Which DXVK DLLs do you need?

The DLL map

Pick the Direct3D version your game uses and whether the game is 32-bit or 64-bit. The map lights up the files to copy. The link in your address bar changes too, so you can send someone the exact answer (for example #d3d9-x32). Sizes are from the DXVK 3.1.1 archive.

If you do not know which Direct3D version or bitness your game uses, the Game Checker reads the game’s files and tells you; otherwise a game’s PCGamingWiki page usually lists it.

What each file does

DXVK has no dxvk.dll. It is five DLLs, each named like a Windows Direct3D file so that a game loads DXVK’s version from its own folder instead of Windows’ version. These are our summaries; sizes are the 3.1.1 builds.

d3d9.dll

The one most people need. It replaces Direct3D 9, which most games from about 2003 to 2012 use. It works on its own: our lab ran a D3D9 program with only this file, 32-bit and 64-bit, and the system dxgi.dll stayed in use (F38). It is also half of the Direct3D 8 setup.

d3d11.dll and dxgi.dll

These two are a pair for Direct3D 11 games. d3d11.dll is the large one; dxgi.dll handles the window, swap chain and the list of GPUs. With both copied and nothing else, our D3D11 program ran on DXVK (F40).

d3d8.dll

Direct3D 8 games use d3d8.dll and also DXVK’s d3d9.dll: the D3D8 test loaded both and wrote a log for each (F07). With d3d8.dll alone DXVK did not start, the game got a NULL device, and the log said D3D8Interface: ERROR! Failed to get D3D9 Bridge. d3d9.dll might not be DXVK! (F39). Direct3D 8 support only exists from DXVK 2.4 (upstream), so 1.10.3 has no d3d8.dll and such a game keeps using the system D3D8 (F09).

d3d10core.dll

The Direct3D 10 file. According to the DXVK README a Direct3D 10 game needs it together with d3d11.dll and dxgi.dll. Our test program has no Direct3D 10 path, so this row is upstream information, not our test result. It is the only DXVK DLL with no text marker inside, so only a hash identifies it (F45).

x64 or x32: match the game, not Windows

The folder must match the game’s .exe. A 64-bit Windows runs many 32-bit games, and those need x32. When we put x64 DLLs next to a 32-bit program, and the reverse, nothing was reported: no error, no log, and the program kept using the normal Direct3D (F05). That silent failure is why people believe “DXVK does nothing” on games where it simply was not loaded.

Direct3D 8 games are always 32-bit: Windows has no 64-bit d3d8.dll, and a native 64-bit D3D8 program failed to load on both of our Windows machines (F08). To see a game’s bitness, open Task Manager’s Details tab: a 32-bit process shows (32 bit) after its name. We have not captured a screenshot of that on a desktop PC, so there is none here.

Why copying only d3d11.dll breaks D3D11 games

If you copy d3d11.dll and forget dxgi.dll, device creation fails. In our test DXVK logged that it could not create a swap chain and the program got error 0x887A0004 (F06):

          1
          err:   D3D11CreateDevice: Failed to create swap chain
          
          
          The swap chain comes from dxgi.dll. Copy dxgi.dll next to d3d11.dll.
        

The opposite mix is worse. With DXVK’s dxgi.dll alone and Windows’ own d3d11.dll, DXVK printed its banner and then the process died within 0.3 seconds with an access violation, code 0xC0000005, and no further output (F41). Mixing DXVK’s DXGI with the native D3D11 is not a valid install. The errors guide covers the other messages.

Is the d3d9.dll in my game folder DXVK?

Do not trust the file name: Windows has its own d3d9.dll and so do other tools. Three ways to tell:

1. Check the hash. The verifier on the download page compares a DLL’s SHA-256 against every official release and says “official DXVK 3.1.1”, “DXVK-based but not an official file”, or “not DXVK”.
2. Look at the size. DXVK’s DLLs are big: the 3.1.1 d3d9.dll is 7.29 MB (x64), while Windows’ own is a small system file. Size alone is a hint, not proof.
3. Do not use File Properties. Every DXVK DLL carries Windows-style version text (10.0.17763.1), so the properties dialog cannot show the DXVK version (F45).

Other software also ships a d3d9.dll or dxgi.dll into game folders: ReShade, ENB, ASI loaders and some fixes. If you already have one and add DXVK, the two collide; see overlays, ENB and mod conflicts.

“d3d9.dll is missing” errors are not a DXVK problem

If Windows says d3d9.dll, d3d11.dll or dxgi.dll is missing, that is not about DXVK. It usually means the game’s DirectX runtime parts are not installed. Reinstall the game (it normally installs them), or install Microsoft’s official DirectX End-User Runtimes. Do not download single DLL files from “DLL” sites: you cannot tell what is inside them, and a DLL loaded by a game runs with the game’s permissions. We have not tested these remedies; they are Microsoft’s documented route.

Older versions

DXVK 1.10.3 ships more files than 3.1.1: besides d3d9.dll, d3d11.dll, d3d10core.dll and dxgi.dll it holds d3d10.dll and d3d10_1.dll, and has no d3d8.dll (F09, F44).

When you update from 1.10.3 to 3.1.1 over the same folder, d3d10.dll and d3d10_1.dll stay behind. The new d3d9.dll, d3d11.dll and dxgi.dll still loaded and reported 3.1.1 in our test (F42), but we did not exercise the leftover files, so delete the old DLLs before copying the new ones. Which version to use is on the requirements page.