DirectX 9.0 vs 8.1: Which Version is Necessary for Optimal Gaming Performance?

[Saint]

My system is installed with Directx 8.1, good enough for all games.

Do I need diectx9.0?
If not necessary, i will not download it.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

You don't "NEED" it unless you are developing for 9.0, however, you'll need it soon in the future so why not just download it?

 

[BoulderHead]

Depends on how you define 'need'. If you're happy with 8.1 so am I. I use 9.0 with win98 and winXP just because it's available (and directx8.0 with win95b). Not being a serious gamer I can only say that I've never noticed any improvement with 9.0, but then I don't think I've ever seen much improvement after installing any of the stuff I've download from Microsoft...except perhaps for the shutdown supplement for win98, I think that one helped.

 

[Saint]

How about Opengl?
I notice there is a file opengl.dll in Windows/system32 folder,
is this file sufficient for all opengl applications?

 

[J-Man]

Most games/apps that require a certain DirectX version will have it on the cd, so you useually don't need to download it. I only know of 1 game so far that requires it (freelancer.) I'm sure there's probably more already and in the near future many will require it. However I would say don't bother unless you need it already. I downloaded it for programming purposes, but I still do most of my audio/video programmin with DirectX 7.

I'm not sure about the OpenGL, I never use it. I believe it depends on your videocard driver and the app you're using.

 

[damgo]

I don't think that file contains all the necessary stuff; it might even be just a software OpenGL implementation. But all the stuff you need for it will be installed along with your video card drivers.