How to download DirectX 12 on your O.S.

There are several ways to download DirectX 12 depending on your operating system and the version you need. Here are some methods:

Windows Update: If you are running Windows 10 (DirectX 12) should already be installed on your system. However you can check for updates and install the latest version through Windows Update.
Microsoft Official Website: You can download DirectX 12 manually from the Microsoft official website. Go to the website and download the DirectX 12 installer.
Third Party Web Sites: There are also many third-party websites that offer DirectX 12 downloads. However it is important to be careful when downloading from these sites as they may not be reputable and may potentially contain malware.

It is important to note that DirectX 12 is not available for Windows 7 or earlier versions of Windows.

How to download DirectX 12 on Windows 10

You can follow these steps to download DirectX 12 on Windows 10:

Press Windows key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
In the Run dialog box type “dxdiag” and click OK.
In the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window that opens check the DirectX version listed on the System tab. If it is not version 12 skip to step 4.
Go to the Microsoft DirectX download page.
Click the red Download button to download the DirectX installer.
Follow the instructions in the installation wizard to install DirectX 12 on your Windows 10 PC.

Alternatively you can also download and install DirectX 12 through Windows Update. To do this follow these steps:

Click the Start button and then click Settings (gear icon).
Click Update and Security.
Click Windows Update.
Click Check for updates.
If a DirectX 12 update is available it will be listed under Optional Updates. Click the Download and install button next to it to download and install the update.

Note that DirectX 12 is already built into Windows 10 (linuxhint.com) so you don’t need to download it separately unless you need to update.

How to download Directx 12 on Windows 11

You can use Windows Update to download Directx 11 on Windows 12. Here are the steps:

Press Windows key + I on your keyboard to open the Settings app.
Click on “Update and Security”.
Click “Windows Update” in the left sidebar.
Click on “Check for updates”.
If a DirectX 12 Ultimate update is available it will be listed under “Optional Updates”. Click “Download and install” next to it to download and install the update.
Follow the instructions in the installation wizard to complete the installation.

Note that DirectX 12 Ultimate is the latest version of DirectX and is only available on Windows 11. It includes new features improved performance and enhanced visuals.

Other Windows Versions

Unfortunately DirectX 12 is not compatible with Windows 8. It is only available on Windows 10 and later. The latest version of DirectX that can be installed on Windows 8 is DirectX 11.2 which is included in Windows 8.1. If you are running Windows 8 you can upgrade to Windows 8.1 to get DirectX 11.2. Alternatively you can install DirectX 11.2 through Windows Update or download it from the Microsoft Download Center.

DirectX 12 is not compatible with Windows 7. DirectX 12 is exclusive to Windows 10 and newer versions of the operating system. If you are running Windows 7 the latest version of DirectX you can install is DirectX 11. You can easily check which version of DirectX is currently installed on your computer by following the instructions in the Microsoft Support article “How to install the latest version of DirectX”.

How to download Directx 12 on macOS

DirectX 12 is a suite of multimedia technologies only available on Windows and is not natively supported on macOS. However there are third-party applications that allow you to run DirectX 12 games on a Mac for example CrossOver by CodeWeavers. CrossOver is a commercial application that creates a modern Windows environment on Mac allowing Windows apps and games to run. According to recent news CrossOver will gain DirectX 12 support from 2023.

So if you’re interested in using DirectX 12 on a Mac you might want to consider checking out CrossOver once support is released. However it’s important to note that not all DirectX 12 games may be compatible with CrossOver and there may be some limitations and performance issues when running Windows apps and games on Mac.

How to download Directx 12 on Linux

DirectX 12 is not natively supported on Linux as it is a suite of multimedia technologies only available on Windows. However there are third-party tools such as Wine and CodeWeavers that enable DirectX 12 support on Linux. Wine is a free and open source compatibility layer that allows Windows applications including DirectX 9 10 and 11 to run on Linux. To install DirectX 9 10 or 11 using Wine you can follow the instructions on the Wine wiki.

CodeWeavers the developers of CrossOver are also working to enable DirectX 12 support on Linux through compatibility layers. As of June 2023 DirectX 12 support in CrossOver is not yet available but is expected to be released in the future.

Another alternative is to run Windows 10 or 11 on Linux through a virtual machine. Virtualization software such as VirtualBox and VMware allow you to run Windows on Linux including support for DirectX functionality. However running Windows in a virtual machine can be resource intensive and may not provide the same level of performance as running Windows locally on a physical machine.

Finally Linux has its own multimedia APIs including OpenGL and Vulkan which can provide graphics functionality similar to DirectX on Linux.