as the scene changes and objects move. Under about 30fps, the image flickers and motion is noticeably jerky. Beyond 30fps, faster updates aren't noticeable, and the extra processing power can be put to work by reconfiguring the game to generate more complex, detailed images. The problem is that the software overhead that Windows places between applications and the graphics hardware in order to foster good cooperation, nicely rendered text, and cleanly overlapping windows can slow down a game program or DVD video player and hinder its ability to crank out images. Enter DirectX, a set of application software interfaces (drivers, really) that let applications have much more direct, faster access to underlying display hardware. DirectX also provides hardware-independent image rendering and sound-producing tools that applications and games can rely on; these can take advantage of the hardware adapters' built-in computing abilities, but are guaranteed to workif slowlyeven on inexpensive adapters without hardware acceleration. Microsoft updates DirectX on a schedule independent of its updates to Windows, and although some software setup CDs come with a version of DirectX, if you play video-intensive games or watch movies on your computer you're better off getting the latest DirectX package directly from Microsoft. To find out what version of DirectX is installed on your computer, click Start, Run, and in the command box, type dxdiag and press Enter. On the System tab, near the bottom of the System Information list, you should see an entry labeled DirectX Version. DirectX updates are usually not security-related fixes, so they will not be delivered through Automatic Updates, nor will they appear in the "High Priority" section in Windows Update. To check for a DirectX update, click Start, All Programs, Windows Update. Select Custom updates, and view any entries in the "Optional Software" category. Check and install DirectX if it appears. You can also download and install the latest version of DirectX from www.microsoft.com/directx.
|
legal disclaimer
1) Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article as well for any and all copyright infringements by authors and writers. E-articles is a free information resource. If you suspect this article for any copyright infringements, please read the Terms of service and contact us to investigate the problem.
2) The E-articles directory team is not responsible for inaccuracies, falsehoods, or any other types of misinformation this tutorial may contain and will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by a user through the user's reliance on the information gained here. Please read the Terms of service
Useful tools and features
If you like this article (tutorial), please link to it from your web page using the information above. Linking to this page, this is the only way to help us improve our service, the same time providing your visitors with a way to improve their online experience.
related articles
Besides ensuring that your computer has adequate memory, one of the next best ways to improve your subjective experience of Windows' speed is to make the logon process faster. The logon process can be greatly slowed by large numbers of programs that are launched automatically upon logon; the desktop and Start menu don't respond until all of the login programs have been activated. Keeping the list of startup programs short is a constant struggle, however. To hide the fact that many common programs are poorly written and ...
2. How to Configure Automatic Updates in Windows XP
Automatic Updates is a mechanism with an awkwardly plural-sounding name by which Microsoft or corporate network managers distribute critical security updates to Windows users. Fixes sent by this means are considered so important for adequate security in the hostile Internet environment that Microsoft prefers that you configure it to download and install the updates, and if necessary even restart your computer without your being aware of it. There are four levels of Automatic Updates protection to which you can subscribe:...
3. MS DOS Versus PC DOS
With modern PCs having a very high level of standardization and compatibility, today it is easy to see how Microsoft can market complete packaged operating systems that will install and work unmodified on practically any PC you can purchase or build. Without the standardization and compatibility we have come to depend on, different specific "flavors" of a given operating system would be required for specific different hardware. That is exactly how things were back in the early '80s when the IBM PC was introduced. Many o...
4. How to make your PC Available for Remote Desktop Connection
To use Remote Desktop to reach your computer from the Internet, both the computer and your Internet connection must always be up and running. In addition, you must be able to make connections from the outside world to your computer, so there are additional requirements: If you use dial-up Internet service, you'll need someone at home to establish the connection before you can connect to your computer. If you use cable or DSL Internet service, you must either have a static IP address ass...
5. Using Simple File Sharing in Windows
Although most home users are typically happy letting anyone at any computer read or modify any file, business users need to restrict access to files with payroll, personnel, and proprietary information. Windows XP and its predecessors, Windows NT and Windows 2000, were primarily designed for business use, so they require usernames and passwords for identification, and have a security system that lets computer owners restrict access to sensitive files on a user-by-user and file-by-file basis on each computer. Unfortunate...
6. The Evolution of Microsoft Windows ~ The Windows 9x Family
By the mid-1990s, processor power had increased and memory prices had decreased dramatically since Windows' original release. The Internet had also sprung onto the world stage, from an academic tool to an instrument of global communication and commerce. (You may recall that Windows 3.1 did not even include support for the TCP/IP network protocol used on the Internetyou had to purchase it from a third-party vendor.) Users' expectations likewise had grown with computers' capabilities, and desktop publishing, graphics editing, and...
7. How to install Windows and Installation Types
Deciding on the type of installation to perform is dictated by many factors, such as the following: Is there an operating system currently installed? If so, do you want to preserve settings and configurations, or start from scratch? Will the installation be performed interactively or remotely? How many computers are to be installed at a single time? Is your network arranged in a domain model using Active Directory? These are ...
8. How to adjust Text Icons and Window Element Sizes
If you find the items on the screen difficult to read or see, you can either lower the screen resolution, which makes everything larger but blurrier, or ask Windows to make the elements themselves larger while keeping a crisper, high screen resolution. There are two ways you can do this. Here's the first procedure: 1. Right-click the Desktop and select Properties. 2. Save the current screen settings so if you're unhappy with the results, you can back the changes out. Select the Themes tab, click Save As, and enter ...
9. DOS Versions
Let's take a look at the actual nuts and bolts that constituted each version of DOS. DOS 1.x PC DOS 1.0 was introduced along with the IBM PC on August 12, 1981, and supported only single-sided 5.25-inch drives. Floppy disks were formatted using 8 sectors per track (one side, 40 tracks) resulting in a capacity of only 160KB when formatted. There was no support for hard disks at all, which were generally quite rare for personal computers at the time. DOS was a text-based operating system, hence there was no graphi...