How to Test & Diagnose DirectX & GPU Issues with DxDiag

Whether a newly installed game crashes back to the desktop with a "Direct3D feature level required" error, your secondary monitor refuses to display at its native refresh rate, or your GPU driver keeps timing out, the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (DxDiag) is Windows' official GPU certification inspector.

Step 1: Launch DxDiag

DxDiag is bundled on all modern Windows installations:

Run Shortcut

dxdiag.exe

Press Win + R, type dxdiag, and press Enter. If prompted whether to check for digital driver signatures (WHQL), select Yes.

Step 2: Inspecting System Specifications

The System tab gives you an authentic, tamper-resistant summary of your platform:

DirectX Version: Look at the bottom line. Modern gaming requires DirectX 12 or DirectX 12 Ultimate.
Operating System Build: Verifies whether 64-bit Windows is actively running in UEFI mode.

Step 3: Evaluating GPU Acceleration in the "Display" Tab

Switch to the Display (or Display 1 / Display 2) tab. If you have a laptop with dual GPUs, Display 1 will be the Intel/AMD integrated chip and Render will be the dedicated Nvidia/Radeon GPU.

Check DirectX Features

Ensure that DirectDraw Acceleration, Direct3D Acceleration, and AGP Texture Acceleration are all listed as Enabled. If any state "Disabled" or "Not Available", your GPU driver is corrupted or missing.

Verify Display Memory (VRAM)

Look at Display Memory (VRAM). If it reads 0 MB or is severely lower than your card's physical capacity, the driver is running in basic Microsoft Basic Display Adapter mode.

Driver Model (WDDM)

Look at the Driver Model under the Drivers column on the right. Windows 11 systems should display WDDM 3.0, 3.1, or 3.2. Legacy WDDM 2.x drivers lack support for modern Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto HDR.

Step 4: Reading the "Notes" Box for Crash Telemetry

At the bottom of each tab is a section labeled Notes.

Normal State: "No problems found."
Warning State: "A problem with your display driver occurred (Timeout Detection and Recovery / TDR event). The driver was reset."

Diagnosing TDR GPU Timeouts

If DxDiag notes report TDR events, your graphics card took longer than 2 seconds to render a frame. Causes include aggressive GPU core overclocks, PCIe riser cable signal degradation, or a drying thermal paste causing hot spot temps over 105°C.

Step 5: Exporting dxdiag.txt for Diagnostic Help

When contacting technical support or filing a problem query on our site:

Click the "Save All Information..." button at the bottom of the DxDiag window.
Save the resulting DxDiag.txt file to your desktop.
This file contains a complete list of installed audio decoders, display resolutions, and video driver build versions.