Solved DirectX 9 to DirectX 11 : Which runs better?

Notme

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Some of the games I have seen have the options to select which one to use, dx9 or 10 or 11.

Honestly, I have just a little approximate knowledge of what these do

most of them from experience.

- dx9 runs smoother (just for me i suppose)
- dx10 just adds shinys and i did not really use it. for some reason (in a couple of games i tried) it just hampered performance
- dx11 has tessellation and stuff

most of the search results from search engines primarily advertise gpu manufacturers boasting about how awesome games will look with their new gpus that support the latest directx (with "little" performance loss)

can someone enlighten me on this topic?
 

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To clarify..

DirectX is about improving multimedia to include games, videos, and audio - DirectX 11

Your DX modes also depends on not only the game, but the video card and OS - see step 6 of my guide here: Tips on Troubleshooting Game Issues.

Also, the higher the DX mode, the harder your system is tasked due to the increased textures (higher resolution) of the game, and this can have a huge impact on frame rates. This is where system build/components comes into play. Example higher end video cards tends to handle DX11 games more easily then mid to low end video cards. Same with system - a higher end system will perform better than a low to mid level system.

With today's systems being much more advanced than their predecessors were when DX9 was released there is somewhat of a "leveling" effect going on here. In other words today's systems are much more powerful and capable of handling more advanced multimedia (including games), and therefore require a more advanced DirectX API (Application Programming Interface). This is the reason for DX11, and the move towards DX12.

Yes, DX11 can task a system, but if the system is relatively new and upper mid level, this shouldn't be a problem. The problem comes in when trying to game with mid to low level systems/video cards. This is where you take a performance hit via frame rates. In this instance your can lower your DX mode, but at the cost of image quality - what most refer to as eye candy.

Hope this provides a better understanding.

Peace :cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
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11 here (had to check)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 700z
    CPU
    AMD 4.1 GHz quad-core
    Motherboard
    MSI
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    8 GB
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    Integrated Radeon HD 8670D
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    Integrated Sound, Envy Audio; Beats Audio
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    1TB 7200 RPM SATA
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    460 watt
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    wired USB
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    wired USB
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    IE11 / Chrome
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    Windows Defender aka MSE
DirectX is about improving multimedia to include games, videos, and audio - DirectX 11

Your DX modes also depends on not only the game, but the video card and OS - see step 6 of my guide here: Tips on Troubleshooting Game Issues.

Also, the higher the DX mode, the harder your system is tasked due to the increased textures (higher resolution) of the game, and this can have a huge impact on frame rates. This is where system build/components comes into play. Example higher end video cards tends to handle DX11 games more easily then mid to low end video cards. Same with system - a higher end system will perform better than a low to mid level system.

With today's systems being much more advanced than their predecessors were when DX9 was released there is somewhat of a "leveling" effect going on here. In other words today's systems are much more powerful and capable of handling more advanced multimedia (including games), and therefore require a more advanced DirectX API (Application Programming Interface). This is the reason for DX11, and the move towards DX12.

Yes, DX11 can task a system, but if the system is relatively new and upper mid level, this shouldn't be a problem. The problem comes in when trying to game with mid to low level systems/video cards. This is where you take a performance hit via frame rates. In this instance your can lower your DX mode, but at the cost of image quality - what most refer to as eye candy.

Hope this provides a better understanding.

Peace :cool:

Awesome information you have there sygnus21

i have some follow up questions though

so for example I have an average grade graphics card yet it is Dx11 capable

would I benefit running programs on dx11 or make the card suffer more than runnning it on dx9?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
i have some follow up questions though

so for example I have an average grade graphics card yet it is Dx11 capable

would I benefit running programs on dx11 or make the card suffer more than runnning it on dx9?

First off, DX11 mode will depend on the game. So even if you have a DX11 card, and the OS is DX11, the game will play in it's DX mode - be it 9, 10, or 11.

And I think you have it backwards - the card will "suffer" more in DX11, than DX9. As to benefit - frame rate wise you'd be better off in DX9, looks wise, you'd be better off in DX11.

However, as I said earlier, if you've got a good system, especially a good video card, you could get the best of both worlds. Of course there are other factors to consider like drivers and game patches so things could vary, but the basic premise remains the same - DX11 looks better than DX9, but is more system intensive.

Hope this helps :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built by me
    CPU
    Haswell i7-4770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte G1 Sniper 5 (BIOS F9)
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 32 gig (1866MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9-280 Vapor X
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster ZXR
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242W - 24 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 512gig 850 Pro SSD (OS), Samsung 256gig 840 Pro SSD (photo editing), Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB HD
    PSU
    EVGA Supernova 1000 G2
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF X
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i Closed Loop Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    High Speed
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton Security
    Other Info
    RAM Speed: 1866MHZ @ 9-10-10-27-2T, 1.5v
i have some follow up questions though

so for example I have an average grade graphics card yet it is Dx11 capable

would I benefit running programs on dx11 or make the card suffer more than runnning it on dx9?

First off, DX11 mode will depend on the game. So even if you have a DX11 card, and the OS is DX11, the game will play in it's DX mode - be it 9, 10, or 11.

And I think you have it backwards - the card will "suffer" more in DX11, than DX9. As to benefit - frame rate wise you'd be better off in DX9, looks wise, you'd be better off in DX11.

However, as I said earlier, if you've got a good system, especially a good video card, you could get the best of both worlds. Of course there are other factors to consider like drivers and game patches so things could vary, but the basic premise remains the same - DX11 looks better than DX9, but is more system intensive.

Hope this helps :)

it helps a lot sygnus21 thanks again!

i love this forum :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
No problem, but please remember - you could have a DX11 system, but if the game itself isn't a DX11 title, the game will only run in the mode it was released in. Example: If the OS and video card is DX11, but the game is only DX9, the game will only run in DX9 mode. Period. Same goes with the other variables - OS, video card.

Peace :cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built by me
    CPU
    Haswell i7-4770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte G1 Sniper 5 (BIOS F9)
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 32 gig (1866MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9-280 Vapor X
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster ZXR
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242W - 24 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 512gig 850 Pro SSD (OS), Samsung 256gig 840 Pro SSD (photo editing), Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB HD
    PSU
    EVGA Supernova 1000 G2
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF X
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i Closed Loop Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    High Speed
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton Security
    Other Info
    RAM Speed: 1866MHZ @ 9-10-10-27-2T, 1.5v
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