Directx 10 card and Windows 7 64 questions please

Hello - Having had a plenty of problems with software conflicts on the 64 bit version I am wary of putting stuff on the PC I am not sure about. I am also struggling to find any info that I can understand on the net, so grateful for any knowledge please

I have an ATI 4850, which is supported up to DirectX 10.1, and I want to play Dragon Age 2, which will run dx 11 with dx 9 and 10 support. I understand that 10.1 was a Vista release, and that 11 is a W7.

Two questions please:
- Is direct x11 bundled with W7?
-If so, how can I check if it is installed?

-If I have directx 11, will it be backwards compatible with a directx 10 card or will it confuse the GPU/system? (granted that it will therefore not run all the dx11 features)

-If I do not have dx 11, where can I get dx10 for W7, as cannot find it on W7 MS site?

Many thanks!

Number 5 and 6 here,

Tips on Troubleshooting Game Issues

should cover most of those questions.

Thanks Stormy-Note to self; read stickys first!

Hope it helps

Start/dxdiag on the windows search will open up the DX diagnostic Tool and it will tell you the version you have... more than likely DX11 if you're running Win7 64 bit.

I run this system with a GTX260 (DX10) and I have yet to have a problem with any game (FPS mainly). I don't know if I am going to have a problem with a DX11 game as I don't think I have tried any yet, but until then... I'm sticking with what I got as it hasn't let me down yet!

Thanks everyone for the advice. I will see what it says when it tries to run the game on Friday. Hopefully it will play nicely! The ATI 4850, even if it does have overheating issues sometimes, is still a decent little GPU imo for the price of it, so as with astalavista's card, I would want to hold onto it until it really needs replacing.

Turns out that yes Dx11 is already on system. DXdiag was a good tip.

Cheers!

Window 7 natively has DX11 installed. In sort if you have any version of Windows 7 you have DX11. As for playing in DX11.... that depends on three things:

1- OS - Windows 7 is DX11 (software)
2- Game - Game MUST be DX11 (software)
3- Video Card - Card MUST be DX11 capable (hardware)

If all 3 items are DX11 you get DX11 mode. If any of the above isn't true, the game will fall to the lowest DX mode of the 3 items.

Example: If a game is DX9, but card and OS is DX11, you will only run in DX9 mode! You can switch these around but if one item is DX9 or 10, you will only be able to play in DX9 or 10 mode.

Again as stormy mentioned see step 6 here Tips on Troubleshooting Game Issues

Later.

Guys, with most of the new games being Console ports and say that they are capable of DX11... is it really cost effective to change to a DX11 video card? I mean, in layman terms and say in my case (GTX260)... is it worth spending 150 to 200 bucks to get a DX11 if I only play FPS games and I am not a MP gamer (I only play Campaigns?)

@hannibaL... glad the dxdiag helped.

AstaLaVista said:

Guys, with most of the new games being Console ports and say that they are capable of DX11... is it really cost effective to change to a DX11 video card? I mean, in layman terms and say in my case (GTX260)... is it worth spending 150 to 200 bucks to get a DX11 if I only play FPS games and I am not a MP gamer (I only play Campaigns?)

That depends on how much of a gamer you are and how important those visuals are to you. If they're not, you may not want to upgrade your video card..... if they are, then you want that video card with the latest visual capabilities.

The question is.... How important are they to you???..... and your wallet?

OK, let me rephrase the question... I love eye candy (who doesn't) but if the game is a console port (read: not optimized for PC and most of them aren't)... am I really getting the full effect on a brand new and shiny video card? Taking also in consideration that drivers are not fully matured for said card... is it still worth the expense?

If I do, will the graphics be that much better? again, if we consider that the game is not optimized since it is only a console port and done with lower grade graphics anyways (xbox 360 video card can not be better than my GTX260 can it?)

I am not trying to crap on the people who buy these cards, hey, more power to them... I am just trying to understand if the experience from it will be that much better.